Information for Patients

Note: In an emergency, taking care of your immediate medical needs will be our first priority. Our support staff will work to gather information as quickly as possible to streamline your admission as you’re receiving care.

Pre-admission for planned procedures or stays: If you need lab work or testing before a procedure or hospital stay, a surgeon or specialist will make your appointment two to 14 days in advance. Otherwise, a patient admitting representative will contact you to let you know when to arrive and other important details.

All patients are admitted to AdventHealth Ocala without regard to race, creed, color, sex, religion, ancestry, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, economic status, educational background, or the source of payment for care.

Essentials:

• Photo identification
• Your social security number
• Your health plan card (insurance, Medicaid or Medicare)
• Deductibles and co-pays (collected at the time of service)
• A family member or responsible adult to assist the patient in the admitting process
• Your cell phone (please keep on silent or vibrate, and refrain from use as posted or requested)

For an overnight stay:

We recommend you bring only what you’ll need while you’re here. Consider bringing:

• A robe
• Something to read
• Checks, debit or credit card and a small amount of cash
• Shavers, hair dryers or other small personal appliances
• Essential medical devices, such as hearing aids and dentures
• Toiletries, such as a toothbrush, toothpaste, denture cream, shampoo, deodorant, mouthwash, soap, unscented lotion, lip balm, comb or brush, disposable razor and shaving cream
• Non-skid socks

If you’re having a baby:

• A robe
• Non-skid slippers
• Non-skid socks
• A receiving blanket
• Hair clips or rubber bands
• Something to read
• Camera and batteries (cell phones may not always be suitable)
• Change of clothes
• Two nursing bras (if you plan to breastfeed)
• Baby book for footprints
• Infant car seat (required by law to transport your baby)
• Baby outfit for the trip home
• Snacks for labor coach
• Lip balm

Please note: Hospital parking for visitors is directly across from the hospital’s main entrance. Outpatient and pre-admission parking is on the second floor of the parking deck beside the hospital.

While you’re in our care, our caring, skilled staff will work to ensure your safety and comfort. Here are a few things you should know about your room and our hospital that can help make your time with us restful and healing.

Your room

Inpatient rooms are private and equipped with:

• An electrically operated bed with protective bed rails
• A nurse call button
• An adjustable thermostat
• A bedside telephone
• Cable television

Fire drills

For the protection of our patients, staff and visitors, we conduct fire and disaster drills regularly. If a drill occurs while you are here, please remain in your room and do not become alarmed. A staff member will assist you and let you know what to do.

Wheelchairs

Wheelchairs are available on all patient care units.

Food

Tasty, nutritious meals, prepared to your physician's orders, are our kitchen’s specialty. You can request substitutions if they are in keeping with your prescribed diet. Gourmet meals and snacks are available for purchase if you are not on a restricted diet

Meals are usually served at these times:

• Breakfast: 7 to 9 am
• Lunch: 11 am to 1 pm
• Dinner: 4 to 6 pm

For your health, healing and safety, please request food and drinks from the nursing staff on your unit.

Mail

U.S. Postal Service mail will be delivered to your room, as well any message you receive through AdventHealth Ocala's Email-A-Patient service. After your discharge, mail will be forwarded to your home.

Newspapers and magazines

A complimentary copy of our local newspaper, Ocala Star-Banner, is delivered to your room courtesy of AdventHealth Ocala. If you’d like to borrow a magazine to read, call Volunteer Services at extension 2153. Magazines are also available for purchase in the gift shop.

Medications

All medications you take while in the hospital are prescribed by your doctor and administered by a nurse through the hospital pharmacy. If you need a medicine that has not been prescribed, tell your nurse and we will consult a physician.

Oxygen in use

In areas where patients are receiving oxygen, special safety regulations are in effect. Electrically-operated equipment and aerosol products are not permitted in any room where oxygen is in use or on standby.

