Vaden Health Center

I feel like the general consensus around campus is that Vaden is pretty meh, but compared to my previous on-​campus health services experience, Vaden is amazing. The only time I haven’t been able to get an appointment on the same day was the Monday immediately following a school break. I like how you can do almost everything online, and when you make an appointment on the online portal, you can select your provider, and also see if he or she is an RN, PA, or MD. It’s so convenient having the pharmacy a few steps away, and Elise and Dave (the pharmacists) are fast and friendly.
If you arrive for your appointment early, check in anyways. They usually are able to get to you pretty quickly. However, as a word of advice, if you arrive late and the person behind you already checked in, you might be out of luck!
Some more pharmacy advice: Before you head over to the pharmacy, double-​check the hours. They seem to change frequently, especially over the summer. Also, they’ll let someone pick up your prescription for you if you call in advance to give them your proxy’s full name.

Maybe I just don’t like any doctor I’ve ever seen (aside from the ones that gave lollypops and stickers when I was a child) but my experience with Vaden has been mixed.
Recommended:
– Their location (near a lot of big visitor and C parking lots, a lot of bike spots)
– online booking system (but call if you have a specific doc you want)
– The facility (clean with a pharmacy attached, friendly pharma staff. Beware the prices of behind-​the-​counter items — save yourself a bit and go to either Safeway or CVS unless you’re desperate to pay for Robitussin)
– speed of appointments (wham bam thank you — they keep on truckin’ fast since that waiting room is always at least half full but you’ll never wait long)
– Contraception /​BC visits (the docs here know their stuff and have clearly fielded every health-​class question out there. But that’s not surprising since I would assume these types of visits are a good chunk of their typical workday).
– Getting scripts written up. (usually goes without a hitch and without excess questioning).
– CAPS (some free visits to start, then a reasonable 20 buck copay. Too bad the therapist I saw left a while ago due to the overwhelming schedule she had to deal with).
Hmmm:
– Getting your bills sent to the right address. Be cautious of where your files are getting sent — they’ve definitely sent my files to my parents in NY, when I changed my address with the University. It seems they don’t update their system in sync with changes in Axess, or that it’s totally separate and derived the original address from when you first entered as a student. So, if you want your stuff sent to the right location, make sure you ALSO check the address that is listed when you check-​in at the kiosk before the appointment begins, and possibly also call HealthNet to be 100% sure where everything is getting sent.
– Other medical questions. I’ve definitely told some strange things by physicians here that I’ve never heard before from other docs on the same matter, or even being a high school biology /​human physiology instructor for 7 years. It’s kinda like sitting in front of the class and getting told a really strange anecdote by one of your students… put on your best poker face. «Ok, honey, sure.»
– Getting diagnosed correctly. I was disappointed this spring when I went in to see a doc about a pretty bad cough /​chest cold, and was told that it was due to allergies. While I can understand that was probably the answer du jour and everyone else was suffering from allergies at the time, I specifically noted that nothing itched or resembled a histamine response from an allergic reaction, and I’ve been getting allergic reactions for 30 years of life. I was told that I’m not familiar with the allergies out west (I moved from the East Coast for school) and that allergies here are different from allergies there. (Really? Because I’m pretty sure an allergy has the same general definition no matter what planet you’re on). I was sent home with Flo-​Nase and Robitussin. Shit hit the fan pretty fast in the next 7 days when I couldn’t make it up a couple flights of stairs without nearly passing out from the chest congestion, and the pestilence (or «allergy,» according to Vaden) had spread to my fiancé and my elderly advisor. I came in a second time and peak flow indicated my air intake was 50% of normal at this point and I was coughing blood every morning. The doc that came in this time tried to sell me the allergy story again and I finally flipped out, saying «allergies do NOT spread from person to person the way this has.» So I was finally diagnosed with bronchitis (first time in 20 years) and prescribed some strong antibiotics and ventolin, and while that hit the nail on the head, I’ve still been sensitive to bad air quality since. I really think that it should have been more thoroughly diagnosed the first time and that a mild lower-​respiratory infection would not have progressed to a full-​blown case of bronchitis if they had considered the possibility more seriously early on, instead of going with what everyone else seems to be coming in with.

