Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge

Covenant Health System

Patient and Visitor Information

Helpful guidelines for your care and comfort

Main Number: 865-835-1000

Thank you for choosing Methodist Medical Center. It is important to us that we provide you with EXCELLENT Care. Your health and well-being are our primary concerns, and we hope your stay is as pleasant and comfortable as possible. This page provides the information our guests often request. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask your nurse, doctor or other hospital staff member. We wish you a successful, rapid recovery and lasting good health.

Accreditation

Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge is a not-for-profit regional medical center licensed for 283 beds. The medical center is governed by a volunteer board of directors and has the highest accreditation rating from the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

Our accreditation represents a tradition of excellence in healthcare and of dedication to quality care. Methodist is a member of Covenant Health, the region’s top performing healthcare network. Covenant Health is a Tennessee-based healthcare enterprise committed to providing the right care at the right time and place. As a not-for-profit health system, we are dedicated to being the region’s premier healthcare network through service, community, and innovation. We provide patient-centered care that inspires clinical and service excellence and strive to be the first and best choice for our patients, employees, physicians, employers, volunteers, and communities. Covenant Health is the area’s largest employer and has more than 11,000 compassionate caregivers, expert clinicians, and dedicated employees and volunteers. Learn more at CovenantHealth.com.

Advance Directives

We want to be sure we understand who you would like to make decisions on your behalf when you cannot. Advance directives are legal documents that describe your treatment preferences in end-of-life situations. These legal documents give voice to persons who are unable to speak for themselves. Unexpected end-of-life situations can happen at any age, so all adults should have advance directives in place. Having written instructions can help reduce confusion or disagreement. Anyone age 18 or older may prepare advance directives. You should give copies to your doctor, family and nurse or registration clerk.

Living will. This written, legal document spells out the types of medical treatments and life-sustaining measures you do and don’t want, such as mechanical breathing (respiration and ventilation), tube feeding or resuscitation. In some states, living wills may be called healthcare declarations or directives.

Medical Power of Attorney (POA). The medical POA is a legal document that designates an individual – referred to as your health care agent or proxy – to make medical decisions for you in the event that you’re unable to do so. A medical POA is sometimes called a durable power of attorney for healthcare. However, it is different from a power of attorney authorizing someone to make financial transactions for you.

Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Order. This is a request to not have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if your heart stops or if you stop breathing. Advance directives do not have to include a DNR order, and you don’t have to have an advance directive to have a DNR order. Your doctor can put a DNR order in your medical chart.

Methodist Medical Center is here to provide you with information regarding your rights to make decisions concerning healthcare, including the right to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment, even if that treatment is life sustaining. The Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare forms and brochure are available to you by contacting the Admissions Office at 865-835-4900; the Chaplain at 865-835-5233; or, after 5 p.m., you can reach the Nursing Supervisor from within the hospital by dialing 0.

ATM Location

ATM is located off the main lobby in the front seating area of the Secret City Café.

Billing and Customer Service

Our Patient Accounting Department is ready to help you with any questions or concerns you may have about your patient account. We appreciate the opportunity to share helpful information about our patient accounting process. Click here for more information.

Dining

The Secret City Café is located off the hospital’s Main Lobby and offers a variety of hot foods, sandwiches and salad bar options, as well as express “grab-and-go” options. The cafeteria is open at the following times:

Breakfast: 7 to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday (closed on weekends)

Lunch: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Sunday

Dinner: 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Sunday

Late-Night: Midnight to 2 a.m. Monday through Sunday

Visitors are welcome to eat in the cafeteria. Carry-out is available.

Patient Room Service

Soon after your admission to the hospital, your physician will prescribe a specific diet to meet your needs. Use the menu in your room to order meals. To place your order, dial 865-835-4100. Your order will be verified for diet compliance and prepared according to your wishes. You may pre-order up to three meals in advance. Please order only the foods you plan to eat, so accurate calorie counts may be taken.

Guest meals are available for $5 per tray, with payment required upon delivery.

Vending

The hospital also has vending areas on the 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th floors near the Patient Tower Elevators. Additional vending areas are available at the end of the Emergency Department corridor and in the front seating area of the Secret City Café.

Financial Assistance

Covenant Health is committed to providing quality health services in a caring environment. It is the expressed philosophy of Covenant Health and its member hospitals, including Methodist Medical Center, that no one should be denied necessary medical care because of the inability to pay. To learn more about our financial assistance options, click here.

Lodging Assistance

The Hospitality Houses of Methodist Medical Center provide temporary lodging for patients and families who travel to Oak Ridge for extended medical treatment. Our mission is to help relieve the financial burden associated with such housing, thereby enabling our guests to focus on physical and emotional healing.

