During Your Stay

During your hospital stay, a team of professionals will be caring for you. The team will develop and follow a plan of care that reflects your individual needs as a patient. Your nurse works closely with your doctor and other employees such as patient care technicians, care managers, dieticians, and pharmacists, depending on your particular needs.

Your Room

All rooms contain a single bed for your privacy and comfort. Your nurse will explain the special features of your room. Below are some details about your room:

• Most rooms have a dry-erase board that is updated each shift with the names of your nurse and patient care technicians.
• For your added comfort, the temperature in your room can be adjusted. Simply ask your caregiver for assistance.
• The call button located on your bed allows you to request a nurse and control the lights and television. Your nurse can provide you with a TV guide and information on accessing closed-captioned programming, educational channels, and health, medical, and discharge information.
• Free local telephone service is provided in all patient rooms. You can make a local call by dialing “9” and the number.
• Friends and loved ones can call your room by dialing:
• Main hospital: 814-877-4 + room number
• Women's hospital: 814-877-8 + room number
• All patients receive an Admission Packet which includes important information and documents regarding your stay at UPMC Hamot. Please keep any paperwork you receive in this packet, so you can keep track of who is taking care of you, your medication, what tests you are having, and, most importantly, your test results.

Forgot something? We have a supply of complimentary personal care items available at your request. Check with your caregiver, and we’ll do our best to accommodate your needs.

Ordering Patient Meals

UPMC Hamot serves your meals through At Your Request Room Service Dining. This innovative dining program allows you to select meals from a menu designed to make you feel as though you are eating at home or at your favorite restaurant. Here is what you will need to do:

• Choose what you would like to eat from the menu at your bedside. For the convenience of our patients, UPMC Hamot also offers menus printed in Spanish, Russian, or large-print. Additionally, we can provide a picture menu for our patients who need further assistance.
• Call to place your order between 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Please allow enough time for delivery. Our goal is to deliver your mean within 45 minutes.

Family Spokesperson

We believe that communication is important. For this purpose, we ask that you designate a family spokesperson.

This person should be your immediate next of kin or authorized as your medical power of attorney. They will be the first person contacted by the nurse or physicians. Also, a yellow privacy card with an identification number will be given to the designated family member. To receive any information about your care, they must give this number.

Patient Service Representative

In order to provide the best service to our patients, a patient service representative is available to assist you. If you or your guests have questions about UPMC Hamot, comments about your care, suggestions for improving our services or need someone to listen, please contact a patient service representative by dialing 814-877-3767. We also encourage you to call this number to recognize a UPMC Hamot employee who has gone above and beyond during your stay.

Patient Rights and Responsibilities

At UPMC, service to our patients is our top priority. Please take a moment to review our system-wide Patient Rights and Responsibilities adopted to protect the interests and well-being of our patients.

Patient Status

Hospital patients will be assigned a status based on the level of care needed. For more information about your status, please read our Patient Status Frequently Asked Questions​.

Items of Value

We recommend that you do not keep valuables, such as jewelry or large sums of money, in your room. If you do bring valuable items, please ask your nurse to place them in the safe. UPMC Hamot does not accept responsibility for items of value unless they are placed in the safe. When you are not using personal items such as eyeglasses and dentures, store them carefully in your bedside table. Please do not wrap your dentures in tissue or leave them on your meal tray where they might be accidentally discarded. UPMC Hamot is not responsible for loss or breakage of such items.

Hand Hygiene

Make sure those caring for you (including family and guests) have washed their hands first. To safeguard your health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that all health care workers use standard precautions or routine protective measures, such as hand hygiene (soap and water or hand sanitizers) or wearing gloves and other protective clothing – when treating all patients.

Medications and Allergies

Make sure we know about all the medicines you take. This includes over-the-counter medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and dietary supplements like vitamins and herbs. Keep a list of all the medicines you take and the doses. Also, make sure we know about allergies you have, such as allergies to drugs, foods, latex (rubber), etc.

Personal Electrical Appliances

The use of some personal electrical appliances, such as TVs, radios, or hair dryers, are not permitted for safety reasons.

Each patient room is equipped with a television. Other items such as electric shavers may be permitted. Please check with your nurse before using any personal appliances.

Cell Phones

For your convenience, cell phones are permitted in most areas throughout UPMC Hamot. Please understand that photos may be taken only if proper authorization is obtained.

Internet Access

UPMC Hamot is proud to offer free, wireless internet service. To access our public Wi-Fi, simply open your web browser and click “Connect” after reading the terms and conditions for using this service.

Smoking/Tobacco Use

For the safety and health of patients, guests, and staff, smoking or tobacco use of any kind is not permitted anywhere on UPMC Hamot’s campus. This includes smoke or vapor producing products such as e-cigarettes.

Your Discharge

Your doctor(s) will determine when you are ready to go home and will write the necessary orders for discharge.

Please be aware that you may not be discharged immediately; all aspects of your care plan must be completed before you leave our facility.

We strive to discharge inpatients in a timely manner. If you are having an outpatient procedure, your discharge time will be based upon your recovery from the procedure. If your discharge involves another facility, care management will coordinate your plans, which may result in discharge after noon. We do our best to expedite this process and appreciate your patience. Upon discharge, if you have questions about your diet, medications, activities, follow-up appointments, or other matters, please be sure to ask.