Sacramento VA Medical Center

Brought a visiting relative to the Sacramento VA Medical Center today. We called in and figured out where we needed to go for an appointment. When we checked in at the desk we were kindly told he had to register in the 650 Bldg as he was from out of state. He filled out paperwork, was called up 6 minutes later and told to return to the appointment area. By the time we returned, the chart was waiting for him. 15 minutes later he was seen and walked out with a cheerful: Have a wonderful rest of your trip. GREAT EXPERIENCE, that took less than an hour and a half from parking to leaving. The Staff is efficient and respectful, yet friendly! Thank you, Sacramento VA Medical Center!

I’ve been a patient here since 1994 and I have seen a lot of improvement over the years but with all that said the VA system itself if flawed. All hospitals have issues some worse than others here at Mather I think most of the providers try to do a good job but with the overwhelming veteran population and not enough space or staff available it is always going to be hit or miss with care. Usually the problem is caused by too many vets and not enough resources. Overall patient care when admitted to the hospital is good but when you have to make an appointment with your primary care provider that is where the nightmare begins. Wait times for primary care take too long and the program of going outside the system is a joke. I was making an appointment for a clinic and was told the first available appointment wasn’t available for about 8 weeks so they offered me the program to go to a non VA provider. I got a card telling me to wait for a week before I called the scheduling office to insure that the referral was begun. Well I waited the week and called the number and I found out that the referral was incorrectly submitted, okay so then they told me to call back later that day which I did. Then I got another person who started the appointment process and told me to call back the following week. Anyway I did and then when I called again they made the wrong appointment with the non VA provider and asked me to call back that afternoon at this point I was pretty frustrated well I called back again that afternoon and then I was told that the non VA provider’s first appointment was even farther out than the appointment I originally had with the VA clinic. At this point I just gave up and told them to cancel the non VA appointment and told them that I would wait for my original VA appointment. I don’t pretend to know the solution to the VA’s problem except to advise if you have some urgent care needs go to Tricare if it’s available to you or tough it out with the VA. I don’t blame the health professional’s I blame the politicians who should be ashamed at themselves but of course are not. For all the VA doctors and nurses hang in there with most of these comments I certainly commend your efforts I just hope you get the resources to help you all with your demanding workloads.

The ER personnels are quick on their feet but whenever my bf has health issues and sees his primary doc, lab tests are SCHEDULED weeks out (at least 1 full week). My poor bf continues to suffer from his unknown condition while we wait for radiology to see him for an ultrasound and an MRI.

This place is trying to hire vets to show that they care. On top of that, the employees, nursing and staff doctors do everything they can in their power to help out the veterans. There are constant vendors outside m and the medical center is one of the only ones I know of that has a homeless primary care, where they actually help veterans get back on their while taking care of their medical issues. There aren’t any walk in appointments but they do have an ER

My wife and I recently moved from Santa Rosa CA to Chico, Ca. Today we went to the Sacramento VA in Mather for the first time. I’ve got nothing but praise to say about every aspect of the hospital. This is the best VA medical experience we have ever had and this includes San Francisco Medical Hospital, Santa Rosa VA clinic and Chico VA clinic. Everyone we came into contact with from the medical assistant at the endocrinologist’s office to the Woman’s Clinic was very helpful, cheerful and went out of their way for us. I will include member services as well. I have never felt cared for like I did here and the doctor I saw was as I had hoped a «real» expert. My non-​VA Doctor in Santa Rosa miss diagnosed my situation and was one of «least effort.» We feel grateful for having VA medical and this has not always been the case!
P. S. The hospital is clean. The bathrooms are clean. The cafeteria has the most cheerful and helpful grill cooks I have ever had the pleasure of ordering from. The parking was easy as well. Expect a good experience.

After all the negative things you hear about VA medical centers I can say that California has some really great ones. This being one. I was new to the area and needed to get a physical. Not only did I get in quick but the level of respect, hospitality and assistance is of the greatest quality. You aren’t treated like a number to be shuffled in and back out. I commend the staff, volunteers and others on all levels for their compassion, care and smiles.
The bathrooms (women) were clean and neat, the dining area was cozy, clean and had a variety of items. People were quick to ask if I needed help and point me to the right direction and even walk me there. The café is delightful and just when I thought I was being bad by getting a danish — it wasn’t that sweet but still delicious. Now I did have an appt that was cancelled without my knowing. This I hope doesn’t happen again because it’s a 20+ minute drive to the hospital. But I have no complaints. However, I have only been there 3 or 4 times.

Treated like crap here. Was given a parking ticket by the V.A. police for parking in space that was not marked for no parking. I was calm and polite and the cop yelled at me. No one should be treated like that especially someone who is sick.