This is a review for Dr. Bina Patel, a psychiatrist, at Vaden. I’m a medical student at Stanford. I saw Dr. Patel for some stress-​related issues for a number of sessions. Dr. Patel is an excellent clinician who stands out among the 4 psychologists/​psychiatrists I’ve personally seen over the years as well as the psychiatrists I’ve seen on the wards. She’s knowledgeable about diseases and treatments including psychiatric medications. In my case, she helped diagnose me with sleep apnea, a condition with several other doctors had missed over the last year. She’s also an excellent compassionate listener who help me talk about and come to terms with some of the work-​related stress I’ve had. She is one of the long-​term staff, so it’s easy to follow up with her.

Vaden is the health center located on Stanford’s campus, near the Munger apartment housing complex and Wilbur field. I think it is one of the most comprehensive campus health centers I have ever been to. It is really easy to sign up for an appointment (many of them are same day availability), and I was never seen more than 10 minutes late.
I have been there for a number of different reasons. I was surprised at their wide variety of services. I have gotten eye appointments for my contacts, regular physical check ups, blood drawn, and even gotten stitches in the clinic. There is a pharmacy as well that you can pick up your medication from (NOTE: They do have different hours than the clinic so be aware of that).
The second floor also has a physical rehabilitation center for injuries and a psych counseling service as well. In summary, unless you a very specific issue that requires a specialist, Vaden is there to solve your needs. They were very professional every time and I have had only good experiences.

My current favorite doc is Sandy Lai. She not only diagnosed my whooping cough (something other docs hadn’t been able to do), but went well out of her way to make sure I got everything I needed to be as comfortable as possible while the yucky illness passed through my body. She even referred me to a specialist for something indirectly related. Dr. Lai is awesome.
Also, Elise and Dave at the pharmacy rock – they’re knowledgeable, funny, and friendly. They’ve gone out of their way to help me, and I’ve really appreciated it.

When I was a student, the joke about Vaden Health was that you only ever went in for mono or pregnancy. I’m not going to tell you what all I went in for, because that is PRIVATE, but I will say that Vaden is pretty much the only place I went for healthcare between 2003 and 2007, and I never had a problem they couldn’t adequately address.
Appointments were easy to make, and staff and doctors and nurse practitioners were all very friendly. The pharmacy worked properly, and waits were always relatively moderate. Prices were eminently reasonable, something I did not find at the student health center while I was in law school.
My sophomore year, I lived right next to Vaden, and one day while I was biking past, I saw a friend from class I hadn’t seen in a while, sitting on a bench outside. I asked what he was up to and he said he was going to Vaden. When I asked if he was sick, he pointed to his head and said, «Up here.» That really stuck with me for some reason. (The reason might be that I had a vague crush on this classmate.) From what I understand, Vaden is pretty well equipped to deal with mental health issues on campus. This is a very important component of any student health center.
Anyway, I only had good experiences here, even though I never liked going. Vaden was a friendly place, perfect for all my mono and pregnancy needs.

Hey man, it’s campus health services. You can’t expect Dr. House. But you can expect easy check-​in, quick appointment-​making, friendly doctors, professionalism, and efficiency. They even have an in-​house x-​ray machine, eliminating the need to get to an emergency room (and pay for one).
Love their fall flu clinics, too, super efficient and effective!

I’ve only used the pharmacy at Vaden, as I have a primary care physician at PAMF (much like Adrienne H.), but the few times that I have visited, I’ve found nothing to fault.
Big bonus points to the staff at Vaden– both those who interact with patients on the health level, and also the ones who answer questions regarding basic things about Vaden, insurance issues, etc. I had a super positive experience with one of the insurance advisers (Cardinal Care has improved a lot over the years, IMO), and a decent ones with the pharmacist. Really, nothing to complain about.
3 stars because I’ve never had to make an appointment or see an actual physician here, and most of my happy feelings about this place are due to the handling of my questions about insurance related things.

