First VA appointment in Wisconsin

[Sir Henry]

I made my first VA doctor appointment for this Friday. I’m slowly getting everything transferred to Wisconsin. Getting my drivers license was the most difficult. Everything else has been relatively easy.

Now to find out how good the VA is here. I came from one of the best VA Hospitals in the United States. Seattle is a wonderful place to live if you are a rich doctor and the area had no shortage of doctors who want to live there. Many of my doctors there also taught at the U of Washington.

Now I will be going to a small clinic 71 miles away.

[John E Davies]

Are you going to get a concealed carry permit? If you already have a WA one, it is recognized there, but I bet they have residency requirements once you set down roots... You don't want to get stopped and have to answer awkward questions about why the address doesn't match your drivers license!.

Good luck on the VA visit... have you already had your Washington records transferred? Or are they all in a nationwide e-database?

John Davies
Spokane WA

[daytime dave]

Good luck at the VA. 71 miles sounds like a long ride. I hope it's worthwhile once you get there.

[cooperhawk]

It's a lot longer but the VA Hospital in Minneapolis is excellent for major problems.

[Sir Henry]

Good luck at the VA. 71 miles sounds like a long ride. I hope it's worthwhile once you get there.

71 miles is the nearest major shopping so I will be doubling up on doctors and shopping. I drive into Wausa about once a week.

[Sir Henry]

It's a lot longer but the VA Hospital in Minneapolis is excellent for major problems.

Milwaukee also has a major VA Hospital. One thing I want to discuss with the doctor is what facilities should I go to. I also need to see an optometrist and dentist.

[graywolf]

Hope all goes well.

[Skycop]

I live on the other side of the state (Appleton). The VA clinic here is outstanding. The huge VA hospital in Milwaukee is a nightmare.

[clovishound]

My buddy uses the VA quite a bit. After seeing the hoops he has to jump through, I will stick with Medicare and Tricare for Life.

[Sir Henry]

My buddy uses the VA quite a bit. After seeing the hoops he has to jump through, I will stick with Medicare and Tricare for Life.

The VA in Seattle was tops till Covid hit and they wouldn’t allow anyone in.

[Skycop]

I use tricare for life for anything serious. I just use the VA for recuring things like prescriptions and optical.

[Sir Henry]

The VA is all I have.

[clovishound]

Well, in all honesty, they did recently open a new facility in North Charleston which is far more convenient, but the downtown hospital facility required parking several miles away and taking a shuttle bus to and from the hospital. A simple visit required one to spend a very large chunk of the day. I'm not throwing stones, I understand that folks that have service related disabilities must use the VA for certain things, and financial considerations loom large for others. I have been fortunate, and had good insurance during my working career, and at age 60 my Reserve retirement kicked in giving me retired military medical benefits.

My buddy keeps telling me I am eligible for VA medical benefits. I tell him that I don't have to pull my wallet out when I visit my doctor that is only a couple miles from my home, and is one of the top rated GPs in the city. I haven't mentioned to him the complaints he constantly makes about the hassles of VA visits.

[clovishound]

I use tricare for life for anything serious. I just use the VA for recuring things like prescriptions and optical.

I assume you are aware of Express Scripts. You can have them shipped directly. That can be a plus or a minus, depending on your experience.

[Sir Henry]

Well, in all honesty, they did recently open a new facility in North Charleston which is far more convenient, but the downtown hospital facility required parking several miles away and taking a shuttle bus to and from the hospital. A simple visit required one to spend a very large chunk of the day. I'm not throwing stones, I understand that folks that have service related disabilities must use the VA for certain things, and financial considerations loom large for others. I have been fortunate, and had good insurance during my working career, and at age 60 my Reserve retirement kicked in giving me retired military medical benefits.

My buddy keeps telling me I am eligible for VA medical benefits. I tell him that I don't have to pull my wallet out when I visit my doctor that is only a couple miles from my home, and is one of the top rated GPs in the city. I haven't mentioned to him the complaints he constantly makes about the hassles of VA visits.

I thought the VA was great until Covid hit.

[clovishound]

I'm sure the experience varies by facility and individual.

[BrokenolMarine]

I used the Richmond, VA Veteran's Hospital for years, and my biggest complaint there was the parking nightmare. I solved that by scheduling my appointments at 0800, arriving at 0600 and parking in the empty lot and dozing or reading until the cafeteria opened for breakfast. See, they had a huge lot, but "most" of the premium handicapped spots were taken by "entitled" VA employees. One, carried an orange traffic cone in her suv, and would block the space under a shading oak when she left with the cone, then move the cone, park, and toss it in her back seat until she left again. By 6:45, the bulk of the handicapped spots, and a large number of the front lot spots were filled by employees. Same cars, same spots, every day.

I needed one of those spots to get my chair out of the truck, so I came early.
I didn't mind, less traffic that way.

My drive here is between an hour and a half and two hours to the Oklahoma City VA. No parking issues. I visit Tandy Leather and/or a large Gun Shop on the way home. Neither of which we have here. The care so far has been good. Getting someone on the phone, a week long marathon phone battle.

We have the option of outpatient care, however I have not had the best of luck locally. I have, however, had good luck in Sulpher, and at Fort Sill and Lawton. Not near the level of care in VA, but decent.

[The Wiz]

I have experienced VA hospitals and clinics in three different states. Illinois, Wisconsin, and now North Carolina. And it is a pretty mixed bag as far as services, wait times, and parking. Chicago's Hines was the pits, totally overwhelmed, wait times were unbelievable. But once "inside" the staff treated me with respect. Had multiply surgery's done there no complaints. Local clinics were the best. Madison Middleton VA Hospital was a newer facility, good parking, valet services, and helpful staff. Didn't really have to much interaction with that hospital. Lived in Rockford,IL. and the clinic there was like a mini hospital affiliated with the Madison Hospital. That was the best. Now lets talk about the Raleigh/Durham Va hospital. Parking is terrible! Got caught in a traffic jam in the parking garage. Second level.1/2 hr to get out. Missed appt. But once you get "inside" things are better. Having said that last Tuesday I waited an hour and half past my appt. time in Dermatology. Got a survey next day and ripped a new you know what.Next day got a call from the dept. wanting to know more details. As disabled vet and financial reasons I am tied to the VA system. It is not all bad and over the years I have learn how to maneuver through the system. They do take care of me especially in preventive health. I really don't know what I would have done with out the VA Health system. They do try but lack of funding, politicians protecting their turf, and short term memories make it tough.