Virginia Mason Bainbridge Island Medical Center

I had the best experience at VM today. So superior to my experiences with western medicine to date. I have been a big fan of alternative med for years because of disinterested care. Dr. Helming was terrific. I have never had a doctor spend as much time with me ever. Got a very clear treatment plan and so much support. We (my husband and I) are transferring all our care to VM Bainbridge.

I usually do not take the time to give bad reviews, but VM staff and the clinic’s manager are the worst i have ever dealt with.
I have been a patient at VM for over 18 years and the service has declined steadily year after year. I called on Tuesday to make an appointment for Saturday because I was out of state and had a pretty bad (kidney stones are nothing compared to this) neck and arm pain. I waited for over an hour, to even get «called» in the meantime I heard that the doctor was going to be at least an hour late because she «missed» the ferry.
VM claims to be open at 8am, but it means that they open the doors at 8am, nurses and staff were still strolling in at 9:10 when I said enough I am hurting like hell and these people do not give a dam.
They treat you as if they are doing you a favor and they waste your time. If you are late 5 minutes you are out of luck, they will probably charge you and not take care of you.
It used to be that it was a real community clinic, now it is a real meat market. VM is Pathetic!
So I left and went to the Doctor’s Clinic, I was in seeing a REAL doctor in less than 5 minutes.

My husband and I were visiting on Bainbridge Island when I became very dizzy and nauseous. Thus was around 4:00 pm. We were staying close to the Virginia Mason Urgent Care. So we went there. I waited 2 ½ hours at urgent care and still hadn’t seen a doctor.
I was taken back to a room by a nurse after 1 ½ hours where she took my blood pressure & pulse, and recorded my symptoms. She went to see how long it would be until a doctor would see me and came back to tell me that there was one person ahead of me. (Notice no time commitment.) Finally, my husband and I went to find someone and couldn’t find anyone except at the desk in the lobby. So we told her we were leaving.
I would not go there for anything too urgent!

When I made my appt, I was offered one with an NP. I said no, I wanted an internist. I was then offered an appt with one of the docs. I asked, «She’s an internist, right?» I was assured she was. Then, when we finalized the time, I confirmed again, «She’s an internist, correct?»
Once at the clinic for a first appt, you wait in a line at the open reception desk. When you finally arrive to the front, the clerk asks for your name, birthdate, phone number and other identifying info. Then, they have you fill out forms. Call me a privacy freak, but I was very uncomfortable basically telling a room full of people my personal info. Why can’t they just have patients write it all down? Or, ask for the info in a private setting?
Waiting on that line and the lack of privacy really contributed to the assembly line vibe of the place. That they make you feel like a number is only reinforced by their policy of giving you your medical record number and telling you to always use it when you call for anything.
After a ½ hour wait (with no apology) I was in the room, undressed when I noticed a burb about the doc on the wall. Turns out she’s a family practice doc, not an internist. It’s immaterial why I wanted to see an internist. And, I understand many people probably don’t know or care what the difference is. But, the scheduler who works in a medical clinic making this mistake? Since I was already undressed, had had my BP and vital signs checked, I didn’t just leave. I wish I had.
I needed a follow up radiology study and scheduled it after my appointment, right at the clinic, but then I thought better of it. I will be going elsewhere. Of course, to cancel the appt took 10 min of holding on the phone.

Just had such a hassle getting a radiology procedure scheduled. Staff were all very polite but so many hoops to jump through that after 45 minutes I gave up and scheduled my procedure at Olympic radiology in Poulsbo. Yes its a little further but worth it since they were so accommodating.

I have had much better experiences with VM-​W since moving here in March o 20 006. My primary doctor put me on the road to treating high blood pressure. An issue I had raised concerns about with my primary doctor in Georgia. Someone who’d taken care of me for 27 of my then 38 years.
Over cautious with me when it comes to my head, as I was born hydrocephalic.
Also sending me to Virgina mason cardiac unit for what later turned out to be food poisoning. (But that’s fine my ekg was all over the place.)
My primary doctor recently diagnosed me with vertigo. And now there is a lot of second guessing. More towards inner ear infection. I woke up in horrible pain today.
Hoped to be transported to the hospital. Instead sent home, and waiting to take the ferry over to Seattle tomorrow for more tests at a doctors office near Virginia Mason.
Meanwhile, I am in mild, to moderate to severe pain. And unable to walk without a cane. I really have had better experiences at VM-​Winslow, The recent events surely have me wondering if it’s time to give the The Doctors clinic my business.

I have been coming to this clinic since I was 10 and always loved the doctors and other staff that worked here. More and more I question why I still frequent this place. The only good doctors worth mentioning have all left and the one I like now is Dr Edwards. You can truly tell that she cares about her patients. What I don’t like is how the majority of the doctors just blow you off. I spend more time in prep talking to the medical assistant or nurse than I do the damn doctor! I had to go in because I had an allergic reaction and I’ve never been allergic to anything in my life. Dr Edwards wasn’t available so I saw someone else. She looked at me for less than 5 minutes and said «I don’t know what it is or what to tell you but I think its a reaction» no duh! I have a bachelors degree, not a doctoral degree and figured that one out on my own thank you very much. So I inquired further about allergy testing and she said they only test for specific things. WTF?! Clearly I’m allergic to something with no previous allergy history and you refuse to test me. Wow… thanks for wasting my time and stealing my $ 20.
I am now in search of a new provider…

Dr. Simone Ince ROCKS!
After two years of doctors burning, freezing, cutting and slathering my monster mutant plantar wart with salicylic acid to no avail, Dr. Ince finally killed it. So what, you say? I’ll tell you what — that thing was killing me! Never mind I could no longer go hiking, visit my favorite spas for fear of spreading the disease, but I had also become a social pariah. I think a few people behind me in yoga class actually fainted when I stuck my foot out during easy balance. Seriously the thing was as big as a NICKLE and as black as night.
If Dr. Ince (pronounced NJ) approaches all skin aliments like she did my wart — she’s my derma on this side of the water (Kitsapia). Thank you, thank you. So nice to have my feet back.

This place is wack. I live in Bremerton but prefer this location over the Seattle one due to hating the ferry commute for something as simple as a yearly physical. I’ve had to change my PCP about 3 – 4 times since I started going here because this place obviously does something to piss off the few good docs that they attract shortly after their arrival.
Wait times, horrendous.
Staff, snooty and barely approachable. I even had to request a referral to see a doctor at the Seattle location while out of town because the person on the line was too dense to realize that’s what I needed to be seen promptly while in town.
Oh, to have better healthcare. Save your healthcare bucks and go elsewhere, or be hugely disappointed.

I used to really like Virginia Mason as my primary care provider, but now it strikes me as an upscale (barely) Doctor’s Clinic or Group Health. It’s very difficult to obtain an appointment in any reasonable amount of time (for my provider at least) and the wait time far exceeds what is acceptable to me (15 – 20 minutes).
I feel like they are doing me a favor if I want to talk to a nurse, and I hate that they always ask for my clinic ID number or Social Security number rather than my name. Impersonal and irritating to me.
They are still my provider, and they are more than adequate if you live on Bainbridge Island. Anywhere else, and the traffic to and from is simply not worth it. They’re not the only gig in town.