Best Military hospitals in United States

Yes people complain a lot but try going outside the system. I have had nothing but wonderful service at all the military facilities. I was very sick and if it weren't for WR I would not be here. I would think for what you pay for medical care in the military system you would be a lot more thankful. Think of people that don't have this and have to pay a lot and some people cannot even afford medical care. Stop whining and be thankful.

The quality of service has been horrible these past couple of years. Plenty of rude and unhelpful staff and doctors as well as horribly long call wait times just to not be helped. There are a lot of good doctors and nurses, but way too many bad ones as well. I've been waiting over an hour to be helped with my referral over the phone and nearly a year just to fix it because of how hard it was to even contact one of my doctors. Not only that, pharmacy wait times are ridiculous. You'd easily be waiting 4 hours or more just to get two things and there would only be 4 people working trying to get all the medication out to patients. I keep hearing how free military healthcare is even worse than normal American healthcare and I'm starting to believe that it's true which is sad because they're both horrible.

Had two knee Surgeries and Dr. Rankin is the best, the anesthesiologist I forget his name but for my first knee surgery he has been by far the best out of the four I've had. As long as I'm in this area he is the only orthopedic surgeon I want to see.

Can I give them a zero? I have been there 4-5 times and they are terrible. I already don't trust govt doctors from screwing up a diagnosis with my hip and back stating thr pain is all in my mind. I had to wait an hour for the Dr after checking twice, another one said they will schedule me when they can and put my files on a big stack of.paperwork. We switched to John Hopkins just to never go there again.

I recently had a not-so-great interaction with an employee named Lewis while trying to refill my prescription. Despite my frustration with the ongoing issue, it would have been better if he had been more understanding and helpful. I understand it's not his fault, but his attitude over the phone was unprofessional. It's important for customer service representatives to be respectful and provide assistance. Hopefully, the VA can address this issue and improve their service.

I’ve been trying to get a radiology appointment and none of their phone numbers work. It goes straight to voicemail and says their mailbox is full. Good Job DC. Way to care about your veterans.

Went into the emergency room on Super Bowl Sunday and was treated well. The wait was a little longer for me because the sonogram technician had to be called but once he arrived everything went smoothly. The ER staff was very courteous, kind and attentive. Thank you 🙏🏾

My doctor is great so the review isn’t about them. The pharmacy is terrible, I’m 100% but they didn’t have my medication when they should’ve and I had to pay 3000 dollars out of my pocket for my meds. I filed a formal complaint and sent my receipts off for reimbursement. it’s been over a year, no one has contacted me and I have NOT been reimbursed despite everyone saying I would be. I needed that medication but the reason I was given for them not having it was you’re too young and a woman, we are used to old men here. News flash people in their 30s are veterans too. Caring for all patients regardless of age or gender is imperative. ENT doctor missed medical issues that were confirmed via MRI. Traffic and parking is usually a hassle to get here.
Dental is a joke. Since I got out I have needed a lot of dental work done but they are booked out months and months and community care for dental is a joke. They say they cover 100% disabled p&t folks but they don’t. I’ve been waiting over a year for dental follow up but you can’t reach anyone. Patient advocacy is a farce. You don’t get call backs or real help. The people who work at the VA don’t seem to care about the way they talk to you or how they treat veterans. It’s embarrassing. I refuse to waste my time driving an hour+ to this va. Use the app, speak directly to your doctor, cut out the middle man and ask for community care referrals. Specialists out in town will jump through hoops to solve problems. Not here
If you enjoy living life use anybody else other wise prepare to wait on the phone for 30+ minutes, get hung up, or not receive the specialty care you need. This VA should be an absolute last resort. I only stay because my doctor is great and very responsive via the app. They are the best doctor I’ve had since I’ve separated. Other doctors have been condescending and dismissive. The fear of experiencing that again keeps me with my current dr but if not for them I’d be driving to West Virginia

I've been getting medical care at the DC Medical Center for about 18 months, and it's a mixed bag. The pharmacy seems to work reasonably well, and primary care appointments scheduled online have worked. Specialty care appointments can be a mess: 1) calling through central scheduling often results in being number 40 inline (a 30-minute wait) and then sometimes drops before being answered, 2) calling the specialty clinic directly sometimes works, but more often the voice mailbox is full and the line drops, or I leave a message which never gets returned. Management follow-up often appears lacking. Fortunately, for me, Medicare has many more choices and less annoying problems, and I plan to do most of my future care through it.

Multiple times I have called and stayed on the line for thirty minutes to an hour only to be hung up on after I reach number one. The departments you call never return messages. It takes an act of god to get through to your primary doctor. Miscommunication is a big issue here. I have not received the care that I need because my primary doctor is either confused or just doesn’t care. I swear you will either die or get worse coming to this VA location for care. I’m so tired of them.

