During Your Stay at UPMC East
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Patient Meals at UPMC East
We provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner for UPMC East patients 7 days week, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Meal times on each inpatient unit will vary.
We also offer after-hours meals. Just ask your nurse or another caregiver.
Based on your doctor's orders, your nurse will determine if you are able to order from our standard menu or if you require a more customized diet.
A host or hostess will visit you in your room twice daily.
- On the first visit, we will take your lunch order.
- On the second visit, we will take your dinner order and your breakfast order for the following day.
If you're away from your room when we arrive to take your order or deliver your meal, we will ask your nurse to contact us when you return so we can assist you.
Your hostess will contact you in person or by phone prior to mealtime to ensure your satisfaction with your tray.
Guest meals
Guest trays are available to your family and friends if they wish to dine with you at the bedside.
To order, your guest should ask the host or hostess when we come to take your order. Payment for the guest tray is due upon order.
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Phone and TV Services
UPMC East does not require an activation fee for phone and TV services in patient rooms.
To obtain an outside telephone line:
- Dial 9.
- Enter the telephone number.
- Enter the area code.
We close the phones to incoming calls from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
If you have any problems with the phone, please call UPMC East Guest Relations at 412-357-3800.
If you have impaired hearing, we have amplified phone receivers and TDD (telecommunications devices for the deaf). Ask your nurse for assistance.
We have courtesy phones for local calls located throughout UPMC East.
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Special Needs and Communication Assistance
At UPMC East, we strive to meet all of our patients' and visitors' special needs or physical challenges.
Hearing assistance
To meet the special needs of patients and visitors who are hearing impaired or deaf, we offer:
- Printed educational materials
- Amplified telephones and portable telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD)
- Closed-captioned TV
- Sign language interpreters
To obtain any of the aids listed above, ask the nursing staff on your patient unit.
Language interpretation services
Language interpreter services are available to patients and their families at no cost.
For information, contact UPMC East Guest Relations at 412-357-3800 or ask the nursing staff on your unit.
Accessibility
UPMC East ensures that services are accessible to, and useable by, persons with a disability.
These include people who:
- Are deaf or hard of hearing
- Are blind
- Have other sensor impairments
Accessible features include:
- Convenient designated off-street parking.
- Level access into the first floor with elevator access to all other floors.
- Assistive and communication aids.
If you have any concerns, please talk with your nurse or the head nurse on the nursing unit.
Visit the UPMC Disabilities Resource Center for more about our special needs services.
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Visitation
You can have visitors during your stay at UPMC East to provide emotional support.
You (or your representative, when appropriate) have the right — either verbally or in writing — to receive the visitors you appoint. You may also withdraw or deny consent for visitation at any time.
Visitors may include, but are not limited to:
- Spouses
- Domestic partners
- Family members
- Friends
Please talk with your nurse to arrange visiting hours that work for you, your care team, and your family.
For information about your condition by phone, designate one family member or friend to call the patient care unit. That person can then relay the information to others as you wish.
View more for visitors of UPMC East.
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Patient Valuables
Please leave valuables — such as jewelry, large amounts of cash, and sentimental items — at home.
UPMC East is not responsible for lost items that you decide to keep with you during your stay.
These include:
- Clothing
- Money
- Jewelry or other valuables
- Dentures
- Glasses
- Hearing aids
We provide a safe in each patient room for keeping valuables.
Comforts from home
Some items from home can greatly improve your comfort in the hospital:
- Your comb or brush.
- Your toothbrush and toothpaste.
- Your favorite toiletries — such as soap, shampoo, and deodorant.
- Reading materials.
If you have forgotten these, don't worry.
You're welcome to have a friend or family member deliver them to you. Or, our friendly staff will be happy to provide you complementary supplies if you need them.
For assistance, please ask your nurse or contact UPMC East Guest Relations at 412-357-3800.
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Spiritual Care
UPMC East recognizes that spirituality often plays an important part in the healing of many patients.
Our meditation room and meditation garden are on the ground floor, east wing for:
- Patients
- Families
- Visitors
In addition, our staff is happy to help you arrange for a spiritual care visit upon request.
For more information on spiritual services, please contact your nurse or UPMC East Guest Relations at 412-357-3800.
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Infection Precautions
To protect the health of all patients, the staff at UPMC East wears gloves and other protective clothing for many aspects of your care.
These routine safety measures help shield 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 the blood or body fluid enters an opening in the skin, or makes contact with the skin that lines the eyes, nose, or mouth.
If you have any questions about infection precautions, please ask your nurse.
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Condition Help
UPMC created Condition Help to increase the safety of patients while in the hospital.
It's a resource for UPMC East patients or family members to call:
- In an emergency.
- When a patient can't get the attention of the health care team.
- With a concern about a noticeable change in a patient's medical condition that the health care team is not recognizing.
- About a breakdown in how the team is giving care or confusion over what care a patient needs.
Each UPMC hospital has a Condition Help phone number to dial. At UPMC East, dial 112 from one of our hospital phones.
Give the operator:
- Your name
- The patient's name
- The room number
- The patient's condition
The operator will immediately activate Condition Help. This alerts a team of medical professionals to come to the patient's room to assess the issue.
Learn more about Condition Help or download a Condition Help Brochure (PDF).
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More UPMC Patient Resources
Visit our main UPMC patient resources section to help you prepare for your stay at UPMC East.
- 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 Patient Relations: You may have concerns during your stay. To reach UPMC East Guest Relations, call 412-357-3800.
- 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 East.
- Organ Donation: Learn more about becoming an organ or tissue donor.
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