During Your Stay at UPMC Shadyside
Here at UPMC Shadyside, we know that quality is more than state-of-the-art clinical services and advanced technology — every member of our staff is committed to making your stay comfortable and providing you with the highest level of care. We want you to feel at home during your stay and will do our best to accommodate your needs.
An advance directive is a written document that expresses the individual's wishes for medical care if he or she becomes incompetent or incapacitated. Advance directives may include living wills, health care agents, or durable powers of attorney.
When you are admitted to the hospital, a staff member will ask you if you have already prepared an advance directive. If you have an advanced directive, and a copy is available, it will be placed in your medical record. More information and sample forms are available in “Making Medical Decisions in Advance”. If you would like information about writing advance directives or making decisions about life-sustaining treatment, please ask your doctor.
For your convenience, bank machines are available in two locations:
- Cancer Pavilion, first floor, near the visitor elevators
- Shadyside Medical Building, first floor, across from the Hopwood Library
Cafeteria and Food Services
Vending machines with cold food items are located throughout the UPMC Shadyside campus.
The cafeteria serves traditional meals, takeout items, and specialty foods, including kosher sandwiches, and cold plates. It is located in the Posner Tower, first floor, across from the Blue Box Gift Shop.
Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner:
- Monday through Friday: 6:15 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday: 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Tuesday through Saturday: 2 to 4 a.m.
West End Café
The West End Café features specialty drinks, salads, and sandwiches. It is open weekdays, 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Café at Hillman
The Café at Hillman has both cold and hot foods, and is located on level one of the Hillman Cancer Center. It is open weekdays, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Please read and follow all posted signs in the hospital regarding restrictions on the use of cell phones, wireless computers, and other wireless devices that transmit radio signals. Restrictions may exist in hospital areas such as operating rooms, transplant intensive care rooms, and radiology imaging rooms. Do not use cell phones or any wireless devices within six feet of medical equipment in patient care areas.
Condition Help was created to increase the safety of patients while in the hospital. It is a resource to call in an emergency or when a patient cannot get the attention of the health care team. You can call Condition Help for a concern about a noticeable change in the patient’s medical condition that the health care team is not recognizing. You can also call Condition Help for concerns about a breakdown in how care is given or confusion over what care is needed. Either the patient or a family member may call.
Each hospital has a Condition Help phone number to dial. Give the operator your name, the room number, the patient’s name, and the patient’s concern. The operator will immediately activate Condition Help. This alerts a team of medical professionals to come to the patient’s room to assess the situation.
In the interest of providing excellent care to all members of the community, UPMC provides support services to patients and guests with disabilities. At the time of admission, disabilities are taken into account when a room is selected for the patient. For patients with vision loss or who are blind, several key documents are available in large print, Braille, or compact disk (CD) recording. Sign language interpretation and TTY devices are available for patients with hearing loss. Service animals are welcomed within infection control guidelines.
Your nurse will work with you and your family to make your discharge as smooth as possible. Before you are discharged from the hospital, your nurses will review with you any special instructions for your at-home care or medicines. Clinical social workers can help arrange for discharge to another facility, such as a nursing home or rehabilitation facility. They can help arrange for home nursing care or home health care equipment or supplies, if needed.
You should arrange for a family member or friend to take you home from the hospital. Your attending doctor will decide when you are ready to be discharged. Most attending doctors make the final decision to discharge patients in the morning. If you disagree with your doctor’s decision and wish to appeal the decision, tell your nurse.
Discharge time is usually 11 a.m. or earlier. Check with your nurse for your discharge time.
The Hopwood Garden and atrium is off of the ground level of Hillman Cancer Center.
The Blue Box Gift Shop is on the first floor of Posner Tower. The shop is open:
- Weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Weekends, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Blue Box Gift Shop is closed for all legal holidays. The phone number is 412-623-2058.
The Gift Shop at Hillman sells specialty lotion for cancer patients, inspirational gifts, jewelry, handbags, greeting cards, magazines, snack food, and other sundry items. It is located on the ground level of Hillman Cancer Center, off the lobby. The shop’s phone number is 412-623-4654. It is open:
- Weekdays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Closed weekends and holidays
For patients and visitors who need hearing assistance, UPMC Shadyside offers printed educational materials, amplified telephones, closed-caption television, sign language interpreters, and a portable teletypewriter (TTY) for the deaf. Call 412-623-2014 for assistance.
To safeguard the health of all patients, our staff uses routine protective measures, such as wearing gloves and other protective clothing, for many aspects of your care. These precautions protect patients and health care staff against many types of infections that are carried in blood and other body fluids.
Many infections are not spread by casual contact. However, contact with an infected person’s body or body fluids can pose a risk if the blood or body fluid enters an opening in the skin, or comes in contact with the skin that lines the eyes, nose, or mouth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that all health care workers take precautions when they come in contact with a patient’s blood or other body fluids.
If you have any questions about infection precautions, please ask your nurse.
Language and translation services are available at no charge. If you need a translator, call Patient Relations at 412-623-2014.
