What to wear

Since regular clothing is worn in our department, please pack enough clothing to last several days. This should include underwear, nightwear, a jacket, comfortable loose-fitting tops and elastic band pants and any types of clothing you would normally wear. For footwear, flat shoes with Velcro straps or tennis shoes are recommended.

Laundry

Please arrange for a family member or friend to help with your laundry. They will need to pick up, launder and deliver your items to you during your stay in our unit.

Meals

Meals provide an opportunity for socializing and are served in the rehabilitation dining room. Your visitors are invited to bring food from home for themselves. It is also an option for your visitors to purchase meals in the cafeteria. Space can sometimes be limited, please feel free to check with the staff for alternative dining options with your family and friends, or if you need assistance to purchase a meal from the guest menu.

Where to park during your inpatient stay

Patients may occasionally need to leave vehicles in the hospital parking lot. While we encourage you to coordinate with your family or friends to move your vehicle back home, it is OK to leave it for a short period of time. To leave a vehicle in the parking lot, please contact security at 541- 706-4961 and provide a description of the vehicle, year, make, model and license plate number. If there is an issue and the car must be moved or it is in an unlawful parking spot, you will be given a 72-hour notice.

Change of shift

Our staff changes shifts from 7-7:30 am and 7-7:30 in the pm. Nurses will meet at your bedside to talk about your care. Being involved in your care gives us the opportunity to provide you with the best care possible. Please feel free to invite your family members to be a part of this with you. This gives you a chance to meet your nurse taking over your care, ask questions and share important information with your nurses. You, as the patient, should listen to report, speak up if you have questions or concerns or if you feel that you don’t understand any information, feel free to ask them to explain. Report should last about 5 minutes. If you have any questions or concerns please contact the nurse leader at 541-706-6388.

Single or double rooms

The rehabilitation unit is made up of single and double rooms. It may be necessary to share a room with another patient while in the rehabilitation center. We will do what we can to match you with the best possible room-mate. In certain situations, we may need to change you to another room to accommodate a patient with special needs. We do our best to ensure comfort and privacy for each of our patients and strive to provide each patient with a single room depending on availability and medical need.

While sharing a room may not be an ideal situation, we have found that many patients enjoy the companionship and bond that forms during their rehabilitation journey. However, if you are sharing a room please remind your visitors not to sit on your roommate’s bed or touch their belongings and equipment. If your roommate needs to rest, please be mindful of your noise level and respect their privacy. The dining room and outdoor courtyard are available for you to visit with your guests.

Bed and chair alarms

Patient safety is a high priority for us. We have alarms for the beds and chairs that alert us when a patient is getting up without assistance. You will work very closely with our therapy staff and once you have been cleared to be independent with your transfers and mobility, we will turn off the alarms.

Please remember we are only looking after your safety and preventing an unexpected fall.

Infection prevention

It may be necessary for some patients to be on contact precautions in order to prevent others from becoming ill. If so, a sign will be placed outside the patient’s room and personal protection equipment will be mounted on the door for everyone’s use. These precautions apply to St. Charles Bend caregivers, visitors or anyone having contact with an infectious patient or the patient’s environment.

If you have any questions about the type of protective equipment to be used, please ask the caregivers in the rehabilitation unit. Hand sanitizer is also mounted at the entrance to each room. It is always important to practice good hand hygiene when entering or exiting a room, whether the patient is infectious or not.

Pet policy

St. Charles is a no-pet, service-animals only facility. This includes our center. We do, however, allow pets to come to an outside area to visit patients as long as they adhere to the following rules:

  • Pets must have current vaccinations, be clean and well behaved. If a pet presents a threat to other patients or staff, you will be asked to remove the animal. Pets may not enter the unit.
  • Pets must wait by the picnic table near OP Rehab. The staff or a manager will be happy to assist the patient to an outside area for the visit.

We also provide pet therapy for those whose animals cannot visit. These dogs and their handlers have gone through specific training and are certified to ensure your health and safety. If you are interested in a pet therapy visit, please inform the staff so arrangements can be made.

Marijuana policy

If marijuana is brought into the hospital it will be treated as an illegal substance. This includes marijuana edibles (lozenges, candies or baked goods). If the patient is in possession of a medical marijuana card, any marijuana/cannabis brought into the hospital will be secured and placed in the security safe until discharge. Please ask family and friends to leave these substances at home.