I’ve always had a good experience here, till today. They randomly changed my appointment to a later one, without letting me know. What’s worse is they checked me in and made me wait in the examination room for 40 mins before the doctor even saw me. If the appointment had changed, couldn’t they have told me when I checked-​in?
Ridiculous administration. But no other choices if you are a student at Stanford, so I guess I’ll have to stick with it.

OK for basic health services. Some of the staff are Physician Assistants, not Medical Doctors, but some are MDs too. Altogether, the medical staff is professional and experienced.
Sometimes they seem to mess up their schedule a bit, though. Once I arrived on time for an appointment and checked in, but then I had to wait. After the nurse finally called me in, she said that the physician would not have enough time because I had arrived late. I retorted that I had arrived on time, upon which she looked it up in the system and confirmed that I had, indeed, checked in on time. Yet she didn’t apologize, and the physician still had not enough time to examine me.
The next time, on my follow up visit, that same physician arrived late, so I had to wait for him.

Although I haven’t come to Vaden a lot (I have a primary care physician at PAMF) I have been here to get a tetanus shot last spring and then again today for their flu shot clinic. I had good experiences both times and was especially impressed with the flu shot clinic — we were in and out in about 10 minutes, the shot was painless, and I thought the staff was really friendly. The flu shot clinic was free to most members of the Stanford community (students, faculty, staff, student spouses), etc and $ 26 for others (faculty/​staff spouses).
I was amused to see people on Unilocal say that they always tell you you might be pregnant. At my university, it was a running joke that no matter what you went to the health clinic for, they would diagnose you with pregnancy. One time my friend went in for a broken toe and they wanted to pregnancy test her. So maybe that’s a common thing to all college health centers.
My biggest gripe about Vaden is that they won’t see male patients for check-​ups! I nagged my fiancé about it for a long time since he hasn’t had a physical since high school and when he finally agreed to go in, I was incredibly surprised when I called to make the appt for him and found out that they won’t see him unless something is wrong, because people in his age group are deemed healthy enough not to need physicals. (Women can have an annual women’s health exam, which can serve as a physical). Because the Stanford student insurance only covers visits to Vaden and outside providers with a referral, he can’t get a physical unless he pays out of pocket at another doctor. While I agree that 26-​year-​olds are generally a healthy demographic, not all of them are (some are obese, some smoke, etc) and I just do not understand the rational behind not allowing physicals. Preventative care is so much less costly in the long term! And I could understand it could get costly if it was unlimited, but they can’t offer each person a free physical every 1 – 2 years? Its especially bad because men are less likely to go to the doctor in general and if they get out of the habit of having physicals when they’re young, they won’t go in when they’re older and actually need them, so I just think it’s a terrible practice. /​endrant
Other than that, we have been pretty satisfied with our experience here.

I came in for a TB test, and while the friendly nurse complimented me on my nice, large veins, she made very little use of them when sticking me. Nbd, these immunization checks are routine for me by now having worked in hospital for so long. Or they were until I came back a week later and the staff freaked thinking I had a positive test. A supervising nurse was brought in, and she looked like she was about to call the CDC on me if I as so as much flinched. The conversation went something like…
«Where are you from?»
«Jersey.»
“That’s it?” *incredulous stare*
Did I stutter?! I preempted her line of reasoning by telling her that I was born here and haven’t been out of the country much.
«Really, never?»
I dunno, does a week in the tropical disease infested jungles of Austria and the UK count? Oh, then no lady. Now if you’ll excuse me, I gotta go attend some lame cultural competency class for med school. What, you haven’t had to take one of those? Really, never?

