Patient and Family Resources
Planning for Discharge

Contact Us

For general assistance, call 513-636-4200 (local) or 1-800-344-2462 (toll free).

Same-Day Surgery:

Burnet Campus: 513-636-4517
Liberty Campus: 513-803-9820

Planning for Discharge

We want to make your transition to home as smooth as possible. As a fundamental part of your child’s healthcare team, you will participate in discharge planning and receive education and training to handle your child’s at-home care needs.

After Your Child's Hospital Stay

Your care team will discuss discharge plans with you. Feel free to ask questions, such as:

What goals does your child need to meet to be discharged?
Can the team predict when you’ll be able to go home?
What preparations will you need to make?
We suggest you write down your questions as you think of them.

If your child’s hospital stay is short and uncomplicated, planning for discharge is a simple process. If the hospital stay is longer and more complicated, you may need to make special arrangements. We will help you every step of the way:

If your child needs medicine at home, you can fill prescriptions in the hospital pharmacy, or we can fax them to your pharmacy before you leave.
If your child needs special equipment or visits by a homecare nurse, we’ll provide a list of homecare companies approved by your insurance. We’ll work with you and the company you choose to make sure you have the equipment, supplies, medicines and support you need.
We will provide training to help you feel confident that you can go home safely and that you know how to perform treatments or procedures your child might need at home.

After Your Child's Surgery

You will be given written discharge instructions before you go home. The doctor and nurse will review general home care instructions with you, including:

Eating and drinking
Activity for the first 24 hours
What to do for discomfort, pain or fever
Possible behavior changes
They also may discuss special instructions, such as medicine; follow-up appointments; bathing, bandaging and wound care; return to school or daycare, sports and other normal activities.

Feel free to ask questions. You might want to know more about: