Procedure or surgery visits
To help ensure the safety of our patients and staff, you may only bring healthy visitors with you on the day of surgery. Both you and your visitors must be fever free, cannot show any other signs of illness, and must not have tested positive to or been exposed to COVID-19 in the past 10 days.
If you choose not to have a visitor escort you, we can make arrangements to keep your family updated.
View our current masking guidelines for all Penn Medicine practices and hospitals. If you have respiratory symptoms, contact your health care provider for guidance before arriving at the hospital for your surgery or procedure.
Once the patient is ready for surgery, their visitors can see them for a short time in the pre-op area. While we are not restricting the number of visitors a patient can have, only two people can visit the patient’s bedside at one time in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) on the day of surgery.
Once the procedure is complete and the patient has been transferred and stabilized in the recovery room, we will let the visitors know and escort them to the recovery room for a brief visit. We are only allowing visitors to stay with the patient for 15 minutes after the procedure or for 30 minutes if the patient is going to the ICU.
Once the patient is admitted to an inpatient unit after surgery, they are permitted to have visitors. Visitors are not required to provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccine or a negative test. Visiting hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Patients currently do not need a COVID test before arriving at the hospital on the day of a surgery or procedure unless they have COVID symptoms. If you are being admitted to the hospital after your procedure or surgery, you will be tested for COVID when you arrive. You do not need to arrive earlier for COVID testing.
If you have COVID symptoms, contact your healthcare provider for guidance before arriving at the hospital.
You will receive a personal phone call up to two business days before your surgery day. You will get your arrival time and arrival location. During this call, the operating room team will review with you what to expect during your procedure.
You can expect to receive a call one to two business days before surgery with the arrival time and place to report for surgery. If you do not receive a call by 5 p.m. one business day before your scheduled surgery, please call 215-615-5599. Our team can tell you the time and place to arrive for your surgery.
Time of surgery - The OR schedules are not finalized until the day before your surgery. Some patients are asked to arrive for their surgery as early as 6 a.m. Others are asked to arrive in the afternoon. Please make plans to arrive any time during the day as we cannot guarantee a specific surgery time.
Where to report - During your preoperative call, you may be instructed to arrive at one of four locations:
- The Pavilion procedural reception areas on levels 4, 5, and 6 of the Pavilion of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (1 Convention Avenue). Pavilion patients will be told to arrive to a designated level during the preoperative phone call. To access the Procedural Reception Area and Family lounge, take the visitor elevators in Elevator Bank A located just beyond the information desk in the main lobby. As you exit the elevators, you are in the lounge.
- The SurgiCentre reception area on the 3rd floor of the East Pavilion in the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine (3400 Civic Center Boulevard). Please take the dedicated "SurgiCentre" elevator bank that is accessible from the main lobby of the Perelman Center or from the P1 level of the Perelman Center Garage.
- The Endoscopy Center at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine on the 4th floor of the South Pavilion.
- The pre-op reception area at HUP on the 4th floor of the Ravdin building of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (3400 Spruce Street). Ravdin is the main hospital entrance, located at the driveway on 34th Street.
Where to park - The best place for you to park depends on where you are told to report for your procedure or surgery. Detailed information on valet parking and self-parking is below.
- Pavilion procedural reception areas - If you going to the Pavilion Procedural Reception Areas, the preferred parking method is via valet, which is available daily from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Self-parking for surgery patients is also available on level P3 of the Pavilion garage below the building, or at the 3600 Civic Center Boulevard garage. Patients and visitors who park in the 3600 Civic Center Boulevard garage can take a shuttle to the hospital.
- SurgiCentre - If you are going to the SurgiCentre within the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, the preferred parking method is to self-park in the spots reserved for surgery patients and families on level P1 of the Perelman Center garage. Patients and families can also use the valet from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. or self-park at the 3600 Civic Center Boulevard garage. Patients and visitors who park in the 3600 Civic Center Boulevard garage can take a shuttle to the hospital.
- Endoscopy Center - If you are going to the Endoscopy Center at the Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine, the preferred parking method is self-parking in the Perelman Center garage. Patients may also be dropped off at the front of the Perelman Center, and visitors will receive a call from the Endoscopy nurse who will direct them where to pick up their loved one when they are ready to be discharged. Valet is also available for patients and families from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Pre-op at HUP - If you are going to Pre-Op in the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the preferred parking method is via valet, which is available daily from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Self-parking is also available at the 3600 Civic Center Boulevard garage. Patients and visitors who park in the 3600 Civic Center Boulevard garage can take a shuttle to the hospital.
Valet parking - Valet parking is available at HUP from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily; at Perelman Center from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday; and at the Pavilion from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Patients having surgery are strongly encouraged to use valet parking. Cars dropped off at the Perelman Center can be retrieved after 8 pm by visiting the information desk in the lobby of the Perelman building. Cars dropped off at the Pavilion can be retrieved after 8 pm by visiting the information desk in the lobby of the Pavilion.
Self-parking - There are three garages available for self-parking:
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Pavilion Parking Garage
1 Convention Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104The entrance to the Pavilion Parking Garage is on Convention Avenue between the Emergency Department and the valet. Parking spaces are reserved on the P3 (Orange) level for surgery patients and families. Take the elevator bank in the garage to the main lobby. Cross the lobby and take the visitor elevators in Elevator Bank A to the designated level (4, 5, or 6). Please note: Our new facility is very large and the distance from the designated parking spaces to the Procedural Reception Area is quite far. We highly encourage our patients and guests with any type of mobility issue and those who tire easily to consider using our valet parking services.
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Perelman Center Parking Garage
6 Health Sciences Drive, Philadelphia, PA 19104The entrance to the Perelman Center Parking Garage is behind the building on Health Science Drive. Once you enter the garage, follow the orange signage for parking reserved for our surgery patients. If you choose to park in this garage, there are concierges available at the first-floor information desk to assist patients who may have trouble walking safely to the main hospital.
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3600 Civic Center Boulevard Parking Garage
3600 Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104The entrance is located on West Service Drive. A free shuttle from the garage has stops at the Pavilion, HUP, and the Perelman Center.