Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston Review

August 30th I was admitted in the hospital for hip revision surgery. Being Labor Day weekend I was happy that it was getting done even if I spent the weekend there. Got to meet several Doctors in Orthopedics. After surgery I found myself on the second floor 2B room 224 for the next 3 days I was impressed with the concern they all had for my recovery. Each and every one that worked that weekend deserve nothing but a grateful thank you for taking care of me. Nurses, Doctors, food service and custodians all did a fantastic job. There is actually more to say but will wait after my follow up appointment on the seventeenth which is this Tuesday. I am Lloyd Plourde a grateful and thankful veteran, to all who worked Labor Day weekend on 2B Room 224. Thank you, Thank you

Trying establish pcp and I was transferred before I could finished my sentence and was unhold for so long I took a shower, watched a show, and I was able to able to eat lunch and still was on hold ... battery went from 80% to 20 well I guess being a vet that worked in mortuary was good cause that where I ll be head if I hold my breath waiting for someone to pick up phone

It amazes me that we have this huge facility in Houston, and yet I can not speak to a single person on my disability claim. They have sat on it for 2 years now and I haven't heard a single word back. The only answer I get when I call (and I have to call the Muskogee office to actually speak with someone) is that the Houston office still has it. That's it........please please fix this as I am certain that I am not the only one.

How are you going to shut down the clinics because of Covid? I'm just trying to get health care and get transferred a million times because nobody can help me. Everyone I talk to is really rude and doesn't know what they're talking about so they just transfer me to someone else who doesn't know anything.

I guess its ok for 70% USN service connected veterans to attempt to seek treatment at this world renowned facility* and have there tele psychiatrist mock the patient with his colleague at this facility that I was hoping to be different. Thank you.

Houston VA Hospital is by far the worst hospital in the United States. You can't get any worse than this place. I would have to write a book on this Hospital. I just don't have the time. I have experienced everything from dishonest Doctors and Dentist to being hung up on and poor care. Do yourself a favor go to Temple VA or Dallas VA Hospital.

I am the wife of a service-connected disabled USMC Veteran. I m also a former (due to care of my spouse) medical health care professional. I am well experienced in both sides of patient care. I can say many of the various staff members are polite, friendly & knowledgeable, however, it s those staff members who lack professionalism & lack of respect which tear down the efforts & presence of what this hospital was meant to represent in all facets.

In more depth, I can attest how I ve yet to witness my husband being treated as a whole patient . As he suffers both physical & PTSD issues, this medical center, as a whole, fails him miserably; if admitted for mental health while coincidentally enduring a very painfully, crippling gout (knee) attack, he is left without any medication regimen much less pain control (this is taking place this minute) for this physical issue.

It seems counterproductive given how pain can exasserbate or even trigger further mental and physical complications. As we speak, he is admitted on the 6th floor & I am concerned for his safety. I have received his calls begging, in tears, for me to do something to help him. It is my assertion more harm is being done to his well being at this rate. When I am present, if I attempt to convey information about his circumstance, I am quickly snapped at ( the Veteran can speak for himself ) & ignored. Sadly, this makes staff member follow-up calls directed at me impossible to take seriously, no matter their seemingly genuine interest. By the time the calls start, I m completely disgusted by how his current case began.

Additionally, while his in-patient status is preceded by very stressful turmoil for both of us, each time it has caused further stress and strain. My nights are sleepless while he is there on the 6th floor. During his last stay, he was unreasonably (I continually read every chart note, lab result, etc.) handled and left on the actual hard, cold floor after complaining of chest pain. A staff member even noted their disbelief of his complaint (a big red flag as to standard of care). Three days later he was having emergent open heart surgery. Thankfully, the cardiovascular team took most excellent care of him. Had it been left up to the 6A staff belief system, I have absolutely no doubt I d currently be a widow.

