VA North Texas Health Care System — Local services in Dallas

Where do I start in this horror story that has drug on for over a decade? It's always a terrible experience trying to access the VA's homeless services. First if I wouldn't be homeless if VA regional would compensate me for my service connection disabilities but they prefer for me to die on the street instead. What's new? It's a punch in the face every time they say Thank you for your service. Who calls abandoning the sick and injured on the street refusing to compensate them a thank you. A middle finger would express that sentiment.

My most recent VA social work experiences are they call pretend to want to help then refer me to a phone number that has no voice-mail and no one answers the phone either. I tell the social worker that this happened and she refuses to respond to me in any way and she does not send anyone to help either. These social workers are malicious and fake. Imagine that so much help would act be proviso homeless veterans but because they have hired terrible insincere staff veterans are left to die on the street. Your donations and tax money are actually a lucrative no accountability job for bad VA "health-care" workers. I wish Trump was back in office to fire them.

My most recent social worker call was due to the fact that I contacted my congressman and made a congressional complaint about being abandoned on my street with my two service dogs for over 3 years while VA regional drags on forever saying they can wait until I am dead to decide to compensate me for my service connected disabilities. This again is best described a middle finger not a thank you.

In this most recent insincere call another social workers calls me sounding polite at first.then when I ask any fair reasonable question she immediately reprimands me for asking any questions. I ask is it a shelter or apartment that I will be living in for a year with my service dogs until VASH availability. She tells me not ask questions and finally after I beg for explainations, tells me it will be an apartment. What in the world is wrong with asking such a appropriate fair questions? Am I supposed to be a slave that just goes into everything with a blind fold on? I should be allowed constitutional rights as a veteran, instead of this slave treatment. Then she didn't like that i asked if I should bring anything for my phone appointment 2 days later. She responded telling me that it was a stupid question because it's a phone appointment. It is not stupid if I have to look anything up to answer questions or show proof. Apparently berating veterans who ask questions is considered professional for VA employees. Those are red flags for narcissism. She ends the calls with a very sinister manly sounding, "Bye" that gave me an eerie foreshadowingof a scenario of her as my prison warden and me as as the shackled VA patient inmate. These people have no medical board, no better business burea, and no body camera. A literal prison has more accountability that va socalled healthcare employees, given the same imprisoning authority. They are doing white collar policing and cameras should be allowed but are prohited by threatening signs at the doors just before you walk to the the dozens of topless women pictures at "welcome" desk. How scary for women to be trafficked here for "healthcare." The VA should employees employees real professionals who love veterans not bullies cinstantlies putting them down with verbal abuse. Peace of mind...

What to say about this place? Well for one, it isn't as nice as the 5 star reviews from VA employees would indicate. Cracked and deteriorating ceilings and walls adorn the hallways and rooms. Stale, musty air floods the interior, giving the impression that the air vents have never been cleaned. Another problem is in the layout. They have one large waiting room to be occupied by everyone waiting to be seen in any of the clinics. This means that Rheumatology patients with suppressed immune systems will share a space with sick, infectious patients.

There is also completely inadequate parking. At my last visit, I drove around the lot for over an hour looking for a spot. When I finally found one, I was then ambushed by a pair of men who thought they were entitled to the same spot. When I called VA police, they never showed up. I then went to my appointment. They turned me away because I was late.

Further, the doctors themselves are incompetent. I've been diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis by three separate private rheumatologists. Since this is a service connected condition, I wanted VA to take over the pricey infusion therapy that was necessary to control my condition. At my appointment, they ran a sedimentation test to detect active inflammation. Since I was current on my meds, this was obviously low. My symptoms were currently under control. They also took x-rays of various body parts, some, like my hands, I had never had issues with. When I saw the VA rheumatologist, she focused on the sed rate test and the hand x-rays. She concluded that since I did not have active inflammation and had no damage to my hands, I did not have RA, and thus would not receive treatment.

This is where it turned bizarre. I've known, and private rheumatologists have recognized, that my RA is atypical. That is, it seems to attack my large joints (hips, shoulders, knees) that have likely endured significant wear and tear due to athletic activity, and it attacks the cartilage and soft tissues foremost. Due to this, I have had a total hip replacement and am scheduled to have both of my shoulders replaced later this year, in addition to having endured over a dozen arthroscopic surgeries. Without infusion therapy, I literally cannot move. One of the visiting residents who bothered to read all the records I sent over understood this. She called me on her personal cell phone that evening and implored me to seek treatment. In addition to RA, I also suffer from another autoimmune disease, Crohn's. The infusion therapy is necessary to control both Crohn's and RA. Out of control Crohn's can lead to bowel perforation, causing Sepsis and eventual death. I know this because I've gotten to the Sepsis part a couple of times and been saved by ER doctors at Baylor Scott and White at Carrollton. This resident understood all of this and cared whether I lived or died. Unfortunately, the VA doctor either did not understand or did not care. So, I basically get pricey infusion therapy to cover a service connected condition in order to maintain mobility and stay alive.

Among disabled vets, the joke is that the VA's unofficial motto is "Delay, deny, until they die." Dallas VA fits this...

I won't dispute those who say they have had bad experiences at this faculty, but I have been an admirer since a major management overhaul a few years ago. I've been cared for here since 2004, twice as an inpatient, and have been treated at half-a-dozen clinics.

I have had major healthcare organizations and facilities as clients since the mid-1990s, and I have rarely seen the systems, team responses and resources like those at this VA unit.

We are lucky that it is used as a teaching hospital by UT Southwestern because many times (in my experience) treatment or consultation for difficult medical issues has involved medical professors -- some of whom are among the top handful of experts in their specialty in the world.

It's the largest and 2nd busiest VA medical center in the U.S. and has had to adapt to handle a veteran community that has grown as North Texas has grown, doubling in population in roughly the past decade or so. Add to that the returning OEF/OIF vets and you'll realize the stresses put on the system.

Many complaints are aimed at parking availability. It is tight, but I’ve seen the VA invest millions of dollars to build two multi-story parking garages reserved entirely for vets. I have easy access to DART, which has a train station at the front door, so I don’t drive unless absolutely necessary. I understand many vets must drive long distances, but the parking situation is vastly better than before. I won’t even address those who complain that valet parking isn’t available at some entrances. It’s at the main entrance and it’s free with no tipping allowed! How was the valet parking at your last duty post?

I go there today to get my 2nd Covid-19 vaccine shot. We Dallas vets are among the first 10% of the entire U.S. population to get access to the vaccine. Your neighbors will still be waiting to get their’s when the temperature is 80 degrees hotter than it is today.

My only connection with the VA is as a customer and my experience has generally been inspiring. I'm sorry others haven't had it so good, but I'm alive today because of the people who care for us there and am grateful that this benefit is...