Your Child's Admission and Discharge

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Admissions

If your child's hospital admission is pre-arranged, one of our staff members will contact you beforehand to provide important instructions and to answer your questions.

If your child's coming to the hospital for a surgical procedure, you may also be scheduled for an appointment with our surgery preparation program before the admission. The surgery preparation team will make sure your child's healthy enough for surgery and anesthesia.

For tips on packing, please see Your Child's Hospital Stay: What to Bring.

Discharge

Before discharge, your child's nurse or other providers will go over how to care for your child at home. This includes any special home care procedures, medical equipment, medications or services your child might need after leaving the hospital. The team will also tell you who to call if you have any questions or concerns once you return home.

To make discharge day as smooth as possible, please make all necessary preparations in advance, such as arranging time off work, transportation home and child care for any other children you care for.

When leaving the hospital, your child must be in a car seat if required by law. If your child can't use a standard car seat because of a cast, a special car seat may be available through the Trauma Services department. Before your discharge day, ask your child's nurses or social worker for more information.

On discharge day, bring loose, comfortable clothing for your child to wear on the trip home.

Going home checklist

  • Review the instructions from your child's doctor or nurse and ask any questions you may have about medications, activities, treatments or care.
  • Schedule your child's follow-up appointments, if needed, and make sure you know where and when to go.
  • If your child needs prescription medications, have the care team send the order to the pharmacy of your choice.
  • Remove any valuables you stored in the hospital safe.
  • Double check that you've packed everything you brought with you, including your child's medications.

Patient survey

After discharge, you'll receive a survey about your experience at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals. Please fill it out and return it to us. Family feedback is very helpful in letting us know what we do well and what we could improve. We value your opinions!