Admitting a Patient
Patients may be referred to Prairie Lakes for admission:
- following an emergency room encounter,
- from their primary care clinic, or
- from a transferring facility.
Patient's can be admitted to the:
- Medical-Surgical-Pediatrics (MSP) unit
- Telemetry Unit (TU)
- Critical Care Unit (CCU)
- Obstetrical (OB) unit
The referring physician or facility should provide copies of or electronic access to the patient's:
- past medical history
- medication list
- results of any laboratory studies or radiology examinations as well as any relevant information that will be beneficial to the practitioners that will be providing care to the patient in the hospital.
Admitting a Patient age 18 or Older
For patients age 18 and older, the Prairie Lakes Hospitalists are available 24/7 for admissions to the MSP unit, TU, or CCU. To admit a patient to the Hospitalist service, the referring physician should contact the Hospitalist service at 605-880-2013 to discuss the referral with the Hospitalist.
Providing Additional Information
While the physician is providing a hand-off of care for the patient admission, support staff working with the physician should contact the Prairie Lakes Central Scheduling Department at 605-882-5448 (8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Friday) or the Prairie Lakes House Supervisor at 605-237-0915 (after 6 p.m. weekdays and on weekends) to provide demographic and other pertinent information. This information facilitates a bed assignment for the patient and is used to alert the registration staff of the patient's pending arrival for admission. The Hospitalist will assume care of the patient upon arrival and communicate appropriate physician orders with the hospital staff.
Admitting a Patient age 17 or Younger
For patients less than age 18 who are admitted and followed by their primary care provider, pediatrician, or sub-specialty physician, the admission process is as described above, with the exception of the call to the Hospitalist service. The admitting physician can send written orders with the patient, fax orders to the Central Scheduling Department, or process computerized physician orders for the patient. These orders will be implemented when the patient arrives.
Admitting a Patient to the OB Unit
For patient's being admitted to the OB unit, the physician or the physician's support staff will contact the OB unit at 605-882-7735 to alert the unit of the patient's arrival. Orders may accompany the patient, be faxed to the OB unit, or be entered using the computerized physician order entry process.
The clinic or referring facility should send copies of or provide electronic access to the patient's past medical history, current medication list, results of laboratory tests and radiology examinations, and any other information that would assist in the care of the patient. A smooth handoff and transition of care to the hospital setting is essential to the provision of quality care and positive patient outcomes.
Transferring a Patient
Should a facility wish to transfer a patient to Prairie Lakes, the patient can referred to the emergency department for evaluation and determination of admission disposition or the patient can be a direct admission/transfer from the transferring facility. (Refer to the Admitting a Patient above for additional information.)
Providing Additional Information
The transferring facility must first secure a physician to accept the patient for admission. The accepting physician may be a Hospitalist or sub-Specialist depending on the needs of the patient. Once a physician has accepted the patient, and prior to transporting the patient, nursing or support staff at the transferring facility should contact Central Scheduling Department at 605-882-5448 (8 a.m. - 6 p.m., Monday through Friday) or the Prairie Lakes House Supervisor at 605-237-0915 (after 6 p.m. weekdays and on weekends) to provide demographic and other pertinent information. This information facilitates a bed assignment for the patient and is used to alert the hospital staff of the patient's pending arrival. The physician accepting the patient will be notified of the patient's arrival at Prairie Lakes.
The transferring facility should send copies of or provide electronic access to the patient's past medical history, current medication list, results of laboratory tests and radiology examinations, a summary of care provided at the referring/transferring facility, and any other information that would assist in the care of the patient. A smooth handoff and efficient transition of care from one hospital to another is key to ensuring quality care and positive patient outcomes.