Planning to go home

Patients are usually discharged from hospital before 11 a.m.

A family member or friend should take you home after a hospital stay. We will be happy to provide a wheelchair escort to your car if needed.

When you leave, please make sure that you have all your belongings, as well as any instructions from your care team and prescriptions. It is important that you understand about:

Your medication, what to eat and drink
- You can have your prescriptions filled and brought to your bedside before leaving the hospital through our “Meds to Beds” program. Ask your health care provider about how to do this.
Returning to normal activities
Follow-up appointments

If you are unsure about anything, ask your care team before you leave.

Discharge planning

Transcript for: Discharge planning

We are committed to providing care and support while you're here, and helping you plan for when you leave the hospital. This is called discharge planning. Discharge planning begins early in your hospital stay. Good planning helps you to feel prepared and to continue your recovery when you leave the hospital. Your care team will work with you and your family to understand your care needs, what is most important to you and any resources or support you may need.

How can I prepare for my discharge?

Know that patients are usually discharged before 11:00 a.m. You'll want to make sure the person picking you up from the hospital knows that they'll need to arrive before this time.

Make sure you have all of your prescriptions and that you know how to take all of your medications. Ask your healthcare team about any side-effects you should know about. Know who to call if you have any questions once you've left the hospital.

Ask about any lifestyle or self-care changes you may need to make. You may want to ask, are there foods I should avoid? Is there medical equipment I will need to arrange to get or purchase? Are there any skills I will need to learn to take care of myself? For example, changing a wound dressing. Does my family know how to take care of me at home if I cannot care for myself? If there is any other information you'd like to know, ask. Your care team is available to address any questions you may have.

Know your discharge date

Once your care team knows your expected discharge date they will share this information with you. You'll want to tell your family or caregiver the date and ask if they will be available to pick you up before 11:00 a.m. If you do not have someone to pick you up on the day of your discharge, talk to somebody on your care team. We will help you arrange transportation for the day you will be leaving the hospital. If you will be going to another facility, for example for rehab or a retirement home, your care team will work with you to explore options that will meet your needs.

These are a few of the things about your discharge that you should be thinking about and planning for during your hospital stay.

If at any time during your stay you have any questions about discharge or discharge planning, feel free to ask your health care provider. We are here to help and support you in your recovery.

[end of transcript]

Preparing to go home

There are a few different discharge planning resources available to help you start planning to go home.

We are committed to providing care and support while you are here, and helping you plan for when you leave the hospital. Planning to leave the hospital is called discharge planning.

Discharge planning begins early in your hospital stay. Good planning helps you feel prepared for discharge, and helps you to continue your recovery once you leave the hospital. During this planning, your care team will work with you and your family to understand your care needs, what is most important to you and any resources you may need.

Things to know

Your discharge date

Your whole care team has a role in ensuring the plan for you leaving the hospital is appropriate and meets your need to heal and recover.

Once your care team knows your expected discharge date they will share this information with you. You will want to tell your family or caregiver this date, and ask if, on this date, they will be able to pick you up as early as 8:30am.

Discharge is before 11 a.m.

This means you will be leaving the hospital between 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on the day you leave. You will want to make sure the person picking you up from the hospital knows the date and can be there between 8:30 and 11 am.

Who will pick you up from the hospital

If you do not have somebody to pick you up from the hospital on the day of your discharge, talk to your care team. We will help you arrange transportation.

Pay-for-transport

If you need help to get home beyond family, friends, or taxi, your care team can arrange a ride through a non-emergent transport service. You, your family or caregiver can also make these arrangements. Grand River Hospital does not pay for patient transportation costs from the hospital to home, including Long Term Care. You or your family are responsible for these costs and will need to give a credit card number to the transportation service before leaving the hospital. If you have any questions, please ask a health care team member on your unit.

Questions to ask

Do I need to make any lifestyle or self-care changes once I've left the hospital?

Following an illness or injury, you may need to make changes to your day-to-day routine. Some questions you may want to ask your health care team include:

Are there foods I should avoid?
Is there medical equipment I will need to arrange to get or purchase?
Are there skills I'll need to learn to take care of myself?
Does my family know how to take care of me at home, if I cannot care for myself?
Do I have any follow-up appointments?
Be sure to ask where your follow-up appointments will be.

Who do I call if I have any questions once I've left Grand River Hospital?

Your care team will provide you with any contact information you may need.

What to prepare

Your prescriptions

Before you leave the hospital, make sure you have all of your belongings and prescriptions, and that you know how to take all of your medications. Ask your health care team about any side effects you should know about.

You can have your prescriptions filled and brought to your bedside before leaving the hospital through our “Meds to Beds” program (link opens in new tab). Ask your health care provider about how to do this.

Your belongings

Before leaving the hospital, make sure you have all of your belongings. Check with your nurse to make sure you aren't leaving anything behind!

Know Where To Go