Durham VA Medical Center

Reviews 3

AN

Andrew Roy

I am a 31-year-old male who went to the Emergency Department at about 5:30am this morning. During my visit, there appeared to be very few other patients at the ED. Once assigned to an exam room, my stay overlapped with shift change; so, I had 2 sets of RNs and physicians. PROs -friendly & fairly thorough check-in -vitals were routinely taken -pain management was offered very early on and reassessed periodically. -first physician encountered was inquisitive and thorough, compared to a recent ED experience -nurses were attentive -offered wheelchair for transport between x-ray and exam room. -clean facility and professional staff -convenient and fast pharmacy dispense -apparent that 1st physician took time to well-familiarize with my electronic medical record -several pain and inflammation management options were provided to prevent an immediate follow-up visit. -several checks on known allergies. -physicians, especially the 1st, listened carefully and considered the information provided about the current complaint. -efficient use of time (coordinating tests, etc.). -apparent that shift change reports were exchanged between initial and 2nd set of RN & MD; as 2nd physician reported information that I had provided to the 1st. -2nd physician provided quality notes for my primary care provider and medical records. CONs -~20-30 min for check-in and then transport to the exam room. No wheelchair was offered for transport to the exam room. -long wait time from being assigned a room until discharge (~3.5+ hrs)(2nd physician admitted that I was forgotten in the shuffle of shift change). -current meds and/or supplements were not assessed for! Big safety issue! -though a recurrent condition, the 1st physician was apprehensive to attempt collecting a sample for definitive testing, at one point. it was perceived that since it might not work that it shouldnt be attempted. thats not the spirit. -2nd physician did not seem so inquisitive and never offered a treatment for the diagnosis (just the symptoms) NOTE: I am a medical provider and knew going into the ED that an effective treatment does exist for recurrent flare-ups of my particular condition. -during assessment, 1st physician out of due diligence (Yes!) asked if I could provide a sample. I was not ready at that time; however, when I became ready and informed the 2nd nurse, there was a substantial delay in providing the materials (couldve been a simple miscommunication) and then collecting those testing materials for analysis (~1 hr after obtaining sample). Overall, it was a good visit with professional staff and thorough examination. I am taking away 2 stars for the following reasons: (1) current meds were not assessed for, which is a big safety risk. (2) an effective treatment of the recurrent condition was not offered/provided, even though it was indicated. (3) I was forgotten by the 2nd physician and that physicians thoroughness was noticeably less than the 1st physicians.

RO

Robert Parrish

Could not be worse. As an honorably served Paratrooper with more than twenty two commendations, I am appalled first, by the "assistants" that are not U.S. citizens, cannot, or will not use the English language, are being paid well with our tax dollars, but refuse to help in every capacity. The signage doesnt match the department. Try to find endocrinology and you will end up in phlebotomy. Just one example of many. Its a poor reflection on the endocrinology staff member whom recently, (last week), told me to get my white cracker ass out of her chair. Im 100 percent disabled and crippled. Im also a very civil person. I immediately left and went to the advocates office. How ironic it was to be telephoned from the clinic and asked to return before I was able to explain this racist comment and refusal of medical care even though I had an appointment. My assigned primary care physician, Dr. India Reid, will not respond to secure messaging nor respond to my phone calls. She once responded after being asked to do so by an upper echelon. Avoid this doctor if at all possible. In my opinion, this doctor would be unemployable at any and all other health care facilities due to inabilities to perform or even pass the most basic middle school tests. The DVAMC is a perfect example of "affirmative action", that is, discrimination against more qualified individuals based upon the color of ones skin. The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. would be in tears if he saw the discrimination taking place today, and the poor treatment of veterans due to their skin color. The director should be fired after my 92 yr. old step-father, decorated Green Beret, Special Forces, was deliberately pushed outside during a rainstorm while in a wheelchair, just hours after open heart surgery, just because he is a Native American. The perpetrator of this deed could not be subjected to administrative action because of his special status. Most employees here are not veterans and care nothing about them at all, and in fact, hate them if it means they may be asked to work. It is nearly impossible to fire a government employee, especially if they are an affirmative action individual. Too bad we are not all held to the same standards and, in fact, less is expected from some than others due to discriminatory policies. Im certain you will also conclude that upon interaction with these employees, youll also "know", they were not even able to fill out their job application forms themselves.

A

A Private User

My self personally would like for this hospital to either be shut down for bad service and poor help to the Veterans or be run under a different operator. My Father and many other Veterans served for the country and when you go to the hospital for a simple thing as a doctors appointment you cant even come into the hospital without a whole lot of lip. Everyone at the Travel desk is very rudely mannered and disrespectful to themselves, the Veterans and any other people who may enter the hospital. They treat the Veterans as if some of them are "Slow." Women in the emergency department are constantly talking about the Veterans as if they are supposed to be running anything. They want to yell at you and say "Aye, can I help you", I was inside the hospital one time and the lady said the man was explaining to the Nurse, he was an elderly man maybe late 70s early 80s, that he had served in World War II, she was like "Well you sit your old A** down somewhere and dont know body give a D*** where you served" The man maintained his composure and sat down. I wanted to say something about the fact but I remained my comments to myself and kept moving. Thats just a portion of the hospital, Parking using Valet is Excellent because they are separately operated. They are top of the line people in my words and I would recommend any Veteran to use the parking. The parking deck is a different story. The people that own or "Think" they own the parking deck are racist. We used the parking deck one time and there was a man of the Caucasian race that was parked there, and was there for at least three hours according to the cameras, we parked there and it was a problem. The lady that ran the booth that day came out and said we couldnt use the space, we asked here why and she said we dont allow your kind to park there. We told someone with what we thought authority, and he told us there was nothing he could do. She called security and told them that we threatened her and that we should be removed, they ticketed us, and told us to leave. This has always happened at the V.A. hospital and we have never spoken up, but we would like for this issue to be resolved so that the Veterans can receive the proper respect and help that they request upon arrival. This is the worst hospital in the United States of America and should be closed. That is, as I mentioned earlier, Just a portion of the hospital.