The Hopwood Library offers a wide selection of books, pamphlets, magazines, newsletters, and videos in commonly used language. Computers (including wheelchair-accessible) are available for online searches. Information is available on diseases, chronic conditions, drugs, tests, procedures, treatments, and wellness. Professional library staff can help patients and visitors find the information they need. The library has alcoves for more private viewing or reading and photocopy services are available.
The Hopwood Library is open weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To inquire about lost or found items, call Security at 412-623-2990. Patients are encouraged to leave valuables at home or arrange to store them with Security.
UPMC is a part of a national effort to raise awareness about the need for organ and tissue donations. To raise awareness, staff members ask patients who come to the hospital, or their designated family members, if the patient would be willing to serve as an organ or tissue donor. Some people may have incorrect ideas about the donor program. As health care professionals, we can help answer your questions about organ and tissue donation so you can make an informed decision.
Thousands of people are awaiting organ and tissue transplants. You have the power to save lives and improve the quality of life of those in need of organ and tissue transplants by becoming a donor. If you have questions about becoming an organ or tissue donor, please ask your doctor. You may also call the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) at 1-800-DONORS-7 (1-800-366-6777).
We recognize that pain control is essential to good health care. As a patient you can expect:
- Information about pain and pain relief measures
- A concerned staff committed to pain prevention and management
- Health professional who respond quickly to your report of pain
- Your report of pain will be believed
- State-of-the-art pain management
- Dedicated pain relief specialists
In turn, we expect that you will:
- Ask your doctor or nurse what to expect regarding pain and pain management
- Work with your doctor or nurse to develop a pain management plan
- Ask for pain relief when pain first begins
- Help your doctor or nurse assess your pain
- Tell your doctor or nurse if your pain is not relieved
- Tell your doctor or nurse about any worries you have about taking pain medicine
Palliative care services are offered for those who are dying, and also those patients with life-limiting illnesses. The service emphasizes relief from pain and other distressing symptoms; integration of physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of patient care; and development of a support system, both to help patients live as actively as possible until death and to help the family cope during the patient’s illness and in bereavement. For a consult, call 412-623-3008.
Chaplains of the Protestant and Catholic faiths are available at the hospital. They are available for ordinary pastoral care and for emergencies. You can arrange for a visit or ask about religious services by calling the following numbers:
- Minister — 412-623-1691
- Priest — 412-623-1692
If you prefer, you may arrange to have your own clergy visit you.
Chapel and Meditation Area
An interfaith chapel is located in Posner Tower on the first floor. Prayer books, Bibles, and electric Sabbath candles are available on request.
The Hulme Meditation Area is a quiet place for reflection and relaxation. It is located near the Hopwood Garden and atrium on the ground level of Hillman.
Concerns may arise during a hospital stay. Your nurse and the nursing unit director are available to address your concerns and should be your first point of contact. When other departments are involved, they can reach the appropriate director to resolve the issue.
Patient Relations is available to assist when resolution of an issue cannot be accomplished with the nurse or unit director. The Patient Relations phone number is 412-623-2014.
Concerns may be submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Division of Acute and Ambulatory Care, Health and Welfare Building, P.O. Box 90, Harrisburg, PA 17108-0090. The phone number is 1-800-254-5164.
UPMC Shadyside is accredited by The Joint Commission. If the patient believes his or her concerns about care or safety have not been addressed by the hospital, the patient may contact The Joint Commission’s Office of Quality Monitoring by phone at 1-800-994-6610, or by e-mail at complaint@jointcomission.org.
Hillman Pharmacy, located on the ground floor at Hillman Cancer Center, is exclusively at the service of UPMC patients, UPMC staff, and University of Pittsburgh faculty and staff.
Services offered include:
- Helpful staff to assist you and answer your questions
- One-on-one time with a pharmacist through the Medication
- Therapy Management Service
- Help resolving issues with insurance
Hillman Pharmacy is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. For more information, call 412-623-5999.
Smoking Policy
To protect our patients, visitors, and staff from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, smoking is not permitted anywhere on UPMC property. All UPMC hospitals, facilities, and grounds, including parking lots and garages, are smoke-free. UPMC has no designated smoking areas. If you choose to smoke, you cannot do so on the UPMC campus.
Television and telephone service in patient rooms will not require an activation fee. To obtain an outside telephone line, dial 9 first then enter the telephone number preceded by the area code. If you have any problems with the phone, please call Patient Relations at 412-623-2014.
If you have impaired hearing, amplified phone receivers and TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf) are available. Please ask your nurse for assistance.
Phones are closed to incoming calls from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Convenient courtesy phones for local calls are located throughout Hillman Cancer Center:
- ground level, at the lobby Information Desk and outside the Gift Shop (by the bank machine)
- level one, on the wall across from the elevators
- level two, on the wall by the reception area
- level three, at the reception desk
Free wireless Internet — Wi-fi — is available at UPMC hospitals. Patients and visitors can access the Internet from laptops or other computer devices.
To access the wireless network, open “Network Connections” on the laptop and connect to Guest Internet Access (GIA).