Patient Meals at Bedford
At UPMC Bedford, we provide patient meals through a liberalized diet menu.
Based on your doctor’s orders, your nurse will determine if you are able to order from a liberal menu or if you require a more customized diet.
To help you make your menu selections, one of our patient experience coordinators will come directly to your room each day.
» Download a UPMC Bedford patient menu (PDF).
Meal Times at Bedford
We serve patient meals daily between the following times:
- Breakfast: 7:45 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- Lunch: 11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Dinner: 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Guest Trays
Guest trays are available for your family and friends if they wish to dine with you in your room.
To order, your guest should simply let a member of your nursing team or the patient experience coordinator know. Payment for the guest tray is due upon order.
Phone and TV Services at UPMC Bedford
All local phone calls and tv services for UPMC Bedford patients are free.
To make a local call, dial “9” followed by the seven-digit telephone number.
For a long distance or toll call, you must call collect, use a third party, or charge it to a calling card. To reach the operator, dial “9” then “0.”
If you have impaired hearing, we have amplified phone receivers and TDD (telecommunications devices for the deaf). Ask your nurse for assistance.
» View Bedford's TV Channel Listing on Page 3 of our Guide to Your Hospital Stay (PDF).
Patient Valuables
You are responsible for the safety of your belongings during your hospital stay or outpatient surgery at UPMC Bedford.
UPMC is not responsible for any lost or stolen patient belongings.
We encourage you to send valuables and medicines home or store them with hospital security if you are admitted to the hospital.
Special Needs and Communications Assistance
At UPMC Bedford, we strive to meet the special needs or physical challenges of all our patients and visitors.
Hearing Assistance
For patients and visitors who are hearing impaired or deaf, we offer:
- Printed education materials.
- Amplified telephones and portable telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD).
- Closed-captioned television.
- Sign language interpreters.
To obtain a TDD, or any of the aids above, ask the nursing staff on your patient care unit.
Language Interpretation Services
Free language interpreter services are available to UPMC Bedford patients and their families.
For information about language interpreters, contact the nursing supervisor at 814-623-4740 or ask the nursing staff on your care unit.
Spiritual Care at UPMC Bedford
UPMC Bedford recognizes that spirituality often plays an important part in the healing of many patients.
Our meditation room on the first floor of the hospital is open to patients, families, and visitors.
In addition, our staff is happy to help you arrange for a spiritual care visit upon request.
For directions to the meditation room or more information on spiritual services, please contact a nurse on your care unit.
Palliative Care at UPMC Bedford
UPMC Bedford provides palliative care services for patients who are dying, and also to those whose death is not known to be close.
The palliative care service:
- Offers relief from pain and other distressing symptoms.
- Integrates physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of patient care.
- Provides a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death, and to help families cope during the patient’s illness and in bereavement.
To request palliative care services, ask your doctor or nurse.
Visitation
UPMC Bedford allows patients to have visitors present during the course of their stay to provide emotional support.
» Learn more about UPMC Bedford's visitation policy.
Infection Precaution
In order to keep you safe, the staff at UPMC Bedford uses routine protective measures. These include wearing gloves and other protective clothing for many aspects of your care.
These safety measures help protect patients and health care staff against many types of infections found in blood and other body fluids.
Casual contact will not spread many infections. However, contact with an infected person’s body or body fluids can pose a risk if it enters an opening in the skin, or makes 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 at UPMC Bedford, please ask your nurse.
Condition Help
Condition Help is a patient safety hotline that UPMC Bedford patients and families can call:
- In an emergency.
- When you can't get the attention of a hospital staff member.
- With a concern about a noticeable change in a patient’s medical condition that the health care team is not recognizing.
- About a communication breakdown in how the team is giving care or confusion over what care a patient needs.
To activate Condition Help, dial 4740 from any phone in the hospital.
The operator will immediately activate Condition Help. This alerts the nursing supervisor or a member of administration to come to the patient’s room immediately.
Condition Help is non-punitive: staff members will not get in trouble if you call a Condition Help.
Why does UPMC have Condition Help?
UPMC is the forerunner among hospitals in the United States for the use of rapid response teams to address urgent patient concerns.
We began using Condition Help to empower patients and their visitors to help prevent medical errors and breakdowns in communication regarding patient care.
The goal is to include patients and their family members as an integral part of the care team.
More UPMC Patient Resources
Visit our main UPMC patient resources section to help you prepare for your stay at UPMC Bedford.
- Patient Rights and Responsibilities: Please take a moment to review our system-wide Patient Rights and Responsibilities, adopted to protect the interests and well-being of our patients.
- UPMC Bedford Patient Relations: You may have concerns during your stay. To reach UPMC Bedford Patient Relations, call 814-623-3585.
- Pain Control: Your nurses and doctors will work with you to help relieve or control your pain levels during your hospital stay.
- Discharge Planning: Your nurse will work with you and your family to plan your discharge from UPMC Bedford.
- Organ Donation: Learn more about becoming an organ or tissue donor.
