san antonio Dweller

Review of Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Cen...

I think as far as VA hospitals go, the Audie Murph...

I think as far as VA hospitals go, the Audie Murphy is not bad. I come here regularly for tests and blood work. Their phlebotomists are really good they'll have you in and out in a jiffy (they should be with the amount of practice they get). The Sleep Clinic for CPAP is also very well managed and efficient. All in all, I think, given the amount of traffic they have along with their funding, they have to run a streamlined operation and do fairly well at it. If you go here for non-emergency reasons, it is fine.

I will say however, if you come here for serious health issues, you do so because you have no other option. You really put your life in your hands if you are going to have a major surgery at this facility. I have seen some crazy things at the VA. I once saw a man in cardiac arrest dropped off at the stress clinic accidentally when the cardiac surgeon was waiting for him in the operating room. The nurse accidentally discovered it because the patients in the waiting room expressed concern with the man's physical condition (he was nearly passed out in the chair). The nurse freaked out when she found out where he was supposed to be and it took the orderlies who dropped him off 45mins to get to him. This is were the streamlined services and bulk of business at the Audie Murphy creates potentially life-threatening situations. They leave very little wiggle room to address mistakes and emergencies.

Then there is always that odd situation....like when I was getting blood drawn and an old lady in a lab coat walks in with an ancient geiger counter and starts checking it everywhere, on patients, in the trash, in all the cupboards, and the thing is going off like crazy. It's at that point when you ask, "why is there radiation contamination in the blood room?" and then you remember, "oh because I'm at the VA hospital". When "because I'm at the VA hospital" is a plausible answer to the question, "Why is this room radiated?"....that's why you should not get major things done here...unless you have no other choice.