Your Wristband

When you are admitted, an identification band will be placed on your wrist. It includes your name, date of admission, hospital unit number and other coded information. Please be certain your name is correct. You must wear this band at all times during your hospitalization. DO NOT REMOVE IT. The staff refers to the band to identify you, and it will be checked before carrying out procedures.

Smoking

For your safety and the comfort of non-smokers, smoking is not permitted anywhere in the medical center.

Valuables and Personal Property

Please have your family or friends take home your street clothes, personal electrical appliances (including hair dryers, shavers and televisions), large amounts of cash, credit cards, jewelry and sentimental keepsakes. In the event that it is not possible, valuables may be stored in the medical center's safe in the cashier's office. Please DO NOT leave valuables in your room.

If you wear dentures, please ask the nurse for a special container in which to keep them. Put the container with your dentures in the top drawer of your bedside table when you are not wearing them. Never wrap them in a napkin or tissue or leave them on the tray table or bedside table.

You may keep with you your eyeglasses, contact lenses, or hearing aid, but please store them in the drawer of your bedside table when not in use.

Flushing Hospital Medical Center will not be responsible for lost or misplaced valuables or personal property.

Television

Color television is available in every patient room. A pillow speaker and control switch are provided. The televisions are owned, serviced and maintained by an outside company. Television service is rented and paid for on a daily basis. Closed-caption television devices are available upon request from the patient television rental desk. Service representatives are at the hospital daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Call extension 5990 to arrange for service.

Patient Education Channel

Adult patients can access channel 6, the patient education channel, through the bedside control switch, even if they have not arranged for commercial television service. Videos are shown on common medical and surgical problems, such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, arthritis, mammography, nutrition and pre- and post-surgical care. Several similar videos in Spanish are shown on Channel 3. Patients on the maternity floor can also see videos on breast feeding and infant care.

Telephone Service

Bedside telephone service is optional There is a daily charge for use of the telephone, and a charge for outside calls. The number on the bedside phone is a direct dial number and all incoming calls can be received without operator assistance. To place local calls, dial '9', wait for a dial tone, then dial.

All long distance calls must be charged to your home telephone number or a credit card, or made collect. To place a long distance call, dial 9 + 1 + area code and number and wait for an MCI operator to answer and take the necessary billing information.

Meals

On your admission and each day at breakfast thereafter you will receive a menu from which to select your meals for the next day. Based on your physican's recommendations, you may require to remain on a therapeutic diet. A registered dietitian will monitor your diet and is available should you or family members have questions about it. Receiving food or beverages from outside the hospital may upset your planned dietary regimen and is not recommended. On your physician's recommendation, a dietitian will help you plan a post-discharge diet. The dietitian can be reached at extension 5403.

General Information

NO COLLECT CALLS CAN BE ACCEPTED BY A PATIENT.

Amplifier receivers and telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD) are also available upon request. A refundable deposit is required to rent a TDD. To arrange for telephone service, amplifiers or TDD's, call extension 5990 between 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. daily. During other hours, dial '0' for the hospital operator.

Mail, etc.

Mail, flowers, telegrams and packages will be delivered to your room. Having your room number included in the address will speed delivery.

About Your Discharge

The official discharge time at Flushing Hospital is 11:00 a.m. FHMC's health care professionals pride themselves not only on providing you with high quality health care while you are in the hospital, but also planning for your health care needs once you are discharged.

A case manager will monitor and review your progress daily. The amount of time you are in the hospital is determined by your need for acute care. Once your condition has improved to a point where acute care is no longer warranted, you will be discharged and much of your recuperation will take place at home. The case manager will work with you and your family to identify and arrange services that you may require in your home. This process insures that the most appropriate discharge plan is developed for your needs.

Please discuss your anticipated discharge with your doctor from the day of your admission. This will allow you and your family to plan your discharge well in advance. If you are planning on having a family member or friend come for you on the day of discharge, it is important for you to discuss the 11:00 a.m. discharge time with them so appropriate arrangements can be made for your transportation home.

You will receive a written notice of discharge. If you think you are being asked to leave the hospital too soon, you have the right to appeal your discharge. Specific information on the appeal process is contained within the written discharge notice and in the booklet "Your Rights as a Hospital Patient in New York State," which you were given when you were admitted.