We are most grateful for those staff members and representatives who take pride in their work, are present & accountable (yes, they do exist, I ve had the honor of meeting a few). If not for those individuals, this hospital would be a miserable failure.

As to those staff members who are unprofessional, unfriendly, incompetent & unwilling... I encourage them to read about the career and goals of the hospitals namesake- Dr. Michael E. DeBakey and then ask themselves if he would stand for their name on his payroll. I think not.

No matter the hospital, the department, the Doctor, the terminology, the technician, the administrative clerk, the test or the health condition, I encourage each patient & their chosen caregiver(s) to advocate for themselves/patient as much as they can. Read, READ, ReAd all that can be read about any, ANY, AnY question that comes to mind and then ask, ASK, AsK anybody, everybody until a comfort level is reached. Every patient & their circumstances are unique and very important. Health care can be very taxing for everyone involved, however, there is no excuse for a patient feeling unheard, uncared for, ignored or left with unanswered, answerable questions and proper, Standard of Care. Period.

I already know how the system so I just go with the flow. There are some rude and lazy staff but it seems to be getting some what better, seems there trying to hire better staff, why the ones who are there now are so unhappy. The only place that really needs a major overhaul is the walk in ER, takes too long, poor language skills on staff and poor treatment of older vets.

The doctor with the German accent in the mental health clinic shouldn t be allowed to practice. Without reading my file she dismissed everything I said to her. As a female veteran I don t wanna hear from another female I m over exaggerating an being extra. My meds where literally making my body deterate! I swear these people get paid to watch us wither away.

Every time I come here its a 5-6hr process. Be prepared to wait. Away from that its not a bad hospital.

They make appointments and when you show up 3 months later they say your not in the system but they'll still see you so you wait 3 hours to get seen.

The VA hospital in Houston and league City Clinic are the greatest.
They are givin everything they need to care for 5 patients...only they give the staff 15 patients not .
They try hard , try patience .
If you put your hurry up attitude in check.
Things will go better.
I always thank the staff for there time, and there help.
I hope this administration in the wh begins to show compassion towards those fearing for there lives.
We were at one time running for our lives.
How did we treat those that helped us.
Can we just admit we can all do better to one another , then act on it?

Hate this place.... Hate coming here with a passion. Staff is bottom of the barrel typical VA staff. ER is unprofessional, slow, and lame af. Been here 3 times and all 3 times I ve left unhappy. Only come here when I m dying and when I m here hate myself for coming. F this place.

Whatever you do do not use their mail pharmacy they are incapable of getting renewing the prescriptions

Fixed my dog and wasn't too expensive 5/5 grate service!!!

Quick service. Doctors listen. Schedule appointments quickly when requested.

Great hospital. Provided the care I needed. Yes, parking might be congested or a certain procedure might take a little while, but the end result is that you will be seen and be provided the best service/care. I have health insurance and I will continue to Choose VA over the other hospitals when able to. Thank you- Unit 5E and Urology Team.

This Veteran's Hospital Administration is very corrupt and dishonest. They will and do lie to Veteran's, creating a high level of distrust by Veterans. Yes there are some good employees there, but their numbers pale against the Bad Ones.

Sarcastic Primary Care... Limited skills level... had to file formal complaint... Appears that English as second language... the nerve of these bureaucrats

9/7/19 I was very impressed with the skill level of Dr. Ye in the ER. He was focused and precise in his evaluation of my situation. He is the first to bring my blood pressure down from 207 to 140 systolic and 107 to 60 diastolic.

For the first time in two months and two visits I can get my shoes on after being treated by him. Exposure to other professionals have not been effective to this point outside of blaming the patient for their failure to achieve what Dr. Ye accomplished. He is excluded from earlier review which is still accurate

I am a disabled veteran and I go to the Michael DeBakey medical hospital in Houston,the Doctors,Nurses and staff always treat me with respect,and I always treat them with respect. The doctors and nurses treat me like a KING and I do not think you can find better doctors and nurses anywhere!!

