My day at the VA. Future of Healthcare in America

I am leaving the homestead today for a trip to the VA for my annual physical.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, we have a wonderful VA facility with a great staff of doctors, nurses and volunteers. The staff is friendly and efficient, but at times it feels like a “cattle call” where you are just a number as you move through the system. Compared to the Orlando VA, Fayetteville VA hospital is really nice, but the Orlando hospital probably sees ten times the number of patients. If you utilize the VA healthcare system I trust you have a good VA facility. Is this the future of health care in America? What do you think?

My day started at 7:00. I had my first appointment at 8:45 am for lab work. Upon arrival, I joined several hundred others waiting for lab work to be done. It wasn’t too bad by VA standards. They are very efficient, so the waiting time is about 45 minutes. The lab results will be ready before my appointment with my doctor at 10:30. The doctor’s office/location has no receptionist. You just swipe your VA health card and answer a few questions on the monitor and take a seat to wait. This time I waited about 90 minutes, but in the past it has been worse. Talking to other veterans always makes the time pass quickly.

The doctor gave me a clean bill of health and I made my appointment for next year. Appointments are made a year in advance. If someone gets sick, it is possible to get an appointment, but you may have to wait a short time. The important thing is to stay in the system, which is why I have a physical at the VA every year. If you are not in the system, it would be hard to get an appointment if I needed one.

I went to lunch and made a few stops to buy supplies for the homestead. My last stop was to pick up a horse trailer that our Steemit friend @jeejee has loaned. We will be picking up a bull for breeding our miniature Jersey cow in a day or two.

Stay well and thanks for your up-vote, Tim and Joann