This hospital only gets 2 stars because while primary care effectively takes care of and prioritized patients, the ED likes to pretend it’s busy to avoid seeing patients. I am the only patient that has checked in since I got here. I was brought back for vital signs (where I was told I had a temp and high HR, throat swabbed) then sent back to the waiting room. I’ve been sitting here quite a while waiting to be called so I went up to check they hadn’t forgotten me. Guy at the front desk on his phone told me I’m on the board but they are «waiting for a bed to open up.» I guess all the empty beds I saw while I was in there don’t count. Let’s not forget the mad rush of invisible patients that have come in in the time I’ve been here. I’m sure there are in fact patients back there and real medical emergencies; as someone who has worked in an ED myself. As one health professional to another, if I don’t get antibiotics soon I’m not gonna be able to breath. Why the heck else would I subject myself to this subpar patient care? You really think I came here to bug you for a cold? I’ve already filled half a water bottle with spit I can’t swallow. The VA healthcare system is consistent in one thing: their lack of compassion for Veterans. I’m so tired of constantly being told to wait while VA employees prioritize their phones and gossip. Get up off your butt and take care of someone who literally is at your mercy and can go no where else but your ED 30 min away from their home. I don’t want pain meds. I don’t want anything but antibiotics for a throat constricting bacterial infection. I’m so disappointed. One good thing came from this… I think the spike in adrenaline from writing this heated review brought down some inflammation in my throat. Awesome. Maybe I’ll catch the sunrise.

Since my experience with Kaiser and Blue Shield I am very apprehensive about hospitals. But since I felt that I might bleed to death I went in to the emergency room.
They admitted me in the emergency room right away and were very attentive. After a few hours they admitted me to the hospital and put me in the ICU. No one get much sleep in the ICU !
I had three doctors assigned to me so one would be available at all times. I found that the doctors and staff there were more concerned about me than I was.
It’s my opinion that if your back hurts and you’re looking for drugs you’re going to get the runaround. But if your life is on the line you couldn’t have picked a better place to go !
They got me into see a specialist as soon as possible. And then scheduled another appointment for a outpatient procedure three days after my Discharge from the hospital. I live almost 100 miles away so
They paid for a nice hotel for me and my wife to stay in so I wouldn’t be late for my appointment.
With Blue Shield the doctors would like a check for a couple grand before they even bother to look at you.
Make sure you have a clear understanding with your doctor about their DNR rules. DNR mean do not resuscitate, for me that means brain-​dead no hope for a useful life. For most doctors that means your heart stopped or you stop breathing. This type of misunderstand could get you dead!
So I would like to thank the doctors and the staff at the VA hospital at Mathers for the wonderful care that I received. I am still alive and well and feeling pretty good thanks to you !

To quote Joe Pesci’s line from the movie JFK: «It’s a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma.» I couldn’t have said it better if I tried. Those words and that quote perfectly describe my feelings about this VA Hospital.
On your first visit here. You’ll probably be awed by the picture perfect «post card» looks of the facility as it sits like a tall oak surrounded by some of the best restaurants and business Sacramento has to offer. Not to mention, the Hospital is literally a quarter of a mile from the Mather Airport. But wait! looks can and are deceiving in this case.
For a building of this size, parking is a challenge. There’s no reserved spaces or parking to separate employees from patients. Its a free for all and guess who always looses this race?
Once inside, you’d better have a GPS because getting help from the all volunteer information booth is hit, miss or none existent.
Wait times, even with appointments can be long and boring. And depending on where you are or what your visit is for. You may or may not have someone keeping you informed about your wait time or status. You’d think they could at least have some type of tickler system.
The main hospital building is in need of an face-​lift or maybe an interior decorators help to bring some light into this dreary and dark place. The cast from the movie «The Shinning» could of had ball filming at this location. Wait! Maybe they did?
And here’s a call-​out for the folks in the HR department. Please hire either new or more janitorial staff to help with cleaning. I’ve yet to visit where I’ve seen a clean restroom. It’s one thing that the restroom (s) smell like urine but, to actually see urine covering both the urinals and toilets too. Really?
I stay hopeful that our government will eventually put our veterans on a higher pedestal than prisoners or the uninsured who visit our county hospitals. I trust they will soon pump needed monies into all our VA facilities across the country. If anyone is deserving of respect and decent health care its our Guardians of Freedom; Our Veterans.

First visit to VA in Sacto. clinics
Here with friend getting a Scan on lungs.
Looks like a good place.
People fiendly, looks clean
Problem
The food in café. Very large donuts. sweet bread and other Diabetics delights. That is if you want Diabetes.
Diabetes is probably one of the hardest diseases to treat. Plus one of the most expensive diseases to treat
What is wrong with the VA. There is no excuse to have such bad food in front of sick people.