The houses primarily serve patients of Thompson Cancer Survival Center at Methodist, Thompson Oncology Group and their caregivers. Other patients of Methodist Medical Center and their families may stay at the houses when space is available. In most cases, guests must live 30 or more miles from Oak Ridge and must be referred by staff at the cancer center, the medical center or a physician’s office.

For information and room availability, please call the Hospitality Houses at 865-835-4186 between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Medical Records

Medical Records, or Health Information Management (HIM) as it is now known, is responsible for your complete medical record once you have been discharged from the hospital.

As of November 13, 2023, requests for medical records are processed by Covenant Health’s Centralized Release of Information department.

If you need to retrieve medical records, these options are available:

    • Covenant Health Patient Portal: Sign up for the MyCovenantHealth patient portal online at CovenantHealth.com or call 865-374-5269 and a customer service representative will assist you with setting up your portal access. Records can be viewed, downloaded and printed from the portal.
    • Request in Writing: Request an authorization form at the Covenant Health facility’s registration area. You will need to show valid identification. Your request/authorization will be forwarded to Centralized Release of Information. The request will be processed and returned via email, mail or fax as noted on the authorization form.
    • Request Electronic Authorization: Call the Release of Information Department at 865-374-5269. A customer representative will email an authorization form that you can fill out and submit electronically.

Centralized Release of Information

Phone: 865-374-5269

Note: Covenant Health strives to process requests within 10 days. Applicable fees apply per federal and state guidelines.

Looking for a copy of your birth certificate?

For those persons born at Methodist Medical Center and seeking a copy of your birth certificate, please note that we do not keep copies of birth certificates on our premises. Original certificates are all sent to the state for filing. You can contact the Tennessee Vital Records department either by phone or mail (info below) and they will send you a copy. Certain fees may apply.

Tennessee Vital Records 421 5th Ave. North Central Services Bldg., 1st Floor Nashville, TN 37247. Phone: 615-741-1763

Parking

Parking is available on the surface lots surrounding the front entrance or in the parking garage. All parking on Methodist’s campus is free of charge.

Patients’ Rights and Responsibilities

Methodist Medical Center wants you to have the best possible care. We want you to know what your rights are as a patient, as well as what your obligations are to yourself, your physician, and the hospital. We encourage you or those who represent you to talk openly to those involved in your care.  For a complete listing of patients’ rights and responsibilities, click here.

Security Services

Please safeguard your valuables while you are in the hospital. The hospital cannot be held responsible for the loss of money or other valuables kept in your room.

Please do not bring valuables with you to the hospital. If possible, send them home with a family member. Eyeglasses, contact lenses, hearing aids, and dentures should be kept in protective containers when not in use. Please do not wrap in tissue, paper towels, or pieces of hospital linen.

Security is maintained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for patients, visitors, and staff. You are encouraged to report crimes or suspicious activity to security as soon as possible. Methodist’s security office is located in our Emergency Department and can be reached by calling 865-835-4343, or dial “0” for the operator from within the hospital.

Telephones

  • Local calls: Dial 9, then dial the local phone number.
  • Long-distance calls: Dial 9, then 0 and the number. Long-distance calls cannot be charged to your room, but you may make collect calls or charge calls to a third number or credit card.
  • Incoming calls: People outside the medical center may call your room directly by dialing 865-835-1, then your room number. Incoming calls will not be directed to patient rooms between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., although patients may continue to call out during those hours.
  • Inside the medical center: Dial the appropriate 835-prefix number.
  • Click here for a list of frequently dialed numbers within the medical center.

Tobacco-free Campus

Methodist Medical Center is dedicated to providing a clean, safe environment for our patients, visitors and staff. To promote health and wellness, Methodist Medical Center is a tobacco-free environment, both inside buildings and on the grounds.  Vaping and e-cigarettes are also prohibited.

Patients who use tobacco products will be offered a nicotine patch or another alternative if needed during their hospital stay.

Visitors and guests who choose to use tobacco, e-cigarettes or vaping products will be required to leave Methodist’s campus before using products.

Visitation

Click here for the latest information and updates about our visitation policy:

https://www.covenanthealth.com/current-visitation-policy/ 

Wireless Internet

For your convenience, high-speed wireless Internet access is available throughout Methodist Medical Center.

Your user device should automatically detect our Wi-Fi when the device scans for wireless networks. To use our Wi-Fi, connect to the “Covenantguest” network. The password is “covenant.”

Disclaimers:

  1. Methodist Medical Center and Covenant Health will not be held responsible for any computer viruses obtained through the network.
  2. Methodist Medical Center is not responsible for providing technical support associated with the network.

Additional Information