During Your Stay at UPMC Northwest
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Meals
Soon after admission, you will receive a menu from which to select your meals. The selections offered will be specific to the diet your doctor has ordered. Please advise your nurse of any dietary restrictions or preferences you may have. It also is important to inform your nurse of any religious dietary preferences. Nutritional Services will make every effort to accommodate your religious preferences.
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Phone and TV
Phone
- Phone service is available at no charge to you.
- To place a local call, dial “9” and the Phone number you are calling.
- Toll calls or long-distance calls must be made collect or charged to a credit card or your home phone. To place such a call, dial “9,” then 1-800-Call-ATT for the ATT operator or 1-800-COLLECT for the long distance operator. If you experience
problems in placing your call, dial “0” to reach the hospital’s switchboard operator,who will assist you.
- To call departments within the hospital, dial the full number.
TV
- TV service is available at no charge to you.
- Closed captioning is available for the hearing impaired. If you need closed captioning, please let your nurse know.
If either your Phone or TV is not functioning properly, please let your nurse know.
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Special Needs and Communications Assistance
For patients and visitors with special needs due to hearing impairment, visual impairment, or language barriers, the hospital offers printed educational materials, closed-caption television, sign language interpreters, foreign language interpreters, and other assistive devices. To obtain any of these aids, ask your nurse for assistance.
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Patient Valuables
The hospital does not assume responsibility for loss of personal items, including clothing, lost or damaged dentures, eyeglasses, or hearing aids. During your hospital stay, items you will not be using should be left at home.
Please don’t bring money, credit cards, keys, checkbook, jewelry, or other valuables. Eyeglasses and hearing aids should be stored in a drawer when not in use. Dentures should be stored in the denture cup provided, not in a drinking cup or on your meal tray where they may be accidentally thrown away.
Please notify your nurse if you have any personal electrical items, such as an electric razor, radio, or hair dryer. These items must be checked by hospital personnel prior to you using them.
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Visitation
General visiting hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Learn more information helpful for visitors to UPMC Northwest.
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Infection Precaution
Health care workers often wear gloves, gowns, masks, or eye protection. Staff may wear some of these protective items while caring for you. This practice is called “standard precautions.” This practice protects all patients and staff from germs and infections.
Sometimes a patient has a germ that can easily spread to other people. To protect others from the germ, “special precautions” are used. These special practices prevent the spread of the germs that can cause disease. If you have a known or suspected infection that requires special precautions, your nurse will explain these practices to you.
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Condition Help
At UPMC Northwest, we believe teamwork is key to offering the best health care to our patients and their families. We ask you to be a part of our team when visiting your loved ones.
Condition Help is a patient safety hotline that patients and families can call when there is a change in the patient’s condition and the patient or family is unable to get the attention of a health care provider. When hospital operators receive a Condition Help call, a rapid response team is activated to address the patient concern.
The Condition Help program provides a hotline for hospital patients and their family members to call when there is:
- An emergency when patients or loved ones can’t get the attention of hospital staff.
- A communication breakdown in how care is given.
- Uncertainty over what needs to be done.
- Concern about a noticeable change in the patient’s medical condition that the health care team is not recognizing.
To activate Condition Help
Call 44444 from any hospital phone and give:
- Your name.
- Room number.
- Patient’s name.
- 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. Additional support services will be called in as needed. This team includes a doctor, the administrative nursing coordinator/supervisor, a floor nurse, and a Patient Relations Representative when available.
View our brochure about Condition Help (PDF).
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Spiritual Care
UPMC Northwest staff and the local Minister’s Forum work together to meet your spiritual needs while you are a patient. When you are admitted to the hospital, you will be asked if you are a member of a religious congregation and if you would like to arrange a visit from your clergy. With your permission, the hospital will make that information available to your clergy. If you have a special spiritual request while you are a patient, please let the nursing personnel know.
Chapel
A small, private chapel is located off the main lobby (just past the gift shop) and is available for use at any time by you and your family.
Religious broadcasts for patients
24 Hour Radio 89.5 FM WAWN: American Family Radio
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Palliative Care
Palliative care is an approach to treating the whole patient — body, mind, and spirit — and can be utilized at any point in the disease process. This care works to treat pain and other physical symptoms while acknowledging the family and caregiver’s needs.
The ultimate goal is to provide a patient with the best quality of life while coping with a serious illness or disease. The palliative care team is comprised of nursing, social services, a dietitian, and apharmacy consultant. If you are interested in this service or have questions, please ask your doctor or nursing care team to request a consultation. You also may call the office of Palliative Care Services directly at 814-677-7440 to ask questions or request a consultation.
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Concierge Services
At UPMC Northwest, we have volunteers at our front desk to assist patients.
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