Tomah VAMC

They provide inpatient hospital, outpatient, inpatient residential, telemedicine and detox, which is the whole of what this address in Tomah is set up for.

They detox from alcohol, benzodiazepines, cocaine, methamphetamines and opioids, so the first stage and the treatment after it can happen in one place rather than across two trips to Tomah.

They treat mental health alongside the substance use, so both sides are handled in one place. Ask whether the psychiatric side is on site, because in Tomah that is the part that varies.

It is on its own in this part of WI, which makes the waiting list question worth asking early.

They offer a telemedicine option. What that covers varies, and a first appointment in Tomah often still has to be in person.

There is usually a plan for afterwards, covering appointments, medication and somewhere to go each week. Nothing booked for the first week back is the most common gap in a discharge plan. Ask whether the center keeps treating you afterwards or hands you on.

Existing prescriptions are normally continued, and they are reviewed by whoever is prescribing at the program. Any medication you were prescribed by someone else is still their decision until a prescriber at the program takes it over. Ask how soon after arrival you would see a prescriber.

It is a prescription that steadies the ground while the rest of the treatment happens. Not every center is licensed for every medication, so what is on offer varies more than the clinical picture does. Ask whether the medication can start during detox or only after it ends.