During Your Stay at UPMC McKeesport

UPMC McKeesport believes that patients, families, and friends should have a resource to call for immediate help when they feel they are not receiving adequate medical attention.

Condition Help gives you the ability to initiate a Rapid Response Team for any of the following:

• A change in the patient’s condition when they have tried to express concerns to the health care team and feel they did not get the proper attention for the situation.
• A situation where they have spoken with the hospital staff from the health care team (doctors and nurses) and still have serious concerns regarding how care is being given, managed, or planned.
• An emergency situation when they are unable to get attention from the hospital staff.

To activate Condition Help, dial 111 from any hospital phone and tell the operator you would like to initiate a Condition Help.

Learn more about Condition Help, or download a Condition Help Brochure (PDF).

Germs and infection

The purpose of UPMC McKeesport's Infection Control Program is to prevent the spread of germs.

Germs and infections can travel from patient to patient, or among patients, staff, and visitors. If your family or friends are feeling ill, please ask them to refrain from coming to the hospital to visit you.

To protect the health of patients at at UPMC McKeesport, all health care workers who come in contact with you should wash their hands. Please insist that they wash their hands before they give you care.

The hospital staff will use additional infection control measures during your care. They may ask if you have had a flu shot or pneumonia vaccine, so it's a good idea to keep track of this.

UPMC McKeesport provides palliative care services for patients who are dying or have life-limiting illnesses.

The 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
• Helps families cope during the patient’s illness and in bereavement.

To request palliative care services, please speak with your nurse or doctor.

Learn more about dining options for patients.

At UPMC McKeesport, we are dedicated to providing our patients with exceptional care in a comforting, professional environment.

To ensure that you receive the highest quality food that meets your nutrition needs and food preferences, we offer a patient-controlled liberalized diet. Following your first meal, you will be able to select items from a menu within your prescribed diet.

Under the supervision of a registered dietitian, you will receive nutritious, attractive, and appetizing meals three times a day.

• Breakfast — 7 to 8:30 a.m.
• Lunch — 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Dinner — 4:15 to 5:30 p.m.

Nurses can order late trays for patients who are not in their rooms during these times. Guest trays are available for your visitors for a charge.

For more information — or if you have any questions or special needs — please call UPMC McKeesport Food and Nutrition Services at 412-664-2281. A hostess is available to assist you with any needs during meal times.

Registered dietitians are available to assess your nutritional needs and for individual counseling. Since your meals are prepared within the limits of your doctor’s orders, please check with a dietitian or your nurse before eating any food that is not served by our Food and Nutrition Department.

To make an appointments with a registered dietitian to discuss your individual diet needs or receive outpatient diet instructions as prescribed by your physician, call 412-664-2281.

Shaw Building, First Floor
1500 Fifth Ave.
McKeesport, PA 15132

• Monday through Friday – 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Phone: 412-664-3100
• Fax: 412-664-3101

Our pharmacy services include:

• Prescriptions for patients upon discharge.
• Pharmacist consultations and counseling on medications.
• Assistance with medication costs and other prescription issues through collaboration with social workers, care coordinators, and other health care professionals.
• Prescription transfers.
• Immunizations (shots) for patients 18 years of age or older: pneumonia, flu, hepatitis A and B, tetanus-diphtheria-whooping cough, shingles.

We accept most insurance plans.

Please call 412-664-3100 to set up an appointment, see if your insurance plan is covered, or ask questions.

UPMC McKeesport Pharmacy Information and FAQs (PDF)

Learn more about the UPMC McKeesport Outpatient Pharmacy.

As a courtesy to our patients, we offer free phone and TV service in each patient room at UPMC McKeesport.

There is no charge for local calls. For long distance calls, we will bill your home phone number or personal calling card. Or you can make collect calls.

• To make a local call, dial 9 and the outside number.
• To make a long distance or toll call, dial 9- 1- and the outside number. Wait for operator assistance.
• To call any hospital department, listen for the tone and dial the 7-digit extension. There's a phone directory on page 8 of your admissions packet, or dial 0 to reach the switchboard operator.

Courtesy phones

Courtesy phones for local calls are available at the following locations:

• Mansfield Building — 2nd Floor, 3rd Floor, 4th Floor, 5th Floor (temporarily closed) and 6th Floor.
• Shaw Building — 1st and 2nd Floors.
• Crawford Building — 1st and 3rd Floors.
• Between Subway and the Gift Shop.
• Emergency Department — our pay phone number is 412-672-0633. There are also two courtesy phones.

For your viewing convenience, the color TV in you room offers basic Comcast cable package channels. You can find a list of channels in your admissions packet.

We also have closed caption TV available upon request.

As a courtesy to other hospital guests, we ask that you keep the TV volume on low and limit viewing late in the evening.

UPMC McKeesport provides communications assistance to patients who have impaired hearing, vision, or speech.

For people with communications needs, we offer:

• Sign language interpreters
• Amplified phone receivers and TDD (telecommunications devices for the deaf)
• Closed-captioned television
• Language interpreters/translators
• Printed educational materials

To request any of these communication aids or a language interpreter, dial 412-664-2000 and ask for the nursing supervisor.

Pastoral care at UPMC McKeesport provides a spiritual component to patient care.

You can find our interfaith chapel on the 1st Floor of the Shaw Building. Family and friends are welcome to use this space for prayer or quiet reflection. This can be particularly helpful during periods of decision and waiting.

If you would like to arrange a visit from UPMC McKeesport's spiritual care coordinator or from clergy of your faith, please call 412-664-2057.

To protect your property, we suggest that you leave valuables — such as jewelry or cash — at home.

UPMC McKeesport is not responsible for any items lost or stolen during your stay.

Hospital security does have valuables lockers, if you have items that you want to secure. Notify the nursing staff if you wish to do so.

Security will document your items on a “valuables receipt” and return them when you leave the hospital.

Lockers are located at the Security Control Center on C-level of the Mansfield Building.

Personal items

You should place any personal items — such as eyeglasses, hearing aids, and dentures — in a container and store it inside your bedside stand when not being worn.

Containers to store these items are available upon your request.

At UPMC McKeesport, we want to accommodate the needs of our patients and visitors. That's why we have open visiting hours.

Allowing visitors to see patients at times convenient to them is an important aspect of patient- and family-centered care.

» Learn more about visiting hours and guidelines at UPMC McKeesport.

Visit our main UPMC patient resources section to help you prepare for your stay at UPMC McKeesport.

• 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 McKeesport Patient Relations, cal 412-664-2005.
• 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 McKeesport.
• Organ Donation: Learn more about becoming an organ or tissue donor.