VHC Health - Virginia Hospital Center

First, and most importantly, my wedding ring was stolen from my finger overnight between May 15 and 16 at VHC in room 523. I went to the emergency room on May 15 in what I was told is the coldest room in ER. The "bed" was more like an ironing board and it was impossible to get comfortable. I tried a fetal position. That photo will follow. After some tests, I was admitted to the hospital. I was to have an injection of dilaudid ten minutes before an MRI in the middle of the night. The nurse who attended me gave me valium before I went to sleep around 9:30 p.m. I asked her about my medications, as her administration was not consistent with what the emergency room doctor had ordered, and she said that she was an experienced nurse and knew what regimen was right for me. I had been told that I was going to be given valium, dilaudid, and toradol, so I was trying to clarify with her what her plans were. She said that she could have given me a dose of dilaudid an hour after the valium, but she said that I was sleeping so soundly that she waited until around 11:00. I left my necklace, ring, and watch in my drawer when I was taken for an MRI around midnight. When I returned from the MRI, I put on my necklace, ring, and watch again. I don't usually sleep with my ring, and I didn't realize that I was going to be admitted. Since I didn't want to lose it, I felt certain that it was secure on my finger. The nurse did not return to turn off my light, so after 30 or 40 minutes, I got up and turned it off and slept the best that I could on the saggy bed stuffed with pillows underneath me. But when she woke me four hours later, just after 4:00, she again commented that I had been sleeping very soundly. I was released in the morning and, when packing my things, I saw that my wedding ring was gone! Since I don't wear it when I sleep at home, I didn't realize that it was missing when I was awakened by someone delivering my breakfast around 7:00 a.m. I reported that my ring was missing and, not wanting to accuse anyone, I enlisted the help of nearby staff and we searched everywhere. We enlisted Johnny from security. I made a police report. The ring is engraved with my husband's initials, M.R.O, the date, 18-1-2007, and the words, "Eres Tu." This cannot be replaced. I attach a poem that my husband wrote to me in Spanish, translated to English, to share the sentiment. I had had it on my finger for over 18 years, and it had never fallen off....and, as the nurse (or nursing assistant?) commented twice, I was fast asleep. I wonder why she kept verifying that. My husband had a similar experience at another facility when the same person was on duty who had taken his ring and it "magically" reappeared. Too bad I didn't notice it before 7:00 a.m.! Finally, the beds at VHC are known to be awful: They dip in the center. I was hospitalized for excruciating sciatic pain and I needed a proper bed. I was told that I would be put on a "list." When our closest friend, Roger Holt, asked for a replacement, this is what they delivered (in pictures). A bed full of mold, blood, and urine, under a blue plastic cover. His friend Rick asked if he was bleeding when he was seated on a green pad (last picture), and found the root of the cause. My husband and I found him seated in a chair, waiting for another bed. Approximately ten hospital employees stopped to gauck at us--perhaps thinking that we were his lawyers. Roger was so traumatized: He had a series of strokes; was sent to a nursing home that was even worse, he returned to VHC through the ER after a five-hour wait, had another series of strokes, and died on January 21. VHC sent the former Washington Commanders coach and cheerleaders and offered him football paprephrenalia--supposedly hoping to appease him. He refused the caps, etc. I hope and pray that in an emergency I will not be sent to VHC: Never again. I'd rather die. On a positive note, ER Dr. James was wonderful and my PT experience in the new building has been very good.

My baby is 3 weeks old, she is vomit and her stomach is hard. I called the insurance, they need me to take my baby to the VHC emergency room right away. And you can not believe it, I got there at 10:15 PM, and until 1:30 AM, no doctor has come to check on her, no one , just the nurse came to ask a few questions and left. And I don't know how long I have to wait. I will update the time when the doctor arrives below. It is really frustrating, because my baby is just 3 weeks old.And she is in pain, she hungry. And no doctor has time to pay attention to your baby. It is really frustrating when your baby is lying there and you can't do anything.

It was fine till I received bills from lots of third parties I have never heard of. The emergency unit waiting time and speed of process is faster than other hospital (approximately only 1hr wait to see a doctor, other blood testing & basic examination was conduct within 20min after checked in) All medical staff are professional till I received bills from unknown third parties. Basically, they send the patients separate bills for each services + fees for doctors for every procedures they conduct. Luckily, my insurance covered the most of parts in network provider benefits. If this is the out of network or self-pay, it's scary amount of fees. I just don't like to receive bills from third party payment companies without my acknowledgement. The hospital should inform the patients what we should expect.

I have had to come here a few times either for myself or to escort someone else. The I’m sure most of the medical professionals are doing their best so I’m not gonna be harsh on them but the ER is often overcrowded, the waiting room for the MRI machines is OBNOXIOUSLY LOUD from said machine which is worrisome, parts of it feel outdated and it’s really difficult to navigate with the front door creepily being locked after a certain hour meaning it’s really difficult to find your way out or to your car. But mostly this place just gives me the creeps. It’s this bizarre Hodgepodge of Old and New, cutting edge and obsolete as if it’s just been expanded on and renovated so many times that nothing matches, which im sure is the case. One great example of that is a corridor with a waterfall fountain that I actually like because it’s oddly peaceful. It’s nice but it looks like a level in The Backrooms. Like it’s familiar yet not quite right. I showed a friend a picture of it and they said “I swear hospitals exist in a pocket Dimension”. Like I know I can’t really give a fair review since i don’t wanna be mean to doctors and it’s not like a Hospital is the kinda place one would seek out for whimsy, but like if you need to come here for something definitely do, but just hope you don’t need to.

