Patients and Visitors

Please dress in loose, comfortable clothing that can be folded for storage. We will provide a gown and slippers. Leave any jewelry, hair accessories and valuables at home.

You may wear contact lenses to the hospital, but you must remove them prior to surgery. Please bring a storage case with you.

On the day of a procedure, patients should bring these items to the hospital:

• Any papers that a physician has provided, including orders, lab results, etc.
• Medical insurance card(s)
• A list of medications currently being taken, including dosages
• Personal items, such as glasses, dentures, hearing aid, cane, etc., including items that will be needed following surgery
• An advanced directive, living will or durable power of attorney

• Valuables should not be brought to the hospital. If necessary, these can be stored in the hospital safe or in the security office.
• Any medications, herbal substances, etc. should be given to the patient's nurse. These could interfere or interact with any medications ordered during the patient's hospital stay and will be returned to the patient upon discharge or released to a family member during hospitalization. Patients should notify their nurse of any non-prescription or other medications, or herbal supplements that they have been taking at home.
• Electronic devices, such as laptop computers, DVD players and cell phones, must be cleared by the nursing staff. However, cell phone usage is generally allowed throughout the hospital.

Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center welcomes all incoming patients and makes every effort to ensure as pleasant a stay as possible. If we can be of any assistance, either prior to or during admitting, please don't hesitate to contact a member of our staff.

If you are having surgery, please contact the admitting department, and we will be happy to answer your questions. Please be sure to pre-register by calling the admitting department before coming to the hospital.

During surgery and the initial recovery period, your family and friends may stay in the waiting area. Immediately following surgery, your physician will meet with your family in the waiting area to let them know how the procedure went and to discuss post-operative care.

Personal care items such as contact lenses, eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dentures can be stored in your bedside stand when not in use. Please do not put them on your bed or food tray to help avoid them being lost or damaged. We encourage you to leave valuables like jewelry or cash, keys, watches, and electronic devices — such as cell phones and tablets — at home or give them to a trusted relative or friend to watch over. Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center cannot be responsible for replacing personal belongings.

Fall prevention is a joint responsibility between patients, family members and the health care team. Your medical condition may change your ability to move safely. In fact, patients often fall because they are on medications that make them dizzy or drowsy, they are weak and unsteady due to illness or medical procedures, or because they've been sitting or lying down for long periods. Your fall risk is assessed when you come into the hospital and this assessment is repeated frequently during your stay. If you are at risk of falling, a yellow tab is placed on your hospital ID band.

Because we are committed to your safety, we will require that you:

• Do not get up unattended - use your call light
• Keep necessary items in reach, including your call light
• Wear the provided skid-proof footwear
• Do not go to the restroom without our assistance
• Do not remove, unplug or disable provided safety alarms

In addition to the above, your health care team will:

• Provide you with individualized fall prevention strategies
• Provide special safety equipment (i.e. bed, lift, transfer equipment, etc)
• Provide supervision
• Visit you frequently throughout the day and night
• Educate you and your family on fall prevention

A telecommunications device is available to help hearing impaired patients or patients who want to communicate with a hearing impaired relative or friend.

Arrangements can also be made to have a person who uses sign language help an impaired or deaf patient. For more information, ask to speak with a nursing supervisor.

Your room is cleaned daily by housekeeping staff. If there is a housekeeping problem in your room, tell your nurse, and it will be taken care of as soon as possible. A caregiver will change your sheets as needed or upon your request.

We have interpreters available over phone and video for about 30 different languages. For assistance, please ask your nurse about this service.

Letters and packages for patients are delivered by hospital staff.

Please do not bring any prescription or over-the-counter medicines to the hospital. All medicines you take in the hospital need to be prescribed, filled, and given to you by hospital staff. Tell your doctor about any medicines you regularly take. If you still need them, hospital staff will give them to you.

Prescriptions may be filled on-site at the pharmacy in the Medical Office Building. Bedside medicine deliver is available the day of discharge (available Monday-Friday). Ask your nurse about this program.

Special regulations are in effect in areas where patients are receiving oxygen. Electrically operated equipment and aerosol products are not allowed in these areas.

You will receive a visit or call from a Food and Nutrition Services team member to make your menu selections for the next day. Sandwiches are available if you have been admitted late in the day. Your meal may be delayed due to medical treatment. We will deliver your meals based upon the following schedule:

• Breakfast: 7 - 9:30 a.m.
• Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Dinner: 5 - 6:30 p.m.
• Snacks: 10 a.m., 3 p.m., 8 p.m.

A family member or friend can dine with you by buying a meal at the cafeteria. Kosher meals are available upon request. For additional food or snacks, please call the kitchen hotline at 818-708-5185.

