Leaving the Hospital

Your doctor will let you know you when you are ready for discharge, but your medical team will be planning your discharge with you from the first day you are admitted. It is important to discuss with the team what your possible date of discharge is. You may know the evening before or the morning of discharge.

Please make arrangements with a caregiver or friend to help you when it is time to go home. Depending on your needs, the discharge time may vary. 

Our goal for you is to be discharged by 11 am. If you need a ride home, please notify your nurse, social worker or care manager.

Your healthcare team will visit you to review your discharge plan and make any changes to your medications. Your nurse will go over all discharge information with you.

If you are going to a facility, members of your team, the care manager or social worker will assist you in organizing the details of your discharge. We recommend that you have someone with you to also listen to those instructions. If you are wearing any temporary, hospital-issued devices during your stay, they will need to be removed before you leave. Please do not pack any hospital supplies, such as towels or linens. If you are in doubt about items that you can take home, please ask your nurse. You will need to be escorted by a staff member to the main entrance of the hospital.

After the discharge orders are entered by your doctor, the discharge nurse will explain the aftercare needed and any instructions to follow. This includes a review of your medicines, and signs and symptoms to look out for at home.

The nurse will also verify that your prescriptions for medicines were sent to the correct pharmacy. If you have questions about your diet, activities or other matters, please ask. We want to make the transition from hospital to home safe for you.

Please do not leave unless you have received your copies of the information.

MyHealtheLife, our secure patient portal, has all the information that was reviewed with you online. If you did not sign up for the portal, talk to your nurse who can sign you up before you leave.

New York State has mandated that all prescriptions be sent to pharmacies electronically. We will no longer give you a paper prescription for medications. Please be sure that your healthcare team has the correct information about your pharmacy.

On the day you know that you are going home, please collect all of your belongings and double-check closets and drawers.

Were any of your valuables (wallet, cash, jewelry, etc.) stored in a hospital safe? If so, please visit the Cashier’s Office or call (631) 444-7583, or 4-7583 from a hospital phone, before you leave to make arrangements to retrieve your belongings.

When you are ready to leave, a member of the hospital staff will often escort you to the front entrance and help you into your car.