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UVA Health’s Discharge Lounge helps improve the patient experience, eases the transition from inpatient to home, and ensures a bed is available for the next person in need. Learn more about the Discharge Lounge below, including: 

• General Information 
• Criteria for Discharge to Lounge 
• Exclusion Criteria for Discharge Lounge 
• Resources Available for Patients in Discharge Lounge 
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) 

1. General Information  

• The Discharge Lounge is open from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m., 7 days a week (last patient pick up at 5:30 p.m.) and is adjacent to the main lobby of the University Medical Center (in the former Surgical Family Lounge area) and offers a comfortable waiting area with easy access to the front drive of the hospital.  
• The phone number for the Discharge Lounge is 434.243.7068. 
• There are 50 seats and 16 wheelchair bays available for patients. 
• The Welcome Team staffs the lounge, and in partnership with the Staffing Resource Office, protocols are in place to respond to any medical issue that might arise. A thorough handoff of care takes place at the time of transfer to ensure any patient needs or risks are addressed. 
• While the average stay in the lounge is less than 15 minutes, this important step in the care continuum is saving more in-bed hours and increasing the number of beds available for incoming patients. Therefore, patients may have an extended stay up to several hours while awaiting transport until the Discharge Lounge is closed. 
• To transfer a patient to the Lounge after discharge, a team member should request support from the transport team to the Discharge Lounge in Epic. 

2. Criteria for Discharge to Lounge 

• Patient has an active discharge order.  
• Patient is clinically stable, consistent with routine home discharge: vital signs stable for individual patient in the last 12 hours.  
• Patient needs minimal assistance from Lounge patient care technician (PCT).  
• Patient has received education on post-discharge care plans, including medication management, wound care, dietary restrictions, and other pertinent care instructions.  
• Follow-up appointments with primary care or specialty providers are scheduled, and the patient is aware of these appointments.  
• If discharge medications have not been delivered to unit, Lounge PCT will retrieve from ERC Pharmacy; notify unit Meds2Beds Tech at time of discharge.  
• Patient’s transportation is confirmed for pick up within the next 6 hours and before 5:30 p.m.    
• If a patient’s transportation from their room to the Discharge Lounge is delayed, call the Discharge Lounge and someone from the Lounge can assist with transportation.  

Patient Ready for Discharge Lounge?

3. Exclusion Criteria for Discharge Lounge 

• Patient has unstable medical conditions or needs.  
• Patient is disoriented.  
• Patient requires more than minimal assistance with mobility.  
• Patient’s transportation will arrive after 5:30 p.m.   
• Patient is in isolation for Airborne, Enteric, Candida auris, or CRE. 

4. Resources Available to Patients in the Discharge Lounge 

• Discharge medication pickup  
• Durable medical equipment delivery  
• Access to restroom with assistance from Lounge PCT  
• TV and light refreshments  
• Emergency response   
• Easy exit: Ride home can pull up to front entrance and Lounge team will assist into vehicle.  

5. Frequently Asked Questions 

• After the discharge order is written, who initiates the move to the Discharge Lounge? 
  The health unit coordinator will complete the discharge transportation request with the destination noted as “Discharge Suite.” 
• Do patients need to receive their medications prior to being discharged to the Lounge?  
  No. If medications have not yet been delivered to the patient, the Lounge PCT will retrieve medications from ERC Pharmacy. Please notify unit Meds2Beds Tech beforehand that the patient will be moved to Discharge Lounge.  
• I like to provide medication education at the patient’s bedside. If my patient hasn’t received their medication prior to being transported to the Discharge Lounge, who will provide the medication education? 
  Medication education can be effectively conducted without the prescriptions on hand and ideally begins the day of admission. If the patient has additional questions after transport to the Discharge Lounge, medication education may be conducted by a pharmacist via telephone. Please contact ERC Outpatient Pharmacy if needed. 
• The patient’s transportation arrangements will not arrive within one hour. Can they still be sent to the Discharge Lounge? 
  Yes. Patients may be sent to the Discharge Lounge if they have confirmed transportation to home within six hours.