Details of NWSC

If you and your doctor decide that one-day surgery is best for you, the Northwest Surgery Center's staff will schedule a specific date for your operation.

When you arrive, our staff will help you register and assure that you are ready for surgery. While at Northwest Surgery Center you will be cared for by staff specially trained for one-day surgery. Each patient having anesthesia will be evaluated by a Board Certified Anesthesiologist.

Following your operation, you will be closely observed in the recovery room. You will rest in the recovery lounge where a relative or friend may be with you. When your doctor feels that you may safely leave, you may return home to be cared for by family and friends.

There are no overnight facilities at Northwest Surgery Center. In the rare event that you should require additional care, your doctor may admit you to the hospital until you are ready to return home.

For your convenience the map showing the location of Northwest Surgery Center appears at the end of this brochure. Northwest Surgery Center is in Everett, Washington, off the Bothell-Everett Highway near Interstate 5. Parking, at no charge, is available.

Wear casual, loose fitting clothing. Pants should allow room for a cast. To help prevent infection, shower the morning of your surgery and cleanse your foot with the special soap.

• Please leave all valuables, such as watches, rings, and other jewelry at home.

We encourage all patients to have one friend or relative to stay with them at Northwest Surgery Center. Please make arrangements to leave small children at home. There is not enough room in our recovery lounge and there are no child care facilities. Minors (under age 18) must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian to sign the consent form. Legal guardians should bring proof of guardianship.

Every patient receiving an anesthetic or sedation of any kind will require the assistance of a responsible adult for transportation home. Patients who have had sedation should not leave Northwest Surgery Center without an escort.

We request that you arrive 30 minutes before the time your surgery is scheduled. Please check the scheduling information provided for your arrival time.

It is important for you to arrive promptly to allow adequate time for pre-surgical preparation. This includes our orientation procedures, laboratory testing as necessary physician examination, and administration of any medications that you may need before surgery.

The Northwest Surgery Center staff, doctors and anesthesiologists have all reserved this surgery time especially for you. In consideration for them and our other patients, we may be required to cancel surgery if you arrive late for your procedure.

If there is any possibility that you may be pregnant you should notify your surgeon and obstetrician in advance; also tell the anesthesiologist during the preoperative evaluation. Certain medications and anesthetics are potentially harmful to a developing child.

You will be discharged from Northwest Surgery Center when it is medically safe to leave. Since the length of your stay depends on the nature of your operation and your own individual response to the anesthetic and surgery, it is difficult to predict in advance exactly when you will be able to return home.

In general, however, the average length of stay at Northwest Surgery Center is 4 hours from the time you arrive. We can give you a more accurate estimate of your length of stay when you register.

Be sure to follow your doctor's orders, take only medication prescribed by your doctor the first 24 hours following surgery.

At Home After Surgery

Be sure to follow your doctor's orders, take only medication prescribed by your doctor the first 24 hours following surgery.

No matter how you feel during the first 24 hours following your operation do not:

We attempt to contact all of our patients by telephone prior to surgery. Please call Northwest Surgery Center if you do not expect to be home during business hours or if we have not reached you before your surgery. If you have any questions or medical problems, please bring them to our attention during this phone call. Patients who are taking medications, have a history of serious illness, have a cold or acute illness, or may have been exposed to a communicable disease are asked to discuss this with us prior to the surgery.

The billing from Northwest Surgery Center is for the facility fee only. It is a completely separate billing and does not include the surgeon's fee nor the fees of the assistant surgeon, anesthesiologist, pathologist, any prescriptions for home use, implants, screws, casts, or any expense associated with hospital admission should the need arise.

Our staff will call you before your surgery to help prepare you for your visit and help you make appropriate financial arrangements. Since medical coverage varies widely, it is important to discuss your particular circumstances with us at the time of this phone call. Should your insurance not cover the full cost of your stay at Northwest Surgery Center a deposit may be requested.