According to federal regulations, all patients should have a preoperative physical appointment within 30 days before surgery or before other procedures requiring anesthesia. The patient must see a provider, with an Illinois license, who’ll ask questions about any medical illnesses and perform a preoperative physical exam. This appointment will be coordinated by the surgeon’s office staff and doesn’t replace the routine physical you may have on a yearly or regular basis.
Preoperative testing (such as lab work, EKG or other tests) is often ordered by your PAAC provider and will be completed after your preoperative physical appointment. Please note surgeons may order this preoperative testing in addition to your preoperative physical appointment, and they’ll inform you of these tests if they do so.
What to Expect
Before your preoperative physical appointment, you’ll get a call from PAAC staff. During this call, a nurse or certified medical assistant will review your health history, medications and allergies. The call will last about 20 minutes. Please have ready a list of medications, dosages and when they’re taken.
Information from consultants outside of Carle can be very helpful for your procedure. For example, if you’ve seen a cardiologist or pulmonologist at a different institution, we’ll ask you to sign a consent to release pertinent records to Carle. Recent heart tests, X-rays and lab tests are also helpful. Let your surgeon’s office or our PAAC staff know if you have outside records.
Locations
Carle Foundation Hospital
611 W. Park St., Urbana, IL
(217) 383-3141
Pre-Anesthesia services are located on the second floor of Carle Foundation Hospital. Parking is available in the Orchard Street parking garage just off University Avenue in Urbana. You may also park free in the Champaign County Fairgrounds parking lot and take a free shuttle to the Hospital’s main entrance. If you have mobility concerns, valet parking is also available at the Hospital’s main entrance, Mills Breast Cancer Institute and the Heart and Vascular Institute. Valet parking is located at the patient drop off circle at these locations from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Enter the Hospital on the east side through the doors marked Outpatient Services Entrance. Go through the lobby and turn left. Follow the hallway down the ramp to the Blue Cloud elevators. Take the elevator to Floor 2. Pre-Anesthesia is located next to the elevators.
Carle Orthopedics and Sports Medicine
2300 S. First St., Champaign, IL
(217) 383-3141
Carle Outpatient Services at the Fields
3105 Fields South Dr., Champaign, IL
(217) 383-3141
Pre-Anesthesia services are located on the first floor of Outpatient Services. From the parking lot, follow the entrance inside the corridor to your right. You will check in on the Kiosk or central check in. Once you have been checked in you will be directed to the Otolaryngology/Audiology waiting area which is located on the 1st floor.
The Time of Your Surgery
The time of your surgery isn’t set until after 1 p.m. on the business day before. The Pre-Anesthesia Assessment Center staff will call you the afternoon before your surgery or send you a MyCarle message with your scheduled report times and pre-surgical instructions.
Special Instructions Before Surgery
It’s important to follow any specific instructions from your surgeon’s office, such as which medications you should stop taking prior to surgery.
Because each procedure is different, we recommend you contact your surgeon about questions related to recovery time, the amount of time you’ll need to take off from work, any restrictions you might have to follow and any other information that could help plan your recovery.
For specific questions about digestive health procedures such as upper endoscopy and colonoscopy, please contact the Digestive Health Institute at (217) 383-3610.
