Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital

My father is at Hines after being in 3 other hospitals in less than a month. What a difference in the level of care. There is pride that you feel just walking in there each and every single time. My father is calmer just knowing he’s here. But honestly, the level of respect and attention to all matters quite honestly surprised me. I wasn’t expecting it. From the moment we walked in I have been quite pleased with everyone I’ve talked to. The doctors are truly amazing and the nurses have been just as gracious and caring. I had one small bad interaction with a nurses assistant with saying something nasty to me and then denying it to her boss. They handled the situation quickly and made me feel comfortable afterwards. Other than that hiccup, this hospital is truly remarkable.

Be sure to arrive about 30 mins before your appointment. Parking can and will be atrocious! It took me about 20 mins to find a parking and end up walking about ¼ mile to the hospital. Defintely –1 star for that.
Its also pain in the butt to find where you are supposed to be since this place is so huge. But can’t really complain about the free care for service related disability right? This beats driving up to the great lakes for sure. The doctor and the nurses I saw were very pleasant and professional. And there was pretty long line for the lab but it moved pretty fast.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad experience.

Had a double bypass 2 weeks ago. I saw and received the best, care possible with the most modern of equipment there is.
Been a regular here for 11 years and could not be more satisfied.
The only reason I didn’t give 5 stars was the come down from SICU to ICU.
80% of employees on ICU were the best. Nurses on the SICU ward were ALL the best.
Thankk u Heinz.

Have 20 years going to the Hines VA. Currently, I limit my medical visits to them at one per year and no more. I do not trust them for specialty care at all. They have poor follow up care, varying quality of expertise and care from clinic to clinic, wait times to make an appointment from one month to three months, wait time in a waiting room at clinics can vary from 1 to 3 hours. Their time management and respect for the patient is poor to awful. My emergency care and specialty operations have been thru private physicians and hospitals in my area that make the VA look like a cattle call. I hold them responsible for missing my prostate cancer. I had the operation at the University of Chicago by a top surgeon. The VA does not even have the equipment to do the operation like I had. Recently my brother had a triple hernia operation at Northwestern University Hospital by a top surgeon using the latest Technics not even available at Hines. I also had a heart ablation by one of the most expertise physicians in the Midwestern USA. It worked great. I can’t relate all the bad things about HINES VA. It is too many to list. Today, after waiting and sitting for over an hour and a half for an MRI, I just could not wait any longer. I decided to leave and have my private primary physician order the test at my local hospital, which is far more reliable and offers higher quality health care than Hines VA. I am lucky to have much better alternative health care than the VA and I am taking it.

The worst possible place to go for any kind of care. Almost every employee my husband dealt with was inconsiderate and not listening to the issue, or disrespectful. Being a veteran, one would think they would receive much better care. Not to get into specifics of the medical issues, this place is a dump.

I have been using Hines VA for 1 year, about 5 visits to date. I had been to Hines several times only to visit other Vets but do due the current trend of employers dropping reasonable rates for their employees to afford or dropping coverage completely I decided to use my Veteran benefits at the Hines VA. I couldn’t be happier at Hines, they go out of their way to treat you with the best possible care and cater to your specific needs. While I was assigned a General Practitioner to begin a history with She would set up appointments with Specialists who cater to your needs, in each visit to Hines I have had a positive experience with all staff members. It’s a humbling experience to be thanked for my Service by every Doctor and every staff member that I came into contact with. I saw some negative reviews here about the VA, but I can tell you that my experiences have all been positive. Give the VA a chance, you have earned it.

I spent several years going to civilian hospitals and doctors regarding a muscle disease that I have developed in my adult years.
It wasn’t until I got laid off fry job and needed healthcare. Since I have this disease I needed care so I signed up with Hines VA. Let me tell you something… I am so pissed about the money I waisted in copays and bills on the civilian side!
Hines has been nothing but good to me. One thing you need to recognize that on the civilian side it’s all about money. If you don’t have great insurance you get not so great care.
Today it’s about the bottom line. The human spirit and quality of life no longer matters. It’s all about money. So if you are a Vet I strongly advise you to utilize the VA. It cost little to nothing and its all about the care not the money! Real talk.

My grandfather recently went through this hospital to have surgery for a urinary ostomy. Everyone was very polite and pleasant and helpful when we were there, but the followup care is a different story. Getting an actual prescription and supplies for his ostomy has been a nightmare. He has been sitting with a towel over his ostomy all day today, with bodily fluids leaking everywhere because he has no more supplies, and when he tried to call Hines for help, the person he talked to told him to «Just put some gauze over it and tape it», and offered nothing else. Well, ok. It’s a shame that such uncaring and bluntly rude people decide to pick a career in healthcare. One person like that can bring a whole facility down with them. Horrible.

To The Doctor that saw my son on 6÷11÷2015. My son, a Veteran of the current war we are in made an appointment to see a Dr. for a sinus infection that has rendered him unable to work. He is not a drug addict, and alcoholic, or a deadbeat. He goes to work everyday to feed his family. The so called «Doctor» told my son «you have a sinus infection, and there is nothing we can do for that».The last 10 times he has come to this so called «Doctors» office because he was sick, you, the so called «Doctors» have done NOTHING for him… my message to the «Doctors»…YOU GO TO IRAQ, YOU PUT YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE. and you know what, the next time my son is sick, I will be with him… AND I CAN GUARANTEE THAT I WILL SEE TO IT THAT HE IS TREATED WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY.

Was denied to have a tooth fixed that the army broke during a routine dental visit. I also stay away from the VA like the plague. They will do more harm than good.

