Vista Community Clinic — Local services in Oceanside

My experiences at VCC clinic on Pier View Road has been for the most part hurtful and painful. One Dr. MacMurray, had me waiting for almost two hours. When he finally treated me, he was rude and constantly used profanity. My husband accompanied me and witnessed this as well.

I was due for a follow-up. The front desk called me a day before my scheduled appointment and informed me that he could not see me because I was not in his health group. I knew this was not true because I called my health plan and was told he was part of my group. I did not argue because I did not want to be seen by someone who did not want to see me.

My nurse practitioner, NP Baldwin, who I've seen for three years, never knows who I am. Each visit she speaks to me as if I'm a first time patient and I constantly have to answer questions over and over again when it's clearly in my chart. When I asked questions she became defensive or combative. She finally told me that she never knows who I am because I change my hairstyle frequently, although I've been seeing her for three years.

I had a blister on the top of my foot. It was as big as a quarter, filled with liquid and was increasing in size everyday, and it was painful. Initially I had a Telemedicine call with another NP who was not my primary NP via video. She saw the size of my foot and immediately ordered antibiotics, instructed me on the care of my foot and advised when I saw my main NP, Baldwin, the blister should be drained and a culture should be taken to assure there was no infection.

The following day my husband again accompanied me to my appointment. NP Baldwin was immediately hostile and rude to me and my husband. She refused to treat the blister. She told me that the blister was no big deal. I told her I was in pain and I could not sleep due to the pain and discomfort. She said that the blister should not hurt, she would not drain the blister, she would not take a culture and she did not understand why the other NP who spoke with me the previous day gave me antibiotics. There was more said, but this review is already a novel.

I scheduled a walk-in appointment for Saturday morning at the Vale Terrace clinic. My husband once again accompanied me. What a world of difference from the front desk to the medical assistant to the NP, Everett. I could cry while typing this. The staff there treated me like a human being. They showed compassion, they listened, they advised, and most importantly, they were professional!

Needless to say, I will no longer go to the Pier View location for any type of care, even though it's a 5 minute drive from my home. I have changed my primary NP and will now make all my appointments at the Vale...

This is a community clinic, and that makes no difference. Why? They treated me so well when I was a patient there! I'm still a bit shocked as to why they have bad reviews. The providers are extremely knowledgeable. The medical personnel are very personable. They have some true gems working at this clinic!

I really love Kris who is an MA. She's very experienced, very kind, and gave me some of the best advice. Ruby is an AMAZING and I mean AMAZING lactation consultant. Breastfeeding was a nightmare for me, but she is basically a magician and works magic lol. Liz Luepton, the prenatal/child birth educator, wow. She's fantastic. She is incredibly warm, knowledgeable, kind, and caring. She really listens and creates a safe space to talk and learn about child birth. Mary Borders is so incredibly personable. She talks in such a casual manner, that she made me feel like family. Jennifer Ledezma is my nutrition cheerleader! Despite doing a mediocre job with trying to stick to my gestational diabetes diet plan, she kept cheering me on and gave me positive feedback. Rit is so nice and down to earth. I really enjoyed talking to her during my NSTs. Brianna was always so organized and on top of things. Lisa, the women's center manager did a fantastic job helping me with insurance/payment issues.

For Providers, Dr. Deitrich is highly knowledgeable, personable, and takes the time to thoroughly answer my questions. NP Nicholas shared some stories about her own pregnancies that made me feel less alone and validated my experiences. NP Schaepe was so nice and was giving me positive feedback when I was in doubt. NP Santiago is very knowledgeable and diagnosed a rash very thoroughly and gave me the perfect medicine for it to go away. Dr. Karannikis always supported my birth plan choices and made me feel seen and heard. Dr. Arrieta was always so sweet and...

It's always a long wait. Also, I think I would not go here again for a female wellness exam, they made me go back twice. The first time they said the cup they used was expired. Also, there was at least three people in the room, why does there have to be three people? I understand 2 people, because the doctor was an older man and having another female is good, but then there was someone else always (I think a new student doctor learning) and they didn't explain (I felt like an experiment). Yet, the doctor seemed like he did not know what he was doing really. I felt uncomfortable (both emotionally and physically). I'm still sore almost a week later from the exam! I had to make another appointment, and when I tried to do so at the desk the girl working there said I didn't need to, there was a whole confusion about everything. It seemed very unprofessional. The only reason I go here is because I have terrible HMO insurance and they have convenient times available with my work schedule, but I would avoid this place...