Transportation Management

The Mount Sinai Hospital Transportation Services Department works 24 hours a day, every day of the year to bring patients to and from needed medical care. Our emergency medical technicians and other trained professionals provide a range of services. These services include:

• Transporting patients who are leaving the hospital, often to return home or to a nursing or rehabilitation facility
• Bringing patients from home to outpatient appointments or therapies (such as dialysis or chemotherapy and/or radiation treatment for cancer care)
• Transporting patients to and from clinical trials in which they are participating

We serve patients at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai Brooklyn, Mount Sinai Kravis Children’s Hospital, Mount Sinai Morningside, Mount Sinai Queens, Mount Sinai West, and The Mount Sinai Hospital, as well as Mount Sinai ambulatory facilities. Transportation services may be covered by patients’ insurance; a social worker or caseworker can help patients determine if they have coverage and can assist with the arrangements.

Types of Transportation Services

The Department works with our partners to transport patients in the most comfortable and appropriate way. Depending on their mobility, we can provide transportation via:

• Livery car service, curbside to curbside for patients who are fully ambulatory
• Wheelchair vans, door to door for patients in wheelchairs
• Ambulances bedside to bedside for patients who are bedbound and/or need ongoing medical care, such as continuous oxygen

Designated social workers or caseworkers will make sure these arrangements meet patients’ individual medical needs.

Arranging for Transportation Services

Patients typically do not make the initial requests for transportation; requests usually come from social workers or caseworkers. If a patient needs transportation to a medical appointment, they should contact their social worker or caseworker to make arrangements. They can coordinate the prior authorization needed from the patient’s health insurance company, along with any other requirements. If the patient needs ongoing transportation services, such as for chemotherapy or dialysis, and the services are covered by insurance, the patient can contact the Department directly to arrange for subsequent transportation.

Preparing to Leave the Hospital

The patient will receive an appointment time when Transportation Services will arrive to bring them from the hospital to their home. The care team will work on preparations, and will confirm that:

• The patient has the keys to their home.
• Someone will be home when the patient arrives.
• Any medical equipment patients need will be at their home.
• The patient’s caregiver and appropriate family members know that they will be coming home.
• Anyone who will be accompanying the patient on their trip home is at the hospital in advance of the transportation appointment.
• The patient has all of their belongings. Often, these are vouchered and securely stored in the hospital and must be retrieved.
• Whoever will be helping the patient knows what type of care they will need, when to call for help, and who to contact.
• The patient or their care provider knows how to operate any equipment or devices that will be needed at home.

Before the patient leaves, they will receive a discharge plan. This plan will identify care needs after leaving the hospital. It will outline how those needs will be met—whether through self-care, from a family member, through home health assistance, or by admission to another health care facility.