The wait is sometimes a little long... Sometimes we get seen right away. The doctors and staff are always nice, helpful, and respectful. I love the free valet parking and the coffee shop in the lobby. It's also nice that they pay travel reimbursements.

My husband had to be taken to the emergency room at the VA Hospital on today I was very upset very concerned about him the RN nurse Susan was so helpful so caring and so compassionate she spoke with me and made me feel so much better thank you guys for having such an awesome employee I'm not sure of her last name but I do know her first name is Susan she is an awesome NURSE thank you

Copy
Cool

Baylor Docs here. Great team of docs. Always caring and professional. Wish they could show support staff how to treat each patient. Doctors get A++, support staff C-

This review is for "Tiny" that works in the ER. His bedside manner and hospitality are top notch! Thank you for being such a caring person.

I went to the VA Emergency Room yesterday for severe back and leg pain. The Emergency Room instructed me to go to Clinic 3 so that my primary care physician could see me. After waiting for about a hour, the nurse called my name and begin to question me in the waiting area. She asked, "what is the problem?" I told her that I was having severe back and leg pain. She then proceeded to ask me what kind of medicine did you want? I told her that I needed to be examined first. She stated that there was nothing they could do but give me medication. I told her but I haven't even been examined by a doctor. I told her to forget it and I went to the Memorial Hermann Emergency Room. Thank God I also have Aetna and Cigna Insurance. It is ashame how they treat veterans.

It's a government agency. It will be how you look at it. If your totally focused on yourself and your world, it might not be the fastest or best. I am thankful for all the doctors and nurses at the VAs I have been to. I feel I am always treated with respect and kindness. I give it five stars because for what they are doing and accomplishing and the massive amount of VETs and family members they have to treat everyday, it's incredible actually. If you have a good attitude and are thankful for what we have here in this country, the VA can be a great experience. That way you become part of the solution too, instead of the problem. I am continuously pleased with all the improvements they are making too, it really shows. Thanks VA.

Just watched a veteran in a wheelchair get focibly ran out of the of the waiting area by some thug wannabe police officer that doesn't know how to diffuse a situation. They sprinted the guy in the wheel chair out that is unsafe. The guy was only upset because he waited there for 4 hours and told to come back tomorrow because the doctor wasn't there and the secondary doctor was out too. That ain't right. They could have said something 4 hours ago. The guy wasn't being disrespectful he got loud because he was upset but wasn't being rude. When people aren't doing anything or listening its frustrating and you have to get loud. I left I was so disgusted by the way they treated him.

Methadone clinic is more interested in making it hard to receive your doses meds then your health Dr fermo does not care about your health and Peter Valle thinks he is a doctor. . couple of clowns for sure

The doctor with the German accent in the mental health clinic shouldn t be allowed to practice. Without reading my file she dismissed everything I said to her. As a female veteran I don t wanna hear from another female I m over exaggerating an being extra. My meds where literally making my body deterate! I swear these people get paid to watch us wither away.

The Emetgency room is very slow!!! The wait times are horrible. They need to get a better process and more staff!

Lack of communication!! We are waiting for x-ray to be input into system. Saw Dr. Green on the 13 and the Anesthesia dept this morning and nobody bother to order the x-rays, EKG or Lab work. Been here since 10am. He is having surgery on the 6 and it's 1:10pm

I finally got through. I have been told that I can only get a TB test with my primary care doctor. And my primary care doctor won't be able to schedule me for a TB test until January 2018!

11Jan2018. The staff at the Travel Pay need to lean some manners and anger management. Hateful staff should not be tolerated by any of the veterans.

I have been treated well here. However they see far too many veterans for one location. Wait times are long and appointments take months. Parking is a nightmare. They Do have excellent Doctors , I think some of the staff could use a course in Courtesy. It's Government , Hurry up and wait. But putting that aside , once your seen the physicians are excellent.

