Patient Rights & Responsibilities

To be sure your time with us is as beneficial and pleasant as possible, we promise to provide high quality care, treat you with dignity and respect, and make every effort to protect your rights. If you have any questions about your rights or responsibilities at any time, please ask for more information.

Patient Rights
You have the right to:

Treatment, care, and services within Walla Walla General Hospital's capability and mission and in compliance with law and regulations.
Have your cultural, psychosocial, spiritual, and personal values, beliefs, and preferences respected.
Personal dignity.
Pastoral and other spiritual services.
Receive information about your rights.
Receive information on the extent to which the hospital is able, unable, or unwilling to honor advance directives upon admission if you have an advance directive.
Access, request amendment to, and receive an accounting of disclosures regarding your own health information as permitted under applicable law.
Be involved in decisions about your care, treatment, and services.
Be involved in resolving dilemmas about care, treatment, and services.
A surrogate decision maker, as allowed by law, when you cannot make decisions about your care, treatment, and services to approve care, treatment, and service decisions.
Your family, as appropriate and as allowed by law, with your permission or your surrogate decision maker, is involved in care, treatment, and service decisions.
Be informed of the consent process.
Your consent for recording or filming made for purposes other than your identification, diagnosis, or treatment.
Receive adequate information about the person(s) responsible for the delivery of your care, treatment, and services.
Refuse care, treatment, and services in accordance with law and regulation.
Discussions relating to end-of-life decisions. Walla Walla General Hospital and its providers will not participate in the Washington State Death with Dignity Act. This means that WWGH physicians, employees, independent contractors and volunteers shall not assist a patient in ending the patient's life. In addition, no provide may participate on the premises of the hospital or in property owned by the hospital.
Be informed, and when appropriate, your family will be informed about outcomes of care, treatment and services that have been provided.
Receive information in a manner that you understand. This includes communication between the hospital and you, as well as communication between you and others outside the hospital.
Resolution of complaints from you and your family.
Respect confidentiality, privacy, and security.
An environment that preserves dignity and contributes to a positive self-image.
Be free from mental, physical, sexual, and verbal abuse, neglect, and exploitation from anyone, including staff, students, volunteers, other patients, visitors, or family members.
Your pain management.
Access protective and advocacy services, guardianship, conservatorship and child or adult protective services.
Protection from the hospital during research, investigation, and clinical trials involving human subjects.

Patient Responsibilities
You are responsible for:

Providing Information. You and your family, as appropriate, must provide, to the best of your knowledge, accurate and complete information about present complaints, past illnesses, hospitalization, medications, and other matters relating to your health. You and your family must report perceived risks in your care, and unexpected changes in your condition. You can help the hospital understand your environment by providing feedback about service needs and expectations.
Asking Questions. You and your family, as appropriate, must ask questions when you do not understand your care, treatment, and service or what you are expected to do.
Following Instructions. You and your family must follow the care, treatment, and service plan developed. You should express any concerns about your ability to follow the proposed care plan or course of care, treatment, and services. The hospital makes every effort to adapt the plan to your specific needs and limitations. When such adaptations to the care, treatment, and service plan are not recommended, you and your family are informed of the consequences of the care, treatment, and service alternatives and not following the proposed course.
Accepting Consequences. Your and your family are responsible for the outcomes if you do not follow the care, treatment, and service plan.
Following Rules and Regulations. You and your family must follow the hospital's rules and regulations.
Showing Respect and Consideration. You and your family must be considerate of the hospital’s staff and property, as well as other patients and their property.
Meeting Financial Commitments. You and your family should promptly meet any financial obligation agreed to with the hospital.
We appreciate your cooperation and are happy to be able to serve you.

Communicating a Concern
If you have any concerns about your care, we encourage you to notify your caregivers, the unit manager or hospital administration right away. This communication will usually resolve your concern quickly and effectively.

If your concerns are not resolved, you are encouraged to contact the hospital's quality director by phone at 509-527-8000 ext. 1105 or by letter to:

Walla Walla General Hospital
Attn: Director of Quality
1025 S. Second Ave.
Walla Walla, WA 99362