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The Mackool Eye Institute

Our mission is to provide quality, cost-effective, ambulatory surgical services in a warm, caring environment. Your physician is supported by a highly skilled team of registered nurses and other health care professionals who are committed to making your stay as pleasant and as comfortable as possible. Should you have a special concern or question about ASC, please contact us at 718-728-3400.

31-27 41st St
Astoria, NY 11103

Phone: 718-728-3400

Fax: (718) 728-4882

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Hours

Mon - Fri
Saturday
Sunday

You should know

Day Prior To Surgery

The pre-operative nursing staff will call the day prior to your surgery (Friday for Monday surgery) to give you an arrival time and to go over pre-operative instructions.

Please notify your surgeon if there is any possibility that you may be pregnant. Anesthetic agents and medications may be harmful to a developing fetus.

Please contact a member of Associates Surgery Centers or your surgeon immediately if you experience any changes in your health, such as an elevated temperature, flu-like symptoms, cold or sore throat.

Please refrain from alcohol and tobacco products for 24 hours prior to your surgery.

You are required to have a responsible adult bring you to the surgery center and drive you home after surgery if you receive sedation or general anesthesia. Please arrange for someone to be with you when you arrive and to stay with you at the facility during your procedure.

If you are to receive sedation or general anesthesia, you are not to have anything to eat or drink after midnight the night before surgery.

Day Of Surgery

Plan to arrive at the Associates Surgery Centers at your scheduled arrival time.

Please bring your insurance cards with you.

Please bring a current list of medications and dosages with you.

DIABETIC PATIENTS: Do Not take your diabetic medications morning of surgery (including insulin and oral diabetic medications). Please check your blood sugar at home prior to coming to the surgery center. If you are an insulin dependent diabetic, please bring your insulin with you.

Wear loose, comfortable clothing. A button down shirt is preferred. Wear flat comfortable shoes.

Do not bring money or valuables with you (unless you have been contacted to bring payment). Associates Surgery Centers is not responsible for lost or stolen items.

Do not wear make-up, jewelry, nail polish or contact lenses. If you wear glasses, please bring a case for them.

You may wear dentures, partials and hearing aids. Anesthesia may request that you remove them prior to surgery.

Associates Surgery Centers requires family members and/or friends to remain at the surgery center during the procedure. If for any reason they must leave the surgery center, they are to notify the registration staff and provide a phone number so that we may reach them immediately, if necessary.

After Surgery

You will be transferred to the recovery room where you will be assessed by our nursing staff.

Generally, you will be ready for discharge within 15 minutes to 1 hour after your surgery. Time spent may vary depending on the type of anesthesia used, reaction to the anesthetic agent, amount of pain (if any), and recovery from the procedure.

Post-operative instructions will be reviewed with you and your family member prior to discharge. Because you may still be feeling the effects of the anesthesia, we require a responsible adult to be present while the nurse gives you the discharge instructions. You will be given a copy of the instructions to take with you. We encourage you to follow these instructions as they were given.

The nursing staff will provide you with your follow-up appointment prior to leaving the surgery center.

It is normal to feel drowsy or experience dizziness after receiving sedation or anesthetic agents therefore you are not to drive, operate equipment, sign important documents or make important decisions for 24 hours.

Patients may still feel tired when discharged and may need assistance at home for the first 24 hours after surgery.

For your own safety, do not drink alcoholic beverages for 24 hours after receiving sedation or anesthetic agents.

In case of an emergency, call your surgeon’s office or go to the nearest emergency room.

Advance Directives

An Advance Directive allows a person to give directions about future medical care or to designate another person(s) to make medical decisions if he or she should lose decision-making capacity. Advance directives may include living wills, durable powers of attorney or similar documents portraying the patient’s preference.

The 1990 Patient Self-Determination Act is a federal law that says patients, patient’s representative or patient’s surrogate must be informed of their rights under state law to make decisions about their medical care, including the right to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment and the right to have an advance directive.

In Pennsylvania, a living will is an advance directive for health care and is a written “declaration” that describes the kind of life sustaining treatment you want or do not want if you are later unable to express your wishes to your doctor. However, there is no law in Pennsylvania that guarantees that your medical providers will follow your instructions in all circumstances. There are steps you can take to express your wishes for future medical care and treatment.

Compliance with the 1990 Patient Self-Determination Act is intended for inpatient hospital admissions, not for outpatient surgery centers. It is the written policy of Associates Surgery Centers to always attempt to resuscitate a patient and transfer to a hospital in the event of deterioration. This good conscience objection is permitted by Pennsylvania Code, Title 20, Chapter 54, Section 5424.

An Advance Directive is not required in order to receive medical treatment in this health care facility, but should transfer be necessary, a copy of the directive, if provided to the facility, will be retained in the patient’s record and will be transferred to the hospital at the time of admission, and will be considered at that time.

We have advance directive information, including forms available upon request. You can also find a brochure entitled “Understanding Advance Directives For Health Care in Pennsylvania” by clicking here. You can also visit the PA Department of Aging Website at https://www.aging.pa.gov/

Each patient will be provided in advance with a written copy of the surgery center Advance Directive Policy in the surgery packet provided at the time of scheduling surgery. The patient is required to sign a form the day of surgery stating they received the policy in advance and will become a part of the patient’s medical record.