I have struggled with one abrasive Nurse for 6 years. Yesterday called me at 6:33 AM and screamed at me. Reported her to my Dr. last Oct., and told to hang in there. I do not know where to turn to get someone to help me.

This is very sad...Is this how you treat your veterans. Customer service skills are very poor. Who is hiring these insensitive people? The lack of compassion is ridiculous. This is my friend whom is 96-year-old world war 2 vet and he can't get good customer service. How many times do I have to call this morning for someone to just put me on hold and give me the run arounds. No one deserve to be treated this way. Please hire new people or train them. But if you think about it, it comes from the heart and its not coming from this place. Please show more respect for your veterans.

Although they took care of my dad, the doctor who did his amputation did not do a really good job. I did not know at the time because it was wrapped up for healing. Even when he got discharged they stuffed him in my small suv. No ambulance service. The men acted like they could not lift. It was very frustrating and really made me want to hulk out. The female nurse and I had to try to get my dad in without further injury. But when he got sick about a month later, one of the nurses asked where my dad got his amputation because there was over an inch of bone left on his leg. I was so pissed.
He stayed in there for about two weeks but the first week they were giving up on him and not feeding him or giving him anything to drink. I told the doctor, "He did not give up on us in the war, so don't give up on him." After that he was fed ice chips and then eating again. But my dad was ready to move on the day before Veterans Day of 2016. RIP Daddy.

If I could give zero stars I would I don t understand having a 7:30 appointment and not leaving until 4pm

My son was in the hospital recently and his care was wonderful!!!! All of the staff were great!!!! I loved his nurses and doctors and one of the doctors even called us after he was released to see how he was doing. A very nice facility but the reason for only 4 stars is because of the horrible parking situation.

The VA medical treatment at the DeBakey VAMC is the proof that not all government agencies are ineffective and this is surprising since all of their methods and procedures are controlled by Congress by law. Overall they have good doctors who are well trained and care for their patients. They are massively overworked and with several budget cuts it is surprising that the care has not suffered. Normally you only get twenty minutes with your primary care physician ever ninety days but the good docs will give you more. Always be prepared with the facts of your complaints and not ramble on. They have little time for chit chat.

I read some criticism of the staff but I did not find it better or worse that other private facilties. They ARE overworked and some do not respond well to that. The VA should work on understanding and fixing the problem with "customer service". This is a problem with every large organization.

The VAMC in Houston is the ONLY large facility in the Texas Medical Center with unrestricted free parking. At least half of the parking spaces are taken by people who have no connection with the VA. They park there taking up spaces intended for disabled veterans and then hop on the shuttle and go to their jobs at MD Andersen, Baylor, Methodist and others. The VAMC is FEDERAL property and subject to FEDERAL regulations. If they get a ticket for illegal parking they MUST appear before a Federal Magistrate to pay their fine. Now here is a law that I wish that they would use to solve the problem. If there is a chronic violator, someone who illegally parks at the VAMC three or more times, then they should be subject to the RICO statutes against organized crime. This means that the Federal government can SEIZE their property and sell it ASAP. Confiscate their cars and it's contents and sell it. At least they will not be taking up a Vets parking space with THAT vehicle anymore. I would then publicize the fact. There should be plenty of parking after that.

There so good we need one built in beamount ..for real who do I talk to about that .

The parking lot is terrible. If you are going here, make sure you arrive at least an hour before your appointment is scheduled because you will be using it to find parking. You might be better off parking somewhere else and taking an Uber to get there.

People are great here. Usually in and out pretty fast. Good food too.

Easy entry, great parking and wonderful handicap accessibility.

My wife and I are both veterans and have been a patient of the DeBakey VA center since 2009. It is a great health care system. We have no complaints.

