Checking In
On the day of your scheduled procedure, you should report directly to Surgical Services registration on the third floor, across from the green elevators. The Gastrointestinal Unit staff will call you the afternoon prior to your procedure with your arrival time. A brief medical history will be conducted, which will include such topics as allergies and medications. Please bring insurance cards and photo identification with you.
We request that you park in the main visitors lot, located in front of the hospital entrance. It is important that you have someone available to drive you home.
Please wear loose-fitting clothes on the day of your procedure. We ask that you do not wear makeup, fingernail polish, jewelry, or contact lenses.
Purses, wallets, and other valuables should be left at home.
Preparing For Your Procedure
You will receive specific instructions from our staff on preparing for your procedure. For your reference, these general guidelines should be followed:
- Total length of stay, from admission through recovery, is 2.5 to 3 hours. The average length of time to complete a gastroscopy is 15 to 20 minutes, a colonoscopy is 30 to 40 minutes, and a bronchoscopy is 15 to 30 minutes.
- You must not eat or drink any fluids after midnight prior to your procedure. Patients scheduled for colonoscopies should be on a clear liquid diet for a full day prior to the exam. The day before the exam, patients are instructed to start a bowel prep.
- Please do not smoke after midnight prior to your procedure.
- Any medications a patient may be taking will be reviewed by a nurse and specific instructions will be given.
- You are encouraged to ask questions of any staff member – physician, anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, and registered nurses. Consulting with these professionals can help allay your concerns and enhance the comfort of your stay.
Family Services and Visitation
We recommend that patients be accompanied by an adult. Two people are permitted to stay with the patient at the bedside. Family members and other visitors can relax in the waiting room, where refreshments are provided.
Discharge Procedures
Patients are required to remain in the recovery area for at least 30 minutes after the completion of the procedure. During that time patients are monitored and given fluids. Your physician may relate the findings of the diagnostic test. Discharge instructions will also be provided.
Patients who have received sedation during their procedure are not permitted to drive for 24 hours.
Paying For Services
We accept most health insurance, as well as Medicare and Medicaid. Help with filling out claim forms and/or making other financial arrangements is provided.
The Gastrointestinal Unit is located on the third floor of Uniontown Hospital and can be reached by calling 724-430-5680.
Anesthesia Services
The Department of Anesthesiology provides general, regional, and local anesthetics as needed for your comfort and safety during surgical and therapeutic procedures as follows:
- Monitored anesthesia care
- Pain management
- Surgical anesthesia
- Treatment of the critically ill
- Ventilator care
These services are provided 24 hours a day, seven days a week
The anesthesia care team provides services to infants, children, adolescents, adults, and older adult inpatients and outpatients.