Patient Rights And Responsibilities

Patient Rights:

  1. The patient has the right to be treated with respect, consideration, and dignity by competent personnel.
  2. The patient has the right, upon request, to be given the name of his attending practitioner, the names of other practitioners directly participating in his care and the names and functions of other health care persons having direct contact with the patient.
  3. The patient has the right to consideration of privacy concerning his own medical care program. Case discussion, consultation, examination, and treatment are confidential and should be conducted discreetly.
  4. The patient has the right to have all records pertaining to his medical care treated as confidential except as otherwise provided by law or third party contractual arrangements.
  5. The patient has the right to know what ASF rules and regulations apply to his conduct as a patient.
  6. The patient has the right to expect emergency procedures to be implemented without unnecessary delay.
  7. The patient has the right to good quality care and high professional standards that are continually maintained and reviewed.
  8. The patient has the right to full information in layman’s terms, concerning his diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, including information about alternative treatments and possible complications. When it is not medically advisable to give information to the patient, the information shall be given on his behalf to the responsible person.
  9. Except for emergencies, the practitioner shall obtain the necessary informed consent prior to the start of the procedure.
  10. A patient or, if the patient is unable to give informed consent, a responsible person, has the right to be advised when a practitioner is considering the patient as part of a medical care research program or donor program, and the patient, or responsible person, shall give informed consent prior to actual participation in the program. A patient, or responsible person, may refuse to continue in a program to which he has previously given informed consent.
  11. A patient has the right to refuse drugs or procedures, to the extent permitted by statute, and a practitioner shall inform the patient of the medical consequences of the patient’s refusal of drugs or procedures.
  12. The patient has the right to medical and nursing services without discrimination based upon age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, handicap, disability or source of payment.
  13. The patient who does not speak English shall have access, where possible, to an interpreter.
  14. The ASC shall provide the patient, or patient designee, upon request, access to the information contained in his medical records, unless access is restricted by the attending practitioner for medical reasons.
  15. The patient has the right to expect good management techniques to be implemented within the ASF. These techniques shall make effective use of the time of the patient and avoid the personal discomfort of the patient.
  16. When an emergency occurs and a patient is transferred to another facility, the responsible person shall be notified. The institution to which the patient is to be transferred shall be notified prior to the patient’s transfer.
  17. The patient has the right to examine and receive a detailed explanation of his bill.
  18. A patient has the right to expect that the ASF will provide information for continuing health care requirements following discharge and the means for meeting them.
  19. The patient has the right to be informed of his rights at the time of admission.
  20. The patient has the right to change their provider if other qualified providers are available.
  21. The patient has the right to be free from all forms of abuse and harassment.

Patient Responsibilities:

  1. As a patient, you are responsible for providing, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about your present health status and past medical history and reporting any unexpected changes to the appropriate physician(s).
  2. As a patient, you are responsible for following the treatment plan recommended by the primary physician involved in your case and participate in your care.
  3. As a patient, you are responsible for providing an adult to transport you home after surgery and an adult to be responsible for you at home for the first 24 hours after surgery, if receiving general anesthesia or sedation.
  4. As a patient, you are responsible for providing information about and/or copies of any living will, power of attorney, or other directive that you desire us to know about.
  5. As a patient, you are responsible to accept personal financial responsibility for non-covered charges.
  6. As a patient, you are responsible for being respectful of providers, staff and other patients.

Grievance Procedures

If you feel that any of your rights have been violated or that Associates Surgery Centers have misled or mistreated you, please contact our Clinical Director at 412-655-3046 or send a letter describing your grievance to: Clinical Director, C/O Associates Surgery Centers, 9970 Mountain View Drive, Suite 100, West Mifflin, PA 15122. You may also contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health at 1-800-254-5164, or in writing to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Acute & Ambulatory Care Services, Health and Welfare Building, Room 532, Harrisburg, PA, 17120-0090, as well as the Web site for the Office of the Medicare Beneficiary Ombudsman at https://www.medicare.gov/basics/your-medicare-rights/get-help-with-your-rights-protections. Anonymous complaints may be registered. All complaints are confidential.

Our Financial Policies:

  • Our Administrative staff will gladly assist you in processing your insurance paperwork. Please be aware that any balance is your responsibility.
  • Following our verification of insurance benefits with your carrier, you will be notified of any deductible, co-insurance or facility copay obligations. You are expected to pay your deductible prior to your surgery and any co-insurance or facility copay on the day of surgery. VISA, MasterCard, American Express, Discover Card, personal checks and cash are accepted.
  • Uninsured and/or cash patients will be asked to pay for services one week prior to your surgery with an approved credit card or cashiers check, unless other arrangements are made in advance.

ASC recognizes its obligation to remain flexible in financial matters. In the event that any of the above conditions cannot be met, Care Credit is available for patients who cannot pay their balance in full at the time of the surgery. Associates Surgery Centers offers up to 24 months no interest financing through Care Credit. To obtain more information, visit www.carecredit.com or call 1-800-365-8295.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS, PLEASE CONTACT US AT 412-655-3046.

ASC notice of privacy policy Nondiscrimination policy Language assistance services

The practices of OCLI Vision offer eye care services at locations throughout Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia and specialize in primary vision care, LASIK, cataract surgery, glaucoma, diabetic eye care, and other services for patients in the Northeast. These locations include practice locations of OCLI Vision as well as the practice locations of other vision services providers and ambulatory surgery centers supported by the administrative services of Spectrum Vision Partners. Each location is identified by the vision service provider or company operating at the location.

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