My experience here is hit or miss, typically falling on the latter of the two. Today, I came in to get a simple test done that ANY nurse could administer, but alas all useful personal in primary care is gone before 1600. As I left I had mumbled to myself «dang, everyone’s off by 4, must be nice.» To which some asshat with his thumb up his butt took it upon himself to loudly say, «well they all come in at 6am.» Look bro, if I am complaining, let me complain and leave, don’t piss me off more than I already am. Here’s an idea Mather VA: stagger your useful employees so that those of us who have jobs, school, etc. (and can’t get off) can come in as soon as possible and not be met with people getting a paycheck for twiddling their thumbs. Other areas are open late on Wednesday’s, so why isn’t primary care. Oh wait, that would make sense, and common sense isn’t so common for the people in charge. Thanks for nothing!
I gave you two stars only for the few people who have been helpful.

I have had my ups and downs at the VA Medical Center. It does depend on the doctor you see and how much they seem to care about you and your health. I have had bad doctors, great doctors, and all the in between. The VA however does need to take care of veterans better and some doctors need to know their patients better. I have had the «pleasure» of walking in to one of my regular doctors offices and have him not remember who I am or even give the slightest acknowledgement that he even cares what is going on. So this is a downfall of the VA care system to me.

I went there the other day with severe back problems a spinal problem what the doctor says anyway. well to make a long story short i went to the ER and was standing there in line for what seemed like 20 minutes waiting to sign in and in front of me was this Idiot standing there telling this silly woman stupid stories about all kind
of stupid thing things didn’t have anything what so ever to do with getting signed in
so i finally said hey does any body really work here or what was just kinda ignored
then when it came time for the injection for my back they gave me which i believe was the wrong stuff usually the injection i get helps me real quick not this time im
still in real bad pain, has any other Veterans of viet nam have simular stories.
and they say that they respect the War veterans ya right

Travel office doesn’t know the rules and if you feel they have wrongly denied your claim talk to patient advocates office. They have to pay mileage for outside provider travel such as braces for service connected issues. And you get retro mileage after increased compensation award but you only have 30 days to file after notification.

A lot of people fuss about the VA medical system but I have not had a single issue with these guys. I have seen multiple departments and I have had surgery here and everything went great. Very wonderful doctors and they are very good about scheduling and rescheduling if I need to get in. As far as the online communication via MyHealtheVet, there has been no issues there either. Sometimes that is just easier because of the busy schedule these guys have. I am not just being bias either, I have experienced other VA hospitals, they are not horrible but they are not as good as these guys.

Whoa~This hospital is HUGE! My podiatrist works mainly at this hospital but she also assists other VA Hospitals due to short staffing issues. I’m grateful having the podiatry surgery procedure done; months later, my feet feel no pain now.

The short version: If you have the ability to go to a VA hospital this is the one to go to. Clean, updated, and staffed
The basics: After moving to NorCal I needed to get back in another regions computer system so I made my way up to the Sacramento VA. Access was pretty good aside from dealing with construction, but that will be gone and it will leave many improvements. As soon as I got in the door there was a very helpful gentleman to point me in the correct direction. From everything I saw of the facility it was clean and updated. I’ve been in the VA system from coast to coast and this has got to be the nicest one I have ever seen. As much as I don’t like having to go to the doctor I’ll be willing to go back again.
What works: Everything.
What to improve: Once the construction clears up it’ll be great.

The staff (admin, nurses, assistants) were all wonderful. I am a Navy vet from Viet Nam era. I received Blue Cross after my discharge until I closed my business in 2000. Cobra or self insurance was not an option due to cost so a friend reminded me that I am eligible for VA. At that time, I still lived in the SF Bay and was able to join the PAVA. I can never say enough good things about all aspects of the Palo Alto facilities, doctors, staff. Best care I ever received. I might mention here, I have an ongoing battle with heart disease. Triple bypass and multiple separate stents since the bypass.
We moved to just outside Placerville 18 months ago. Since then we have been using Mather. As I said, the staff is as good as they come. The Doctors though… in a word; suck.
Not going to go into details here. Suffice to say, the genuine lack of care at Mather is forcing us to return to PAVA. Yes, 2.5 hrs drive one way. But that’s 5 hours round trip that might possibly save my life because the doctors at PA really do care!
This is not really a review for you to decide to use/​not use Mather. I am hoping that even if one single doctor reads this, that maybe will be a motivation to do the thing you studied so hard to do. CARE for patient you are treating.

Excellent Healthcare for Veterans who served and protected our Country.
Thanks for serving!