Tomah VA Reducing Hours Of Urgent Care Clinic Amid Nursing Shortage

The Tomah VA Medical Center’s urgent care clinic will be temporarily cutting its hours in half due to a recent nursing shortage. The move comes at a time when the facility is under fire for overprescribing pain medication and fostering a culture of retaliation.

Four nurses recently resigned from the Tomah VA and those positions need to be filled to keep urgent care open 24 hours daily. Starting on April 27, the urgent care clinic will be open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., and weekends and holidays from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The restricted hours are expected to last three months, officials said.

Tomah VA spokeswoman Charity Anderson said that until then, veterans should call 911 or visit an emergency room if they need care after hours.

But, it’s not guaranteed those visits would be covered by VA benefits.

“When they arrive at the emergency room for care, we want to make sure that they make the facility aware they are a veteran,” Anderson said. “Even though that doesn’t guarantee payment, that will help get things moving so that when the bill comes in we can consider it for payment.”

Anderson said when the VA reviews the bill, it will consider the veteran’s eligibility and if the care was for an emergency,

It’s unclear why the nurses resigned, but the Tomah VA has long had challenges recruiting workers to the rural facility.