10/05/2024- We visited a dear friend was us hospitalized at VHC. First of all, this hospital is positioned in a beautiful neighborhood. We immediately noticed Park-N-Pay spaces on the streets. Umm not good. Entering the grounds we notice more hospital parking areas that you have to pay for. Ummm not good. Yes, there is plenty of parking available but who can afford to pay$$$. *Weekend party should be free! The hospital inside is absolutely beautiful. My used a wheel chair to go from the lobby area to the room of our friend. The staff was very polite. Once inside the hospital room on the six floor- we put on a hospital gown, hospital face mask and hospital gloves to our live one. All in all we were pleased with the hospital service and amenities.

I love my doctors and team of nurses that helped me during my brain surgery. They made me feel warm and welcomed. They cared for me with such kindness and compassion that you will not find in.lost hospital. My private room has the best view plus it was. Very quiet. It could beat some of the Hilton accommodations. It was clean and their worker especially the assistants eork.very hardbeith.no.complaints. They are underpaid for sure just like teachers.sisters, military forces and first responders. I loved the staff and their attitude of caring. It showed that they are well trained and empowered and valued by their employers. Kudos goes out to.the volunteers who sacrifice their times and efforts to make the world a better place. These are the true heroes! Not some overpaid celebrities and athletes. This is what the world needs now!

I had the most traumatizing delivery I could have ever imagined at VHC. Everything was going well until it was time to push my baby out. The doctor who delivered my baby did not have good bedside manner and her communication was truly awful. I ended up pushing for a few hours before she asked me if I want to do a vacuum assist or a c section. Well.. I’ve never done this before, I have severe anxiety, am in discomfort, and would have appreciated the actual DOCTOR to provide better advice on what she thought would be the best and safest option for me. Since baby’s head was low I said vacuum because it seemed like the easier and safer option. She clearly did a bad job with the vacuum because I suffered serious complications after, including a severe laceration that caused postpartum hemorrhage. I lost a liter of blood. I had to go to the OR right after delivery because they couldn’t repair me bedside. I’m laying on the OR table just hearing things like “it’s not working” thinking I’m going to pass away that night. The doctor, named Dr. Jessica Reyes Peterson, described my injury as “irreparable” saying they could not stitch me up, and then I was taken to get a CT scan to see if there was arterial damage before going back to labor and delivery. No one told my husband what was going on so when I got back to the room we hysterically sobbed together. Then the doctor came back to the room to tell me I thankfully didn’t damage an artery & offered to stitch up my external tears. I had gone through so much trauma, lost a liter of blood, and thankfully my husband made the decision to not do any more interventions that night because of what I had gone through. I also asked her if she has seen an injury like mine to which she just said “no I haven’t” and then proceeded to tell me that the doctor she brought in to help with my injury has only seen it once, further making me believe I have some horrific injury I will never recover from. I also had to get a blood transfusion that night because of critical blood loss. Apparently my tear, an internal deep laceration called sulcal tear, is something most doctors HAVE seen many times. Every doctor who checked on me after that night told me they have seen things like this before and although my injury is deep, it can heal. Dr. Reyes Peterson also never told me that I would have a follow up surgery the next day! All she said was that it needs time to heal on its own and that it will take weeks to heal. To my surprise the next day, an amazing doctor visited me and had wonderful bedside manner & told me she was confident they could repair me and they did. But why did the other doctor not explicitly communicate these things to me? I had a vaginal delivery and couldn’t hold my baby for two days, didn’t get out of bed for two days and am absolutely traumatized. I’ve also developed a vaginal hematoma from her horrible use of the vacuum instrument, which is apparently a rare complication. I’m now trying to heal from this horrific experience and while I may physically heal in several months, the emotional damage this experience has caused me is irreversible. I always wanted two children and this experience ruined that dream for me. What was supposed to be a beautiful day ended up as a 4 night 5 day hospital stay with two trips to the OR, a CT scan, and two blood transfusions. That being said, all of the other doctors I saw were great and the labor and delivery nurses are actual angels on earth, but still cry every day from what I went through and am living in a nightmare.

My Experience at VHC – A Cautionary Note for Expecting Mothers When I first chose Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) as my delivery hospital, I was genuinely hopeful. I had heard glowing reviews from friends and family who spoke highly of the staff, the care they received, and their overall experiences. I truly felt like I had won the lottery with such positive feedback surrounding the hospital. However, my personal experience turned out to be very different—one that I now look back on as deeply traumatic. I was admitted to VHC on May 13th, already 2 cm dilated. At first, things seemed to be going okay. I was told to wait until labor progressed naturally. Two days passed, and I finally reached 8 cm dilation. However, I began to feel like I had stalled at that point. The nurses kept shifting my position, saying that my baby didn’t tolerate being on either my left or right side, and this happened multiple times. Eventually, a doctor came in and suggested breaking my water manually. I declined, wanting to wait for it to happen naturally. As the pain increased, I decided that I wanted a C-section and communicated this to the nurse. She said she would speak with the doctor and then left the room. Several minutes passed without any updates. Then, suddenly, a team of medical staff rushed into the room. One nurse urgently said, “Your son’s heart rate dropped.” I was in unbearable pain, and hearing those words sent me into a state of panic and fear. I truly believed I was losing my baby. They rushed me into an emergency C-section. My son was delivered but had not been breathing for a few minutes. He was immediately transferred to a nearby children’s hospital to prevent potential brain damage. Thankfully, my baby boy is now healthy—and for that, I am beyond grateful. But the emotional scars from this experience remain. What was meant to be one of the happiest moments of my life became a traumatic ordeal. I share my story not out of anger, but out of concern for other expectant mothers. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend VHC as a delivery hospital. My hope is that no other mother has to experience the fear, uncertainty, and heartbreak that I endured.