The Miriam Hospital
A tradition of superior patient care

Patient Accommodations

Your Room

Upon admission, you will be assigned to a room. All rooms are kept at a temperature best suited to your comfort. All rooms are either centrally air conditioned or have window air conditioners. If you have a window air-conditioning unit and you would like to change the temperature, please tell your nurse.

All beds at The Miriam are electrically operated. A member of the nursing staff will instruct you in the proper operation of your bed. If safety sides are placed on your bed, they are there for your protection. For your safety, please do not try to adjust them; ask a member of the nursing staff to have them lowered or raised. You will find a signal cord at the side of your bed.

If you press the button on the cord, a light will notify the nurse that you need assistance. If you share a room with another patient, please be mindful of your roommate’s medical condition, their rest and active periods, and their need for privacy.

Valuables

The Miriam Hospital cannot be responsible for money, electronics or valuables brought to the hospital. If you wish to keep credit cards or jewelry, please deposit them in the unit based safe in the cashier’s office. Ask your nurse to assist you with this process. If you wear eyeglasses, contact lenses, dentures or hearing aids please store them in a secure container and do not place them on the food tray. Please ask us to provide you with a container if you do not have one.

Meal Services

Your physician will prescribe a diet to meet your particular needs. For your convenience, we have developed an innovative meal preparation and delivery system called "Expressly for You - Personal Service Dining." A host/hostess will visit you and help you make selections that are in compliance with your prescribed diet. At mealtime, the host/hostess will assemble your tray according to your selections and will deliver it to you.

If you find that you need assistance in setting up your bed table or opening any containers, please feel free to request this help when the host/hostess arrives in your room.

Kosher meals are supplied from Tova's Catering, and are provided at Orthodox level. Please notify your host/hostess or contact the Nutrition Dept at 401-793-2613. During Passover, kosher for Passover foods are available. Please notify your host/hostess.

The goal of The Miriam Hospital’s food and nutrition services department is to make your hospital stay as pleasant and comfortable as we can. Feel free to contact the director of the department at 401-793-2608 (internally ext. 3-2608) with your comments and feedback.

Bathing

The Miriam Hospital uses special bathing cloths to help prevent infections. These cloths contain Chlorhexidine Gluconate (CHG). CHG stays on your skin longer than soap and water, protecting against germs for 24 hours. Separate cloths will be used for different parts of your body and will not be used on your face. After the skin has been wiped with these cloths, your skin will feel sticky until it has dried. In order for CHG to kill germs, the skin should be allowed to dry in the air. A towel should not be used for drying.

Internet Access

The Miriam Hospital is pleased to provide internet access either at a patient kiosk, located in most patient care areas, or via wireless access. To connect to the internet via wireless access, laptop users must add the wireless ID “Lifespan-Guest” to their wireless configuration. This wireless configuration must be set manually because this wireless access is not broadcast. Patients must then open their web browser and agree to terms of use before they will be permitted to use the Lifespan-Guest network. 

Please be aware that Lifespan policy does not allow staff to assist with any non-Lifespan equipment, including patient and family laptops.

Telephones

You may use the telephone in your room at any time during the day or night. All local calls are free of charge. To make a local call, dial 9 followed by the seven-digit phone number. Long-distance calls can be charged to your home phone, made collect or charged to your phone credit card if you have one. To make a long-distance call, please dial 0 for the hospital operator, who will place the call. If you wish to make a call to a department within the hospital, please dial our patient helpline 401-793-2255 (internally dial ext. 3-2255).

Library

Books, magazines and playing cards are available through the Volunteer Services office. Please call 401-793-2510 (internally dial ext. 3- 2510) to indicate your particular interest and we will gladly deliver your request to your room.

Mail

Mail is delivered Monday through Friday. The mailing address is:

The Miriam Hospital
164 Summit Avenue
Providence, Rhode Island 02906