I am the wife & sister of veteran's treated in the cardiology department at Micheal E. DeBakey VA. I can't say enough good things about this dept. A few yrs ago my oldest brother was literally knocking on deaths door with a serious heart issue that not he nor us were aware of. We all thought it was his untreated diabetes. 1st I took him to Lk. Jackson VA clinic because he was having trouble breathing. They sent him to hospital across the street where he was hit with defibrillator twice. Once stabilized they transferred him to Houston VA ER. Eventually he went upstairs to CICU. He rolled over to take a nap & all machines went crazy. Again they used the pads on him. I wish I could remember the doctor's name that was taking care of him, the man was incredible. The entire staff was incredible. The doctor called in a team of surgeons in the middle of the night to save my brother's life, which they did. They placed a temporary pacemaker in the middle of the night. When I got into room to see him after, he said he felt 150% better. They scheduled him for a permanent pacemaker/defibrillator the next morning. The man has been great ever since!
My husband (USMC) has also been a pt at this hospital several times. They have completely saved his life as well. October this year he had the Watchman implanted with no complications. Most recently, 2 weeks ago, he had a defibrillator w/pacing capability implanted. Dr. Schurmman (spelling) is an amazing surgeon and Dr... He is precise & talented. He has good bedside manner & answers questions. The nursing staff in the coronary ICU are so good. They always take very good care of my husband. We both love Terrance at the front desk in cardiology, along with the nurses. We also love Gabe with Medtronic... that guy knows his stuff. When my husband was finished with surgery & I came to the waiting room, Terrance didn't just point or state directions on how to find him, he took me to the area that I needed to be... he's a keeper for sure.
I am quite confident that my husband would not have gotten this great of care in the private sector. When I see the volume of patients the VA has to take care of daily, I am amazed that the staff can even smile much less treat all the patients like individuals and be so kind at the same time. Thank you to all of you serving our veterans & their families. God bless you all & God bless America!

The best place for a veteran to get good medical care.

Good lord do something with the patient parking areas.

Nothing is ever an emergency at the VA. I am seeing people having stokes and some are going pale, but there is no sense of urgency with the VA staff. Smh. Something must be done.

I was told it was a circus at this VA Hospital and just by the phone call I can 100% agree to that comment. Even the phone on-hold music was a circus.
The person I talked to did not know English well and could not help me with my grandfather.

The staff was wonderful, would recommend this hospital to friends

The VA Michael DeBakey Hospital in Houston is one of the worst veteran hospitals I have had the misfortune to experience. The way they treat veterans is deplorable, the security officers and Hospital police officers are rude and disrespectful to patients who are disabled and the medical administration staff do not take accountability when they make mistakes when scheduling appointments wasting patients time and not addressing patients when they are in pain. This is like the County Hospital! I hope the current federal administration oversees the incompetence of these hospitals and terminate staff who do not exhibit professionalism and provide customer service. We need people in the Health department that actually care about patients and not staff that only sits at a desk to collect a paycheck. All VA hospitals need to assess their admin staff and dismiss those that are not meeting expectations.

If I could give them 0 stars I would. The medical staff here treat their patients as if we re a thorn in their side and an inconvenience in their day. If you have an emergency you d be better off going to a small walk in clinic up the street;They could probably get you in quicker. The hospital itself is a depressing environment, but when you feel as if the medical team could care less about you it enhances your negative mood.

Let s not discuss the parking situation and the police offers who think they re God s of the Parking Lot.

It gets busy here but the VA has always been great to me

I come to the VA in Houston, TX several times a year for specialty care. Even though it's the biggest VA in the nation the doctors and care givers are still friendly and helpful. Like any VA location, navigating the administration and bureaucracy is difficult. However, don't forget that Patient Advocate and the veteran's organizations (DAV, VFW, American Legion) are there to help. The folks at the Michael E. DeBakey Medical Center are there to serve. Now all they need to do is put up the portrait of General DeBakey in the foyer again. Instead they have a smaller picture of Queen Elizabeth II (seems appropriate I guess). LoL!