All patients have the right to appropriate assessment in management of pain. While you’re in our care, you can expect:

• A concerned staff committed to pain prevention and management
• Assurance that your reports of pain will be believed
• Health professionals who respond quickly to reports of pain
• Information about pain and pain-relief measures

To help us keep you as pain-free as safely possible:

• Ask for pain relief when pain first begins
• Ask your physician or nurse what to expect regarding pain and pain management
• Discuss pain relief options with your physician and nurse, work to create a treatment plan and let us know if you have concerns or questions
• Help your physician and nurse assess your pain and let them know it isn’t relieved

Tell your physician or nurse about any concerns you have with taking pain medications

Your health care portal is a secure online home for your health information. It can help you be informed about your care, your treatment or management plan and any steps you need to take to stay as healthy as possible.

You can:

• Easily access your hospital discharge instructions, so you and your family know how to take care of you at home.
• Have secure online access to your list of medications, diagnoses, allergies, test results, patient history and vital information.
• Manage your health information
• View and share your personal health information related to your hospital stays

Signing up is easy and free of charge.

You just need to:

1. Show your photo ID at registration and provide your email address, and we’ll send you an email with a link and login information. (You also can call our Health Information Management department at Call352-402-5387 to verify your identity and provide an email address.)
2. Click on the link in the email, and follow the instructions to set up your account and create your personal password.
3. Once your account is set up, you can log in from any Internet-enabled device to view and download your information. Bookmark the site to make it convenient to visit regularly.

Your privacy is important. Your username will always be your email address. Each time you log in, you will need to enter your password and answer your security question.

Your personal and medical information in the My Health Home portal will be kept confidential. The portal uses a secure, encrypted connection that meets the highest industry standards. All health data is stored on a secure server and managed with the protection of your information in mind. We will not share, sell or lease your personal information with any outside party not affiliated with our organization. Only you — and those you authorize — will be able to see or gain access to the information in your portal.

Faith and spiritual strength are critical to healing and physical well-being. Pastoral care and counseling are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Whether you need a simple word of encouragement or help to deal with a spiritual crisis, our staff chaplain, in tandem with more than 40 volunteer chaplains and lay pastoral care volunteers, can help.

Our spiritual support includes:

• Connections, our monthly suicide survivors support group.
• Disaster response, which provides spiritual and emotional support after hospital or community disasters by our pastoral care team and/or a Community Crisis Response Team.
• End-of-life care and grief support are offered for patients, family members and staff. For those without family support, we also offer our No One Dies Alone (NODA) Program.
• Hospital chapel, available around-the-clock for personal use and for a weekly prayer service, is located on the ground floor across from the gift shop.
• Liaison to local faith communities, which involves contacting your pastor or church leaders and keeping them informed about you throughout your stay.
• Ministry of presence (patient and family visits), provides supportive listening, prayer and sacramental needs (communion, anointing of the sick) at your request.
• Spiritual Care Series (seasonal)

To arrange for pastoral care, call the hospital operator at Call352-351-7200.

Visiting Hours are from 8 am to 6 pm, all visitors must enter through the Main Entrance/Palmer Lobby so they can be screened and given a wristband.

For your convenience, you can pay your bill online. You can also find out what insurance we accept.

If you are having trouble paying for medical care, contact Eligibility Services at Call800-353-1380 or [email protected]. We may be able to find federal, state or county programs that can help. If so, we can help you apply and follow up on your application. We’ll need to gather information from you through a questionnaire, and we may need permission to share certain information with programs or agencies that can help you. We adhere to all confidentiality and privacy guidelines (HIPAA and Protected Health Information).

If you, your legal representative or a health care provider needs access to your medical records, call Call352-402-5387. For radiology images, telemetry tapes or photos, copies of exams or procedure reports that are not part of your official record, call Call352-351-7289. Copies of records are $1 per page, and there is a $1 retrieval fee for each year requested. There may be a charge for images or telemetry tapes as well.

If you need records mailed to you, you will pay for the postage. There is no charge for sending records to other health care providers. Please allow five days for us to fulfill your request. You may pick up records; please bring your photo ID. If someone else picks them up, he or she should bring a signed authorization letter from you, as well as a photo ID.