It’s Time to Find a New Doctor

It was bad enough to go once a year, then it became twice a year. Now it’s been more than that because both my husband and I have eye pressure issues. Since we moved to Virginia two months ago it’s been even worse reaching our destination. Getting to Washington Hospital Center was a pain on a good day when we drove in from Capitol Hill. I always made appointments for the first time slots after lunch to avoid rush hour traffic either way. We’ve been thinking about getting another doctor closer to home because I am all about convenience. Driving in to DC for a scheduled appointment is a crap shoot - you never know what will block the road on top of foul weather. This morning helped us make up our minds. We need to leave 90 minutes before just to get there, maneuver around a major medical center, find a parking space - if you’re lucky - then walk to the physician office building after walking through the hospital. You also have the privilege to pay for parking. Neither one of us would want to go there for a procedure because of all of these variables. Then the waiting room was stacked with unplanned emergency patients that delayed our five minute pressure readings and evaluation making our total stay two hours just in the office. There were no apologies for the delay and the treatment by the staff is always less than desirable. More than half of the day was blown by the time we got home from this excursion. The sad thing is is that I have another appointment on Wednesday in our old Capitol Hill neighborhood. Maybe it’s time to find another interist too. DC is nice when you enter it on your own terms. The photos don’t do the frustration justice. So glad we finally moved on. 

MedStar Washington Hospital Center Eye Visit

It feels like we were just there - and we were. Six months ago we had eye appointments for “routine” checks. For us, “routine” is every six months. So it’s a royal pain to drive to MedStar Washington Hospital Center at any time of the day. I try to schedule appointments for the first available after lunch - the best time to avoid rush hour traffic both going and coming back. The only reason we continue to go to Washington Hospital Center is because we like our doctor - who was recommended to us when we first moved to DC thirteen years ago. But we don’t like maneuvering around a tertiary care facility for this sort of thing. It’s unnecessarily taxing just getting there, driving around the parking structure, and walking through the facility to find your way to the physician office building. The unfortunate part about this trip is that we both have to come back in TWO months because both of our eye pressures were higher than in the past. City life is starting to become too much nonsense for us. The simplest tasks become almost overwhelming and we just don’t want to be inconvenienced anymore. And as an aside, you would think after all these years there would be dilating eye drops created that aren’t so long lasting. Both of us almost fell off the sidewalk walking back to the car. The unusual sunlight was so blinding we hardly saw the edge. The last thing we want to do is end up in the emergency room. Maybe it’s time to find an easier place to navigate. 

Washington Hospital Center Eye Appointments

It’s that time of year again. Our eye appointments were scheduled for this afternoon. Every time we go I think something will need to get done - there’s been a lot of cataract surgery going on lately. My husband has glaucoma checks, and has had laser surgery on both eyes. I keep thinking I will flunk the peripheral vision test - and miss a lot of clicks. But getting to and from Washington Hospital Center is always a trick and we leave almost an hour before to travel just a couple of miles. We always schedule our visits for the first appointment after lunch. That way we avoid rush hour traffic both ways and are the first to be seen. The direct route to the physician office building on the main hospital campus was finally reopened after several years of construction. The parking structure was jammed with vehicles leaving (for lunch) and clogging up the lot. What was nice is all the office staff seemed to be in good spirits. But the best news was that everything is “stable.” So we are good for another six months. On the way home the neighborhood keeps changing. A good chunk of North Capitol Street was repaved and lines repainted, there was construction galore, but we actually made good time getting back home. We both wore our stylish sunglasses that fit over our regular glasses and I can actually see clearly already. So all in all it was an uneventful visit and it took less than three hours. Let’s hope it goes that way the next time. 

Eye Doctor, Road Trips and Rowhouses

What should take ten minutes takes forty five or more. I always make our eye exams for the first appointments after lunch. That way, we don't have to fight rush hour traffic in the morning or afternoon.  But it is a pain in the neck to have any doctor visit at a medical center - simply because it is a medical center with all the hoopla that goes around it. But our doctor's office is there, so we keep going because we like her. On the way over, there was construction - as always - so it takes longer. We were surprised that the office was so empty for the first time. Perhaps it was because it was December rather than November, and everyone has something else to do. There are no more discounts for parking in the structure, so now you have to pay up before your leave, like in most structures these days. But always, on the way home, regardless of the time of day, it always take so much longer. What is only a 3 mile distance seems like 20. But it was such a beautiful day that it was an interesting ride. The rowhouses were stunning in the sunlight, and the construction cranes reflected in the massive glass buildings going up all around H street and NE. This doesn't compare at all to the easily navigable drives to and from the doctor visits in Milwaukee. One thing remains the same - why isn't there an eye drop to un dilate your eyes? This is the only time I wish it was cloudy. 

Washington Hospital Center Warning Sign

Hopefully this is the last time we need to visit the eye doctor for awhile. We needed to go for the third time in two weeks for a recheck after my husband had treatment with a Yag laser last week. Washington Hospital Center is a tertiary care facility, which means it is huge, has many buildings, and a lot of traffic - even by the physician office building. I must have missed it the last time, but there is now a sign posted at the crosswalk. Someone must have been hit or nearly hit to need a sign like this. It not only reminds you to stop and look left and right, but to be on the safe side, it advises you to carry an orange flag so you are more visible to the drivers. The orange flags are supplied right below the sign. I can't imagine waving an orange flag around just to cross the street when I have the right of way. But in this town, I am not surprised. 

Washington Hospital Center for "Eye Surgery"

Washington Hospital Center is becoming a place we are frequenting a lot lately. Last week we had our annual eye checks and it was determined that my husband would need his other eye lasered to prevent a glaucoma incident. The worst part is navigating to and around the place. You need to leave at least an hour before any appointment to travel about two miles. Once there, the physician office building is located right next to a very busy ambulatory care center, and even worse, the even busier emergency department. And if you need to be there before lunch, parking is packed and almost impossible to find. The only reason we continue coming here is because we like the doctor and finding an alternate is something we are just not up to. Having worked in health care for thirty years in a similar type of set up makes it slightly easier to understand the nuances, but we don't know anyone here, and that really does make a difference. Luckily, the actual procedure went very well, and a lot of eye drops are in the future over the next couple days. It's nice to know these eye conditions can be treated and managed without a lot of difficulty. The problem is is that we have to come back again next week for a check up. Thank goodness I am now a furloughed government worker. It's actually worked out well for us.