Water testing at new Freedom House bldg. Freedom house gonna be aplace where family can stay while loved ones are undergoing treatment at the VA. The building is right next to the Ronald Mcdonald house at the south end. The windows look great and the rest of the building looks to be very well done as well.

OK I have read enough to write a review. To those that state that the doctors are the worst? REALLY? then I call you a liar!!! Those that are not permanent staff are doing their residencies here. Why? because they need to learn from the most diverse group of patients alive.
Please … I have been coming to Hines since 1979. I have had nothing but excellent service. ONLY ONCE I had a doctor with an aggressive attitude about my weight. Honestly I should have listened to him. I went back to my regular doctor and am wirking on my weight loss.
I needed allergy shots. DONE!
I needed a mole removed from my face DONE !
I have had NO problems with the pharmacy. and to the vet that posted pictures of the vet that was dressed up. Why embarrass someone … is it because you feel so low about yourself?
You can get the help you need.
You have to step up to ask.

I am a veteran and I was hoping that I wouldn’t be coming here for medical readons, but with Obamacare saying it’s the law to have medical I had to sign up for this since my current job as a college head coach is only part time. I don’t think service here is good. I noticed how the front desk at emergency never smiled at you. I don’t know a lot about politics and stuff, but I think that VA hospitals should shut down and all veterans should get free medical to any hospital. I think it can save our country money. I have been to Saint Alexis among others and it seems that people care about u and even smile. But you can tell morale is not high here and like all VA hospitals, it’s old, gloomy, and depressing. I am only giving this three stars because the doctor I had was nice and I understand it’s tough to work in an environment like this.

This review pertains to a donation my family recently made to the Fisher House.
Other than it being a little tricky to find… After calling and explaining we were a bit list, an employee was kind if enough to guide us street by street as we made our way to the building. So nice of him!
My husband volunteers at the San Antonio location (where we live) and I knew they take food donations. We were cleaning out my grandmothers house and had a box of frozen items that weren’t past the expiration– there aren’t donation sites that take food … No food warehouse/​bank would take them either. Luckily for us there was a Fisher House 2 miles from her house.
Easy drop off; you just fill out a form of what you brought in. Call first to make sure someone will be there to accept your donation.
We also are staying in contact with them for when my grandmothers house sells… We want to donate any items to the FH that are leftover from the estate sale. Since this location is new (4 yrs) they have a lot but said they’d see what we had and go from there.

What an atrocity to our Veterans. Waited 12 months for an appointment, for the Dr to cancel at the last second because it was the first nice day of spring. 12 months later and I’m still waiting for another appointment. So after 2 years of waiting and WAITING, I have yet to see a Doctor!!! I’m convinced they would rather we die than give us health care.

I’m not sure what’s up with the bad reviews but really, Hines is not a bad place! Seriously, the doctors here know what they’re doing and apparently many staff members (not just doctors) are veterans themselves. My grandfather came here for years and was always treated with the dignity & respect that every veteran deserves.

The Hines V.A. Hospital and its associated clinics have been a godsend for my husband, a Korean War veteran.
Appointment scheduling and prescription refilling are automated and easy. Staff at the facilities are always courteous and friendly. The physicians are often from Loyola, one of Chicago’s great hospitals, and the others have been helpful and determining the least intrusive therapies for my husband. There is free valet service at the door. My husband’s medical information is integrated systemwide and available and I am grateful beyond words for the care he continues to receive.

If I am within even a 10 mile radius from Hines, I feel like I need a drink. My husband’s appointment was at 1pm, it’s 4 now and no sign of a doctor. All of the occupants look as if they are used to this. I’ve seen people bring pillows for the wait and have heard that at times you might wait the entire day to be seen just to be told to come back the next day and try again. The VA hospital is a perfect picture of what ObamaCare is going to look like. The impossibly long waits, overcrowded parking lots, and worst of all the countless government employees being overpaid to sit around and not do their jobs. It’s infuriating! While VA claims they are #1 in customer service, my husband and I have experienced first hand what a lie this is. A few examples of this: groups of «lady» workers finishing loud conversations about recent escapades with their boyfriends as long lines form in front of their desks. Patients go ignored as they stand for ages waiting for them to finish. It isn’t uncommon either for receptionists and technicians to go whooping and hollering through the hallways cackling loudly, waking up sleeping patients and carrying on ultra loud conversations even in areas with signs posted asking for silence. In the x-​ray area, I’ve seen janitors and technicians sitting in the lobby watching Maury instead of doing their work. Once my husband had major surgery here and during my all day wait for him, I personally witnessed multiple janitors walking around, watching TV, talking to friends and not once cleaning anything (the water fountains are frequently used as trash receptacles so you understand how annoying this is). If you ever do talk to a customer service man/​woman, they always have an attitude problem and almost never have anything helpful to tell you besides, «just wait in this line and…» The cafeteria food is terrible and the buildings are terribly outdated, everyone here is outdated, that is minus the doctors.
The doctors! I will end on a positive note. Hailing from Loyola, the doctors at VA are phenomenal. They are the only reason why someone would not and should not burn this place to the ground. Loyola doctors provide the finest patient care that can be found. Second to the doctors would be the nurses who are very kind and helpful. Final thoughts: VA is fully decorated for Christmas which is awesome and anything managed by the government sucks, all the time.

one of the best benefits of my military service. not sure why the reviews are so bad, but i would recommend going in on a weekday morning, to avoid the crowds. good, inexpensive food in the commissary, too! the broasted chicken, collard greens and sweet & sour cabbage are off the hook!!!

The perfect place for the ailing Veteran