Family Birth Center > At The Hospital > Parking, Admitting

Parking, admitting

From Louisiana Avenue

If you have a scheduled induction or feel well enough to walk, park in the Orange Lot (Louisiana Avenue entrance). Tickets can be validated for a reduced parking fee. The first visit to the lot will cost $2 (validated at Admitting). On the discharge day, you will receive a coupon for a discounted rate of $4. Free parking and shuttle service is available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m for days between admission and discharge.

Enter the Meadowbrook Building at ground level, go to the hospital’s elevator bank down the hall and take the elevators to the first floor. Follow the hallway to Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital Admitting, Suite 1-290. Otherwise, temporarily park in the Emergency Center parking lot on the east side of the hospital. Proceed to the emergency desk.

If you arrive between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., enter through the Emergency Center.

From Excelsior Boulevard

When you enter the hospital from Excelsior Boulevard, proceed to the admitting desk on the first floor, Suite 1-290. If you completed and returned your preadmission form to Methodist Hospital by your eighth month of pregnancy, you only need to show your insurance card, verify some information and sign your name. Someone will escort you to the Family Birth Center. You can either walk or ride in a wheelchair.

If you arrive between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m., enter through the Emergency Center.

Perinatal Evaluation and Treatment Unit (PETU)

You first will be taken to the Perinatal Evaluation and Treatment Unit (PETU). Here you will be asked about what you have been experiencing and when you think labor began. You will be evaluated for cervical change and your contractions and the baby’s heartbeat will be monitored for at least 20 minutes. Your nurse will review your prenatal care and history with you for any updates.

Once your nurse has assessed your labor, you may be transferred to your birthing room. If membranes have ruptured or the cervix has progressed to active or near-active labor, you will be moved to a birthing room. If you’re not in active labor, you may be encouraged to stay in PETU and walk until you have progressed further. You could be in PETU for 20 minutes to 30 minutes or for several hours. It is possible you may be sent back home.

If you are scheduled to have labor induced, note that inductions sometimes need to be rescheduled due to priority medical cases.