Southern Arizona VA Healthcare Servs – Tucson

Being a spouse to a Veteran has many challenges and the V.A.here in Tucson is a top notch facility in our opinion and that of many spouses who care for aging vets..I've had a few discussions with wives in waiting rooms… here at the Southern Arizona V.A. and have told me either there isn't a V.A.or even satalite facilities where there at or the services and the V.A.where their from is terrible..They as many are winter visitors plan all or most medical appts and services done here..That speaks volumes..We are so fortunate to live within a mile of the V.A.and appreciate everything the Dr.s,nurses, staff in all depts.Thank you..

My experience here was like no other. Straight forward directions. Plenty of parking. No long wait after check in. I was treated with the utmost respect and patience. They answered all of my questions and referred me… when necessary. I was able to complete a doctor's visit and labs in under an hour! Very efficient and effective. The care here alone is enough to make me want to live in Tucson forever! And this is coming from someone who navigated the VA system in Los Angeles (a total headache).

My husband is a 15 year army Veteran. He has severe back issues and has to receive epidurals periodically. For several years his pain had subsided and he was not receiving epidurals. In early January, he began… experiencing severe back pain again. He called the pain clinic and was told he needed a new referral. That is understandable, because he had not been seen in the clinic in several years. The problem began with trying to get an appointment with his PCP. One must have a nurse from Phx call you back. Despite several attempts to receive a phone call from a nurse, the phone call was never received. He then went to the ER. The doctor there was helpful. It was through him that a phone call from the nurse was finally received. Long story short it was not till March that a PCP physician appt was finally schedueled. The problem, his PCP had retired and he needed to be assigned a new one. No notification that his previous PCP had left. After the pain management referral was received in March he had to wait just under a month for an initial appointment. It was only by my husband's diligence in calling every day that he was able to be seen sooner through a canceled appointment. He then had to wait three weeks for the epidural, which was schedueled on April 30th. Imagine living in pain for 4 months. To our shock the day before the procedure (this morning) he recieved a phone call that his provider was injured and was on medical leave. They needed to rescheduel his epidural for May 21st. Needless to say my husband was not nice about it and was yelling. Pain will do that to you. I took the phone and asked to speak to a patient advocate. I had to leave a message for the advocate and will have to wait three days for a return call. (Ridiculous) So, we decided to call back and accept the appt for May 21st only to be told that in the course of 10 minutes the appt was given away. There was no notation in the chart that would hold the appointment till we called back, as we requested. His new appt is now May 28th which is means another month of luving in pain. We totally understand that issues occurr, but there needs to be a priority system in place for situations like this. Making a person suffer in pain for four months is certainly inappropriate. Place him with another provider, by bumping another patient who has not waited as long. Or expedited the outside referral system. The entire VA system needs a complete overhaul.

Im from California and this VA blows every single one ive been to. The staff are phenomenal, facilities are always clean and up to date, variety of amenities and the view is top notch. Talk about a place that actually… cares about their veterans and aren't just there for a paycheck

Another Glorious Day at SAVAHCS!!! 2 Tasks Completed. Excellent Reports and Support. Thank You All, Each and Every One. 👍🏽💯🧑🏽‍⚕️👩‍🔬🙏🏾🧙🏾‍♂️😎❤️ I Have Received 22 Years of Dedicated, Caring Service Here. I Am Forever… Grateful. Thank You. ❤️🙏🏾🧙🏾‍♂️😎❤🙏🏾❤️ Receive Blessings Dear Friends. Dale

The majority of the staff are warm, friendly and highly professional. In order to avoid falling through the cracks, you'll need to aggressively be your own advocate.

Needs more handicap parking! Consistent when visiting building 80/81, 57, 90, etc. there is no available handicap parking. As a VA medical center, it should be broadly assumed that a significant number of its patients… are handicapped. Beyond that, I have been happy with the level of my care received.

My optometrist ex-turn was very polite, kind, attentive, patient and was happy to address all my concerns. Best optometrist I've ever seen.

Staff are so friendly and helpful.

Just got engaged here for services. A little bit daunting but the staff has been pretty efficient and friendly. Outside the main entrance other check in service areas are not as user friendly for new people. And with no… one to ask at the desk, you just have to log in and wait (and pray that you're where you are supposed to be.)

Great experience all VAs are not the same thats for sure!

The Tucson VA has always done right by me.

This is by far the best care and experience I have ever received. Our country is so good to us. Woo hoo!!!

Best experience ever. The ICU staff is wonderful and extremely supportive.

SAVAHCS main campus is large and parking can be tedious. Shuttle helps in getting around but figure you'll walk a lot. Help available to find your way just ask. Wheel chair and transport person available if needed. Ask,… the volunteers, staff and docs do want to help.

It’s always an ordeal getting to the VA, but this time it wasn’t too bad at all

I await the day that having a VA disability rating gets you a Disabled parking placard, because that seems to be the only parking available the majority of the time.

Got the care I needed

I went to the ER at the urging of my doctor. I had been severely ill all week with a fever running up to 103. When I got triaged, there was no privacy and I was actually asked to speak more loudly. I was unable to do so… due to chest pain and intense pain. When they took my blood pressure the cuff began to pinch my skin in multiple places and I asked for it to be taken either on my forearm or manually. The nurses became visibly upset and replied, "Fine, but it's not as accurate." I offered to show them all my symptoms on my phone because speaking is difficult and painful and they refused. Consequently, they did not note several symptoms. It was humiliating. I felt so dismissed. With my luck, I won't get treated, no tests will be run, and I'll be sent home with a script for 800mg Ibuprofen. Seriously one of my worst VA experiences. 🤬