> Admitting/Discharging Parking
> Lost & Found
> Pastoral Services
> Patient Admitting
> Patient Billing
> Patient Medical Records
> Patient Representative
> Patient Safety
> Security
> Translation / Interpretation Services
> Volunteer Services

Admitting/Discharging Parking

Free parking is available when a patient is being admitted or discharged. The parking area is located at the circular driveway on the far west side of the building. You must obtain a pass from the admitting/discharging area (located on the ground floor), and display it in your front windshield.

Lost & Found

If you lose something while you are in the hospital, please notify a member of the nursing staff immediately. If you realize that you have left something after you have left the hospital, please call the Security at 513-584-1111.

Pastoral Services

Chaplains are on-call at all times. Please call 513-584-4562 to leave a non-emergency message, or ask a member of a patient's health care team to contact a chaplain. Clergy are permitted to visit anytime within hospital/unit visiting times. If you would like to inform a church or synagogue that a patient is in the hospital, notify the Chaplain's Office.

A Meditation Room on the ground floor is open at all times. Ecumenical service is on Sunday at 10:30 am. Devotions are at 11 am, Monday through Friday. 

Patient Admitting

A referring physician is needed for admission to the hospital. 

Patient Billing

Hospital Fees

The University Hospital charges for inpatient hospitalization services on the basis of itemized charges. In certain cases, faculty physician fees may be billed directly by the hospital, for services such as emergency and pathology. Fees for other physician services will be billed separately. Questions regarding physician fees not billed by the hospital should be discussed with your physician.

Health Care Insurance

The hospital honors major third-party coverage such as Medicare, Medicaid, Workers Compensation and other public assistance. Your third-party coverage may require prior approval of your hospitalization. Failure to obtain prior approval may result in reduced benefits, requiring additional uninsured or personal charges. The admitting office can assist you in obtaining prior approval for your hospitalization.

We accept commercial insurance if the company will allow you to sign over payments directly to the hospital and if our claim is paid within 45 days. Claims that remain unpaid after 45 days become your responsibility. Please provide the admitting office with all information necessary to bill your insurer, including your subscriber name, number and effective date. Before leaving the hospital, it is necessary for you to complete financial arrangements for your hospital stay. Uninsured and personal charges are due and payable at discharge.

Under Medicare law, health care services that can be paid for by Medicare are subject to review for compliance with medical standards. Review responsibilities for this hospital are conducted by Medco Peer Review at 513-421-6112. All information gathered for Peer Review purposes shall remain confidential. Any recommendations/decisions that may affect your hospitalization will be communicated to you by Medco Peer Review.

What if I don't have insurance?

If you do not have third-party coverage, your patient admissions counselor will advise you on ways of paying your bill. The University Hospital helps needy patients apply for public assistance. Patients who are found to be ineligible for public assistance may qualify for discounts made possible by the Health and Hospitalization Services Tax Levy. Discounts are based on family size and income. For assistance, contact a financial counselor at 513-584-1772.

Discharge

Your attending physician determines when you should go home. Should the business office lack any necessary information, you or a family member will need to go to the admitting office to complete final financial arrangements. You need not wait until your day of discharge to complete this procedure.

Discharges ideally occur between 8 - 11 am.  If you are unable to leave the hospital before the stated discharge time, you may be asked to wait in the discharge waiting area in the admitting department.

Discharge Checklist

1. Do you have the following things to take home: gifts, plants, cards, valuables from our safe, items you brought with you and your special diet instructions?
2. Have you made arrangements for transportation?
3. Have you checked with your doctor for instructions on care after you return home?
4. Have you checked with your caregiver regarding medications or prescriptions to take home?
5. Have you provided all the financial information needed to assure proper payment of your bill?
6. Do not forget to make your follow-up appointment with your physic

Patient Medical Records

Medical records can be obtained by signing a release of information form. Contact Medical Records at 513-584-0141 for more information. 

Patient Representatives  513-584-6201

The University Hospital strives to make your experience at the hospital as pleasant as possible. To do this, The University Hospital provides patient relations representatives to respond to problems that cannot be resolved by the hospital staff directly involved in a patient's care. For example, if you should have a concern or complaint with respect to a patient's care, treatment, rights or ability to access hospital services, a patient relations representative will be happy to help.

Hours

Monday through Friday, 8 am to 4:30 pm

If you have a problem after hours, call 584-1000, and the hospital operator can contact a patient relations representative for you.

Listed below are some of the services patient relations representatives provide.

Complaint management

If you have complaints about billing, parking, facilities, food, management or access to medical records, contact a patient representative.

Customer relations

Patient relations representatives can make arrangements for or provide information about:

• Guest housing and accommodations
• Information on resources in the hospital and city
• Meal tickets
• Parking information and passes
• Equipment and services for hearing and visually impaired patients
• Sign and foreign language interpreter assistance
• Newspaper coordination
• Patient care surveys and reports
• Assistance with access of hospital services and systems

Risk Management

Patient relations representatives can give information about:

• Informed consent issues
• Living wills
• Power of attorney
• AMA's and Medical Holds
• Notary services
• Patient rights and safety issues

Patient Safety

In the event you have any patient safety or quality-of-care concern please direct your concerns with the appropriate Department Manager. If the issue can not be resolved you may contact the Patient Relations Department at 513-584-6201. For continuous issues concerning safety and quality of care you may notify the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) at 1-800-994-6610. The Joint Commission evaluates all relevant information about an organization's compliance with applicable standards. All JCAHO surveys are unannounced. 

Security

For questions about hospital security, call 513-584-1111. 

Translation / Interpretation Services

Sign and Foreign Language interpreters provide Hearing Impaired and Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients interpreting services for medical treatment and care. Spoken language interpreters cover the following languages: Arabic, Bambara, Chinese Mandarin, French, Fulani, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Interpreters for other languages can be arranged by calling the Interpreter department. Interpreters are accessible 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

For deaf and hard of hearing patients, we offer TTYs, light signalers, baby cry signalers, pillow vibrators, and close captioning on TVs. For LEP patients, we offer two channels of Spanish TV with the option of Spanish Captioning and double-hook phones for ease of communication with providers.

Spoken Language Interpreter Telephone Number:  513-584-8458

Sign Language Interpreter Telephone Number:  513-584-5052

Volunteer Services

More than 200 volunteers donate their services to The University Hospital. They participate in our friendly visiting program and circulate the hospital book cart. They are also involved in a variety of support services for patients and hospital departments. Within Volunteer Services, the Hospital Auxiliary raises funds through the gift shop, deli and vending machines. Proceeds are donated to the hospital to pay for new programs and equipment. If there is anything our volunteers might do to make your stay more pleasant, or if you are interested in volunteering, please call 513-584-4875.

More about Volunteer Services....