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Policies

Find VA policies on privacy and patient rights, family rights, visitation, and more.

Privacy and patient rights

Read VA's national privacy and patient rights policies

Family rights

Read VA's national family rights policy

Visitation policy

Please review these guidelines before you visit a patient at:

Ioannis A. Lougaris VA Medical Center
975 Kirman Avenue
Reno, NV 89502-0993

COVID-19 Visiting Restrictions

General information for Veteran appointments

  • Enter through the Main entrance or Specialty Clinic for routine care.
  • Enter through the Emergency Department for emergent care.
  • Everyone entering is screened for COVID-19 symptoms, including health care team members. You may use the VA Digital COVID-19 Screening tool by texting "Screen" to 53079.
  • Everyone is required to wear a face mask or covering at all times.
  • Veterans with mobility issues will be allowed one visitor to accompany for assistive needs.
  • Children 2+ years old must wear a face covering. Children must always stay with the adult.
  • Visitors under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult.
  • All patient care rooms, common areas and high-touch surfaces in the medical center are frequently sanitized and disinfected.
  • Please use available hand sanitizers and wash hands frequently.
  • Practice physical distancing throughout our facilities. Observe signs, floor markers and spaced seating in waiting areas.
  • No food or drink allowed in waiting areas.

Inpatient visitation 

  • To promote Veteran-centered care, limited visitations will be allowed on the intensive care unit, acute care units and the mental health unit (i.e. ICU, B4, B5 and B6).  The following visitor restrictions will be enforced effective Monday, October 18, 2021 (SOP-654-56):  
  • Visitors are considered as companions, caretakers or relatives of a patient. 
  • Visitation times will be from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week.
  • The care team will communicate visitor restrictions to the patient and family. 
  • All visitors under the exception must be screened by a door screener at an approved entrance. 
  • Visitor(s) must screen negative for COVID-19 signs and symptoms upon entry to facility.
  • Visitor(s) must always wear an approved and properly fitted face mask (covering the nose and mouth) and other personal protective equipment (PPE), as required.
  • A door screener or ambassador will escort the approved visitor(s) to the appropriate inpatient unit and provide a warm handoff to the Unit Medical Support Assistant (MSA). 
  • The Unit MSA will provide information to the visitor on proper hand hygiene, mask/PPE usage and physical distancing requirements during the visit. The Unit MSA will then call the Charge Nurse and notify nursing that a visitor is on the unit.
  • Visitor(s) must not visit other locations in the medical center or visit patients other than the designated patient.
  • Visitor(s) must follow physical distancing and elevator occupancy restrictions.

For end-of-life patients in private rooms

  • There are no restriction on visitation times.
  • No more than three visitors per patient will be allowed at any time in private rooms and one person at a time in semi-private rooms.
  • Visitor(s) under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult.

For end-of-life patients in semi-private rooms

  • There are no restrictions on visitation times.
  •  Only one visitor per patient will be allowed at any time.

For patients with airborne precautions

  • Visitation times will be from 1:00 - 5:00 P.M., seven days a week.
  • No more than one visitor per patient will be allowed at any time.

For all other inpatients (in ICU, B4, B5 and B6)

  • Visitation times will be from 1:00 to 5:00 P.M., seven days a week.
  • No more than one visitor per patient will be allowed at any time.
  • Visitors must be 12 years of age or older. An accompanying adult must wait in the waiting room.

Visitation to the Community Living Center (CLC)

  • Remains on pause but under special circumstances, arrangements can be made with a physician’s order (which is required).

Visiting hours: 

You may visit between 1:00 - 5:00 P.M. but please call the medical center to confirm for specific ward visiting hours and information.
Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans Administration Medical Center: 775-786-7200

Visiting church members
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. 

Bringing food
No food or drinks allowed in patient areas. 

Washing hands
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.

Following infection-control guidelines
You must follow guidelines on infection-control signs and report to the nurses' station for instructions before you enter a patient's room.

Staying home if you are ill
If you have a communicable disease, you won't be allowed to visit patients inside the medical center.

Prohibited items
You're not allowed to bring weapons, cameras, or other prohibited items into the medical center, except when you're conducting official business authorized by the Director or their designee. If you have questions about what qualifies as official business, please contact the facility's Director. 

Giving privacy
Our staff may ask you to leave the room when they’re caring for patients. If a staff member asks you to leave a patient's room, you may continue your visit in the day room, waiting area, or any other public area of the facility.

Visiting seriously ill patients
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.

Visiting patients in restraints
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. 

Bringing children to visit
Children of all ages can visit patients at our medical center. For infection-control and safety reasons, however, children under the age of 16 are not allowed to visit certain specialty-care units. . All children under the age of 16 must be directly supervised by an adult. Children's bedside visits are limited to 15 minutes.

Visiting psychiatric units with children
Children under the age of 16 may visit patients in psychiatric units with the doctor’s permission.

Limiting your visit
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. 

Prohibited items
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.  

NOTICE TO PATIENTS

Some of our medical doctors are licensed and regulated by the Medical Board of California. To check up on a license or to file a complaint involving medical doctors licensed in the State of California, go to www.mbc.ca.gov,
email: licensecheck@mbc.ca.gov,

VA general visitation policy

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.

Advance directives

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.

Health Care Ethics Resources for Veterans, Patients, and Families

VA Form 10-0137 - VA Advance Directive: Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and Living Will

What You Should Know about Advance Directives

Report patient quality of care concerns

Visit the Joint Commission page to report concerns you have about the quality of patient care.