7 of the BEST DOCTORS I've ever had - and I've had a few - have been young and older VA doctors. Their commitment is exceptional.

Tried calling in to set up an appointment and the operator was rude. But other than that been trying to set up a neurology appointment for over a year now. They keep saying they are calling me, but I have not received any calls. Other VA departments never have a problem calling. But, overall this VA facility and department is one of the worst health facilities I have ever experienced. I would recommend just never even trying because it's like a 1/100 chance you'll be seen or even hear from someone. (Exclusive to only neurology department) Need to hire some new people who care for others

If I could give this hospital zero stars, I would. Can't get a reasonable appointment for ANY department. No one answers the line, no one knows the correct transfer number, and don't even think about showing up to the emergency room. By the time you get seen, the doctor you want/need to see will be gone. Trust me everyone is there to just collect a check including the nurses/doctors. Veterans listen to me and listen well, Google some information and call around to see if you qualify for community care coverage and get with a civilian doctor asap! These people DO NOT CARE ABOUT YOU.

This was my first visit to a VA facility. After so much bad press about VA medical care, I was mentally prepared for a nightmare. Frankly, I was stunned by the friendly and helpful people, from the contractors controlling traffic and access, to the check in personnel, to the nurse and doctor. I came back a couple days later for a hearing assessment, and was again blown away, leading me to believe that customer service is a characteristic and not an accident. I wandered into the wrong location for the appointment, and a random employee asked if I needed help, then walked me all the way to the correct building and office. Usually when you go to a large facility, you run into someone who wants to make your day a little harder, but not at this Center. Even if navigating DC streets is challenging, this will remain my go-to VA facility.

Waited at the America pharmacy for 3 hrs for one inhaler. It’s so overcrowded. It’s not the employees fault. They look exhausted. I bet they are overworked and underpaid. Everytime i learn a new system, WR changes it to a new system. The place is no bueno anymore.

My father goes here he is a Vietnam veteran and i go with him to all the appointments .. the good healthcare is the least they can do after what they did to those men in Vietnam.

Support staff don’t care about you and the doctors are so busy they don’t care either. Went in for a checkup because this is my primary care and the doctor straight up told me he didn’t have time for me if I didn’t have any pressing problems because he was late to a shift in the ER. When I *do* receive care it’s usually good care, but good luck actually getting any doctors attention or time to help.

It's my VA and I love it.

It's a VA hospital. Not sure what else to expect at this point in dealing with the VA healthcare system. You have to fight super hard just to be seen and get the necessary care. And, if you are lucky enough to get seen, you need a specific follow-up appointment or you will not be seen again. Except for the dental clinic (which is horrible in all aspects of administration and care), the doctors, nurses, and lab techs are pretty good and some are even great. It's the administration, front desk employees, and dental clinic that make this facility (and other VA care centers) a nightmare sometimes. You need everyone who works at the VA to have a desire to serve veterans, not just some of the doctors. The doctor's attitudes mostly seem good and they seem willing to help veterans, but what good is that when the road to seeing an actual doctor is met with everyone else trying to get you out of the system and trying to deny us care or make sure we don't care that we veterans desperately need?

Cavier Thomas in the VA travel office did a fabulous job helping me with the travel arrangement. She went above and beyond to ensure that I was reimbursed for traveling from Maryland to the Washington DC VA. She took the initiative to herself to one was responsible for signing off on the travel voucher. She solved the problem and followed up with me days later with a notification phone call. Pay Raise immediately!!

I attended the emergency room on July 14, 2023. My experience dealing with the entire staff was nothing short of phenomenal. The emergency room staff to include the police officers, security, nurses, intake, and doctors were friendly, engaging, and informative of their procedures. Although the emergency room and urgent care was filled to capacity, the staff kept a positive attitude and continually informed the patients about what was happening with their care. Secondly, two pharmacists came to the emergency room on separate occasions to inform me personally about the status of my medication and how they could help me with my needs. It has been over 40 years since visiting the hospital with my Dad and the attitudes and work ethic is second to none. Kudos Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center.

I get to the VA. It had been some months since I had been to the VA, but I remembered being able to park fairly easily. Drove to the parking garage, it was packed to the brim. No parking available for anyone who needs the handicap access lane. Drove around the parking lots hoping to find something fast.

Mind you, I arrived to the VA 40 minutes before my appointment.

I finally gave up and asked one of the parking lot attendants where I could park where there is an access lane for my van's ramp. They said just take it to the valet. I had completely forgotten the valet parking was a thing here.

So I drove it up, and waited another 25 minutes to get parked. I'm already 5 minutes late for my appointment.