My experience with the VA hospital has been very positive. Everyone tries to make your visit as smooth and easy for us veterans. They have come along great lately. Thanks to all that the staff and doctors do, for going the extra mile to help all the veterans and their families.

The emergency and walk in services are horrible. If you are, literally, not dieing you will be turned our of the E.R. and told it's not an emergency. As for walk in service. I spent an entire day there and never once saw,a physician, just a nurse. Beyond that the nurse only conversed with the Dr. via some sort of chat acct. on the computer. Even further, would not ask the Dr. what I wanted her to ask and only said " She won't do that."
This V.A.by far has some of the worst customer svc. I have ever seen in the V.A. system.

Awesome staff! I've never had any issues the last 10 years... A-1 in my book..

Do a good job with overloaded personnel and doctors.

They treat our veterans real good and offer everything you can possibly need medically. Except proper medicine for pain

Did a wonderful job on my dad's heart valve replacement.

I have made three requests to the Women's Clinic to renew my B-12 prescription. In the past it was routine. I use MyHeathVet to manage these prescriptions and when zero refills appear I am advise to request a renewal from my PCP. To 'improve efficiency' a go-between aka another layer of bureaucracy now filters these email requests and decides if the PCP will get them. Beam me up Scotty!

Nice clean and friendly place I like the place personally my ex boyfriend went there I went shopping at the shopping center upstairs and loved it they had very nice stuff there!

I finally got through. I have been told that I can only get a TB test with my primary care doctor. And my primary care doctor won't be able to schedule me for a TB test until January 2018!

11Jan2018. The staff at the Travel Pay need to lean some manners and anger management. Hateful staff should not be tolerated by any of the veterans.

I have been to other VA Facilities, and this one is THE WORST!!! The employees in travel pay, Patient Avocates, receptionists, and some nurses and MD;s. They are so rude, and uncaring, and extremely lazy! They do not care about the patients, they only work to get a paycheck. Our Veterans get such bad service, that they do not deserve.

I called the ER to see about getting a doctors note since I wasn't feel any better the next day and I had school the next day to which I was told no problem come in the doctors are here ... I make the long drive to the hospital to only be told the doctors were off today and I'd have to check in and wait in the completely full waiting area ... incompetent I expect better treatment of vets fix yourself VA

I do not understand the problem with people.....we are recieving care, great care...yet they find any little thing to be negative about.. Sure you have to wait sometimes....but I have seen the same in non-VA hospitals and clinics. Some people are just grumpy... Great people working in these hospitals and clinics...

Lines can get long, but overall the care here is very good. Most of the staff and friendly and caring

Excellent care, excellent service. Some things require a wait. But it's still worth it.
Dad had very few copays and paid nothing for his medicines.
I wish every person in America had easy access to the high quality care that my father received at the VA.
About the waiting: Even under a lot of time and productivity pressure I didn't see or hear of any VA staff member who was unhelpful or unkind. Let's demand that Congress appropriate the money to hire more staff. The system works already and it'll work a whole lot better when you fund it.

Horrible operators that answered the phone on me ALL 3 times. I got attitude with each call. I was trying to get a hold of medical records who kept showing busy I was told for a period of 3 hours. on the last call, I'm sure they knew it was me AGAIN, I got transferred to a telephone line that rang indefinitely with no option to leave a voicemail. I have a physician, CARDIOLOGIST at that, that is waiting on records from them since this is what is HOLDING the patient in our hospital. I am so disappointed.

It seems like they don t really care about their patients! If you are in serious pain and they can see it they take their time in pain management. Also if you go to the ER, prepare to sit and wait for hours staring aimlessly into the abyss of the hospital because it will take well over 6-7 hours for your visit to be complete. And God forbid you ask a question, if it s not their case f*** you. They are so rude with responses to simple questions such as, do you know about how much longer this will be? Or is there someone that I can talk to that does know the answer? So frustrating..this almost isn t worth avoiding that emergency room bill.