Picture of a woman standing next to a young girl patient that is sitting up on an exam table.

Patient Rights and Responsibilities

As a patient of Washington County Hospital and Clinics or as a family member or guardian of a patient, we want you to know the rights you have as soon as you begin receiving care. We are committed to honoring your rights, and want you to know that by taking an active role in your health care, you can help your caregivers meet your needs as a patient or family member. That is why we ask that you and your family share with us certain responsibilities. Washington County Hospital and Clinics recognizes the autonomy of the people we serve by respecting your rights and responsibilities to make decisions about your care, treatment and services. As a patient of WCHC, or in the case of a neonate/infant, child, adolescent, and geriatric patients, parents or guardians are entitled to rights.

Your Rights Embrace:

• Accessing and Receiving Care, Treatment and Services

• Personal Privacy and Confidentiality

• Advance Health Care Directives and End of Life Decisions

• Resolution of Concerns

• Patient Responsibilities

Compliance, Complaints and Grievances

You have the right to:

• freely voice concerns, complaints, and care-related conflicts and recommend changes without being subject to coercion, punishment, reprisal, or unreasonable interruption of care, treatment, and services. If an issue needs resolution, ask to speak to the Department Director or his/her designee regarding your concern. If your concern has not been resolved by speaking with the Department Director or his/her designee, please contact the Andrea Leyden, Chief Nursing Officer, at 319-591-0199.

• expect reasonable response to your requests for care, needs, concerns, care related conflicts, and/or complaints.

• file a hospital complaint to an external agency by contacting the Division of Health Facilities, Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals, Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319, 877-686-0027.

• file a clinic complaint to an external agency, in the event that your clinic complaint remains unresolved. You may file a complaint with our Accreditor, The Compliance Team, Inc. via their website, www.thecomplianceteam.org, or via phone 888-291-5353.

• request consultation of another physician.

• ask questions of your physicians and other health care providers.

• ask and be informed of business relationships among hospital, other providers, or payers that may influence your care, treatment, and services.


Filing a complaint or grievance:
If you would like to file a complaint or grievance, you may do so in person or by mail, fax, or email. If you need help filing a grievance, Andrea Leyden, Chief Nursing Officer, is available to help you. If you believe that Washington County Hospital and Clinics has failed to provide proper services or discriminated in another way on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), you can file a grievance with:

Andrea Leyden, Chief Nursing Officer
400 East Polk, PO Box 909 Washington, Iowa 52353
Office: 319-591-0199, TTY: (800) 735-2942, Fax: 319 653-4271

You can also file a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, electronically through the Office for Civil Rights Complaint Portal, available here , or by mail or phone at:

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, SW
Room 509F, HHH Building
Washington, D.C. 20201
Office: 1-800-368-1019
TDD: 800-537-7697

Complaint forms are available here.


We invite you to read a brochure that lists your rights and responsibilities as a patient.