Find VA policies on privacy and patient rights, family rights, visitation, and more.
Before visiting a patient at a VA facility, review these guidelines:
Call the medical center for specific ward visiting hours and information.
Tomah VA Medical Center: 608-372-3971
If you’re a member of the religious community, we encourage you to visit patients who belong to your church or religious group. However, you’re not allowed to do general visitation by going from bed to bed, ward to ward, or unit to unit.
You may bring small amounts of candy, fruit, and other food items if the nursing staff says they are appropriate for a patient's diet. You may not bring fresh fruit and flowers to patients who are receiving critical care, and you can’t eat or drink in those units.
You must follow hand-hygiene policy guidelines, which require you to practice good hand hygiene when you enter and exit patient rooms, and at other times as directed by staff.
You must follow guidelines on infection-control signs and report to the nurses' station for instructions before you enter a patient's room.
If you have a communicable disease, you won't be allowed to visit patients inside the medical center.
You're not allowed to bring weapons, alcohol or other prohibited items into the medical center. If you have questions please contact the facility's Director office.
Our staff may ask you to leave an area when they are caring for patients. If a staff member asks you to leave an area, you may continue your visit in the day room, waiting area, or any other public area of the facility.
Relatives and friends may visit patients who are seriously ill or in hospice care at any time of day, unless the staff doctor says no.
In general, you won't be allowed to visit patients who are in restraints. If the treatment team decides that your visit could have a positive effect on the patient, then you may have a supervised visit with the patient when a staff member removes the restraints. Our staff will document how the patient responds to you and other visitors.
In extreme circumstances, children under 12 may visit with the permission of the physician and the charge nurse. An adult must accompany children at all times.
Children under the age of 16 may visit patients in psychiatric units with the doctor’s permission.
Our doctors may limit, restrict, or deny visits for the medical well-being of a patient. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
You can't bring weapons, alcohol, or illegal drugs into the building. Because the VA medical center is federal property, all visitors and bags may be searched.
The Tomah VA Medical Center has a police service. Our officers provide 24-hour patrols of the facility and parking lots.
Report all suspicious or criminal activity, vehicle accidents, and personal property losses to the VA Police while on the facility grounds as soon as possible. The medical center is federal property, and therefore all persons and bags are subject to search. In addition, weapons, alcohol, and illegal drugs are not permitted.
The medical center respects the patient's right to make decisions about his or her care, treatment and services, and to involve the patient's family in care, treatment, and services decisions to the extent permitted by the patient or surrogate decision-maker.
"Family" is defined as a group of two or more persons united by blood, or adoptive, marital, domestic partnership, or other legal ties. The family may also be a person or persons not legally related to the individual (such as significant other, friend or caregiver) whom the individual considers to be family. A family member may be the surrogate decision-maker, as defined in VHA Handbook 1004.02, if authorized to make care decisions for the individual, should he or she lose decision-making capacity or choose to delegate decision making to another.
The medical center allows a family member, friend or other individual to be present with the patient for emotional support during the course of their stay. The medical center allows for the presence of a support individual of the patient's choice, unless the individual's presence infringes on others’ rights or safety, or is medically or therapeutically contraindicated. The individual may or may not be the patient's surrogate decision-maker or legally authorized representative.
The hospital prohibits discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, religion, culture, language, physical or mental disability, socioeconomic status, sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.
When faced with difficult decisions about health care, you may struggle with the question of "what should be done?" These resources can help you deal with tough decisions about health care and how to plan for it.
Visit the Joint Commission page to report concerns you have about the quality of patient care.