A remote-controlled cable television is available in each patient room. Your pillow speaker device is your control to the cable television, which not only features cable but also includes movies, white noise, educational information, and even the ability to order meals. Press the “Menu” button on the pillow speaker to see your options. View the TV channel guide.

Wheelchairs are available on all nursing units. Please ask a staff member for help getting in or out of a wheelchair.

Your nurse will show you how to operate the bed controls. Bedside rails may be raised at night or during the day if you’re resting, recovering from surgery, or taking certain medicines. For assistance, please use your call button.

Your room assignment is based on your admitting diagnosis and bed availability.

We are honored that you have entrusted us to care for your loved ones. Our primary goal is to ensure the safety of all who enter our environment. We support open visitation, allowing visitors at any time. However, we observe quiet hours from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

All guests visiting the main hospital at 18321 Clark St. are required to check in at the Milt and Debbie Valera Lobby before going to their primary visiting location. Information Desks are located in the main entrance off Clark St. and the Emergency Department entrance off Burbank Ave. At the Information Desk, you will receive a visitor badge to wear in the hospital throughout your visit to ensure our patients’ security and safety. Visitors must check in each day they visit the hospital.

Review the most current and accurate visitor information and read our current visitor policy.

All Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center caregivers maintain a strong commitment to the protection of the privacy of our patients. Patients have the right to limit access to their medical information and confidentiality. We respect any requests from patients who indicate that they do not wish to have visitors or information shared about their condition.

To inquire about a patient’s status, please call the hospital’s operator at 818-881-0800. Your call will be forwarded to the patient’s unit where you can speak directly with the patient’s nurse or clinician.

Free visitor wireless Internet is available throughout the Medical Center. Cell phone use is allowed in all waiting rooms and common areas but may be restricted in some patient care areas. Please be courteous of other visitors when using cell phones.

The chapel and meditation room is open 24 hours a day to people of all beliefs and backgrounds. It is a sacred space for quiet meditation and prayer. The chapel is around the corner from the Grab + Go, which is in the lobby. A variety of sacred services are offered regularly in the chapel and meditation room, including Holy Mass, Christian Prayer Service, and Shabbat Service. For more information on chapel services, please see the schedule posted outside the chapel or call the Spiritual Care Department office at 818-708-5015.

Additional special events and services from a variety of faith traditions are offered throughout the year in accordance with the religious calendar.

The best way to prevent infection is to wash your hands frequently, especially before or after seeing a patient, using the restroom or eating. Hand washing supplies are located in each patient’s room, and hand sanitizer is located throughout the hospital. Insist that your loved one’s health care providers wash their hands and use medical gloves.

If a patient has a special medical condition or disease, their medical team may require visitors to take special precautions to prevent the spread of disease.

Family waiting rooms are available on every floor of the hospital. Visitor restrooms are conveniently located near these waiting rooms. For assistance finding a family waiting room, please ask a staff member.

Flowers may be purchased from our on-site gift shop. If you are sending flowers from a florist, they will be delivered to the security guard, then taken up by volunteers/staff to the patient room. Please note that flowers are not allowed in intensive care and cardiac care units. We recommend that highly fragrant flowers (e.g., stargazer lilies or gardenias) are not brought into the hospital due to the high risk for allergic reactions from patients, visitors, and staff.

Self-parking and valet are available.

These areas are open to the public and are all located on the first floor of the medical center:

Hours:

• Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. - 10 a.m. daily
• Lunch: 10:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. daily
• Dinner: Mon - Fri, 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

The cafeteria is not open for dinner on weekends, but there are several places to dine within walking distance. Our volunteers or security guards at the main desk can provide directions. Vending machines always are available for snacks.

Stop in the gift shop to purchase get-well gifts, flowers, and more for your loved ones to cheer them up during their hospital stay. The gift shop — run by our volunteers — is open Mon - Fri from 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. (hours subject to change). Learn about our volunteer program at providence.org/volunteertarzana.

The Grab + Go is located in the main lobby for quick snacks and drinks. Hours are 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. and are subject to change.

Located in the Medical Office Building, Suite 102, Starbucks is open Mon - Fri from 5:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.(Hours are subject to change.)

Photography and video/audio recording are strictly prohibited.

Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center is a non-smoking campus. You are not allowed to smoke in the hospital, leave the building to smoke, or roam around outside during your hospitalization. With a doctor’s order, we will be happy to provide you with alternatives to smoking.

Are you interested in giving back to the hospital and your community? We are always looking for dedicated individuals to provide compassionate care to our patients and their families. If you are interested, please call 818-708-5176, or you can visit providence.org/volunteertarzana to learn more about our program.