I hurt my foot and made an appointment at 11:20 because my class ended at 11:00. But moving from the oval to vaden took me over 45 minutes. I was late for the appointment, but they still squeezed me in. Vaden took an xray and had a doctor look over the results. I had every done in less than an hour, and got a free cane to use.

The only bad experience I’ve had, too, was with Patricia Blevins. Incredibly rude, I also won’t make appointments with her, even if it means waiting a day. She eventually prescribed me something I didn’t want, and I never filled it. Everyone else I’ve has been great, though!

Vaden was an absolute nightmare for me. They wrote me a prescription only to tell me later that it was actually life-​threatening for me to take that medication. Turns out the nurse did not review my history before prescribing.
I complained to the nurse’s supervisor and she acted as if it were normal that the nurse forgot to check my history, and not a big deal.
They are sloppy and DANGEROUS!

When I was at Stanford, everyone complained about how God awful Vaden was. In the real world, there’s no such thing as a free next day appointment. I miss the good old days when it didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out how to get basic problems treated in a timely manner.

The good parts first: it’s free. where it = the condoms they give you.
Well, actually, everything is free, but I don’t recommend going for anything else. I know more people who have had their injuries or health problems made substantially worse by Vaden than people who have gotten any kind of help. If you’ve got a sports related injury (broken bone, etc.), you want to go to the rehab center at the hospital, not here. If you’ve got, or might got, a serious illness, have someone else diagnose it. The people at Vaden are nice, but too often you get someone who will tell you the exact wrong thing.
That, is unless God loves you like me. Because for the chosen ones Vaden can actually be pretty useful. Like this one time, I got a pencil eraser stuck in my ear, and the girl across the hall — my freshman year mommy, so to speak — had to pull it out with tweezers.
And then I did it AGAIN junior year.
(Don’t ask how this is possible, please).
My friends tried to get it out, but they’re guys, so they only made it worse. One of their girlfriends made it all better. Except that it wasn’t all better, because afterwards I couldn’t hear in my right ear. Turns out that the eraser (and the subsequent pushing thereof) had jammed all my earwax down my ear canal, and Vaden had to drain it out with some super-​powered liquid vacuum pump thingy. It really was super-​powered; the original one they used wasn’t strong enough.
So, ad summum, got something dumb stuck up your ear? Have no fear, Vaden will make you hear! Anything else? No.

I went in for a cold, and they gave me a pregnancy test.
I went in for allergies, and they gave me a pregnancy test.
My brother went in, and they gave him a pregnancy test.
I know we’re college students, but come on…

This place is like my second home, unfortunately. I love it because like Stacey mentioned, they have doctors on call at all hours and if you need an appointment the same day they can totally get you in. Unlike larger hospitals, they are EFFICIENT which means you can get in an out in less than 30 minutes. The pharmicists are really nice too. My doctor is Laurel Dawson. She’s very helpful and I’ve even emailed messages to her and gotten help that way with prescriptions too. Carolyn Cox (NP) is super helpful too.
Also, the Counseling and Psychological services offers 10 free sessions to all students, which is great. Free is good!
Vaden is a breathe of fresh air after having to deal with Kaiser when working!

All I can about this place is THANK GOD for it. I constantly revel about the amazing service I get here. The doctors here are great — really accessible, friendly, and knowledgeable. Dr. Colloff and Patricia Blevins (NP) are my favorite people to see — they are very caring and listen to your concerns. The nutritionist there is also incredibly helpful.
What I like the most about Vaden is that you can call at any time (evening or day) and get to talk to a doctor on call within minutes. You can almost always get an appointment the day of your call, most of the time with the doctor of your choice.
If you don’t have time to visit Vaden, you can call in during the daytime and ask for the «Advice Nurse» for, you got it, advice. I have used the advice nurse for all kinds of health questions and saved myself lots of time and money in doing so.
Another plus about this center is that they have an in-​house pharmacy! How great is that? That means I don’t have to worry about finding someone to drive me to the local Safeway when I’m sick.