1 /5 Robert Reid: When this new operation replaced the excellent Chehalis facility everything concerning the healthcare of US military veterans went downhill. After learning that I would soon be required to switch to the new clinic, over the course of the next year I was notified via email that I had been assigned to not less than three different care teams and never actually saw any of them. Not one. Nor was I ever personally contacted by any of these medical personnel assigned to my so-called "care teams." You can infer the quality of personalized care this affords any of the veterans assigned to this clinic.
Not only is this new office father away from my home, unlike the Chehalis location, it is impossible to initiate contact via the phone: you are now forced to go through a call center and join a queue of 50 to 60 other veterans all trying to accomplish the same thing. When attempting to schedule an appointment my calls were continuously disconnected. Each time I had to redial, get back in line and start the process all over again so frequently that I have given up using this method to make contact. Instead I tried sending a direct message asking to set up an appointment with my assigned doctor. I was told a scheduler would contact me to set up a video session. Two months later I was still waiting to be contacted.
If you need medical attention and want to see an actual doctor in person this is not the place for you. The doctors here go out of their way to schedule video/phone appointments only and they only have four days each week to squeeze you in, as this country club is deserted of everyone but the nursing staff on Fridays. Since its opening two years ago I have only been seen by one actual doctor for a brief visit. That meeting never did resolve my medical issue.
If you have a procedure requiring an actual visit to the office, the doctors will assign as many of them to the overworked nursing staff as possible rather than burden themselves. If you require something more frequently associated with actual doctor/patient services you are better off seeking out an urgent care clinic, something the Olympia CBOC heartily advocates.
The nursing staff here are the best I have ever seen. That they actually care about you as an individual, as a human being is evident in all that they do - and they do it all.
As a US military veteran, I have been seen and treated by some of the best, most caring individuals you could ever hope to meet. But they dont populate the Olympia clinic. It is my personal opinion that the doctors here really dont care. Theyre simply indifferent about the men and women placed in their care: a fact they make no attempt to hide. Its just a job where they get away with providing the minimum effort and still collect a paycheck. If you want to actually be seen in person by a doctor in your lifetime, this is not the clinic for you. From the start, these people have consistently left me feeling like more of a burden than anything else. They could not be more impersonal if they tried and really know how to put the "outpatient" in CBOC.
Lastly, shame on all the deceitful, spineless, submissives leaving their fraudulent five-star reviews here.
UPDATE (18 Dec 2024): Been waiting weeks and weeks for a phone call appointment (I dont own a car and there is no mass transit near me) with my primary care NP to request a referral for any injured leg - the pain is excruciating at times. The call is scheduled for less than two hours from now and the clinic just called to cancel because the NP is sick. I must reschedule and live like this for at least another month - the soonest I can get another phone appointment is next year, Jan 15 2025. The clinic manager needs to be incarcerated for the way veterans are mistreated here.