I get to the basement, then turn to my phone because Driving Rehabilitation is not marked, and GC210 isn't labelled either. There are no signs for either of these. I did not know that it was the same location as Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

A nice lady saw me in the hallway, and asked me if I needed help, I said I'm trying to find driving rehabilitation. She said follow me that's my department. (pay attention to that bit)

SO I wait in line for another 10-minutes. Finally I make it to the window and the 'gentleman' behind the window says something confusing.... didn't quite get what he was saying at first.

He said "Hi, oh I tried to call you".
He doesn't have my name yet, or reason for my visit or know anything about me other than I'm an amputee in a wheelchair at first glance.
Me: "I'm here for driving rehabilitation".
Him: "Yes Sir I tried to call you to cancel your appointment (fires off name of person I'm supposed to see rapidly) won't be in . I tried to call you but you didn't answer."

Me: "Funny, the only call I've had from the VA is the one to confirm my appointment for today".
Him: -insert disingenuous apology so he can dismiss me so he can get to the next person in line-
Me: "OK then"
Him: "She should reach out to you in the next couple of weeks to reschedule when she's back in the office".

Thing is, I have no missed calls, no blocked calls, no texts, and no voicemails, and no emails from anyone from the VA, except the one call around 3PM 2 days before my appointment, which was the automated system asking me to confirm my appointment, which I did.

It seems to me that an OIG complaint is in order.

If I'm wrong about this, you can look me up by name and clear things up for me.

I brought my client here today and a guy named Ian Caucasian guy with gauges in his ears which is unprofessional in the Neurology department was so rude to her she has a traumatic brain injury so she couldn’t remember very well and he was so rude to her saying well you have to remember he was very combative and rude as a civilian I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone he needs to take sensitivity classes and retrain himself on how to treat people. I would give it zero stars but it won’t allow it.

Place has gone downhill in access and service over the past couple years. So many people using the facility everything is jammed way over capacity— putting simple math together it is certainly observable that much much more than active military, retirees and their direct dependents (which the hospital is intended for) are using things. Or maybe the law changed over the last couple years. It’s like USAA, which used to be for military members and now you just need to say you know some distant fifth cousin who you never knew you knew. At least that’s my perception. I wonder if congressional staff have looked closer.

Gold team Gastroenterology front desk and scheduling staff is AWFUL and INCOMPETENT! Similar to the other reviewer, I couldn't get through to my scheduler...sent multiple emails and left voicemails. She never answered the phone or returned phone calls/e-mails. I had to call the front desk after 4 unanswered emails and a voicemail. It took multiple tries to get a human voice at the front desk but when I did, she was friendly and tried to help. Hours later she called back and was confused about the message she took. Eventually it led to a response from the scheduler. Next day I get a call from the doctor asking if I was someone else. He said he had a message from the front desk with my phone number and someone else's name and was wondering what I needed. Anyway, when I received an appointment that didn't work with my schedule, I was told they could request Fort Belvoir to contact me with availability. I said yes, but please don't cancel my appointment as I don't know if Fort Belvoir will be able to support my schedule. They were not, so I wrote back to Walter Reed scheduler confirming the originally scheduled date. No response. I proceeded to send 3 more emails and left a voice mail over the next 5 days with no response. I had to contact Walter Reed patient advocate on the 5th day, then got a call from the scheduler's supervisor offering to help. When she looked in the notes, she saw that the appointment had been cancelled 5 days prior, noted as "patient cancelled appointment". The next available was now 2 weeks later. Without going into detail, this colonoscopy/endoscopy is needed to address current symptoms/conditions I'm having, and was given priority by my doctor for a reason. These people are dealing with health of patients. Oh, by the way, the scheduler is a contractor, so the Government is spending God knows how much on contracts for people like this to sit on their a** and screw over patients...what a waste. So disappointing.

This clinic has two teams—blue and gold. With blue, Scheduling was quick, received a call from scheduling nurse the same day I was seen for my initial consult. Information on procedure was excellent by scheduling nurse. Colonoscopy staff were professional, kind, and on top of their game. Doc called with results in 3 days and was willing to answer any questions and concerns.
Gold—worst lack of professionalism and communication. Scheduling nurse for colonoscopy NEVER returns phone or email messages to schedule procedure. Took my husband 7 mo to get scheduled. The nurse never bothered to call to discuss the prep and diet, the procedure itself, or go over what medications are safe /should be avoided. During his procedure, I overheard 2 patients try to schedule their procedures in person, explaining that they have left multiple messages and have never received a response.
Why half of patients receive inadequate care is infuriating.

Very Efficient When It Cones To Service

Medical

There are some of the best doctors there. You do have to wait sometimes but that's with all places and the parking can be a little better but overall it's a real great place to get all your medical needs done for veterans. You just have to be patient with the newbies!

I go here for all my health care as a veteran it's great

Service is good

The VA is doing good things lately. If you've been on the fence regarding the VA, give them another try!