Nobody plans this. Someone was admitted, a procedure is scheduled, and a document that should have been signed years ago now has to be signed today. We do this work often enough that the logistics are routine for us, even though they are not for you.
We cover the hospitals across Palm Beach County and the rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities attached to them. In the north county that most often means Jupiter Medical Center and Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. Further south it is St Mary's, Good Samaritan and JFK.
Being based in Palm Beach Gardens matters more here than anywhere else on this site. For a hospital in the north county we are usually a short drive rather than a trip up from West Palm, and when a family is waiting on a discharge that difference is the whole service.
Every facility runs differently. Some want visitors signed in at a front desk, some restrict hours, some want the nursing staff asked before anyone enters a room. A few need advance notice for a notary specifically.
Tell us the hospital, the unit and the room number when you call. If there is a case manager or a discharge planner involved, give us their name. We would rather make one phone call in advance than arrive and be turned around.
A Florida durable power of attorney needs two witnesses in addition to the notary, present at the same moment, and generally they cannot be people named in the document or who benefit from it. In a hospital room that frequently rules out everyone standing there.
Hospital staff sometimes agree to witness and sometimes are not permitted to. What we cannot do is supply them: Florida does not allow the notary to bring or provide a witness, and the notary cannot serve as one. Raise it when you book, not when we arrive. It is the single most common reason a bedside signing fails.
Florida requires us to confirm the signer understands what they are signing and is doing it of their own free will. If someone is heavily sedated, disoriented, or clearly being directed by the people in the room, we have to stop.
We know exactly how that lands when a family has finally got everyone together. But a document signed by someone who could not consent is one a court can set aside, and that is discovered at the worst possible moment - usually years later, when it is the only thing standing between a family and a decision. Where we can, we will suggest coming back at a better hour rather than simply refusing.
No. Witnesses are yours to arrange, and the notary cannot serve as one. Florida does not allow the notary to bring or provide them, so settle who they will be before we arrive. At a bedside it is the single most common reason a signing cannot be completed.
From the north county, often within the hour. Tell us the deadline rather than a preferred time and we will build around the fixed point.
Sometimes, depending on the facility's policy. Never assume it. Ask the nurse in advance and tell us what they said.
Call or text and we will confirm a time, usually within the hour. Evenings and weekends included.
Call or Text 561-316-0749