Well, guess I'll take the first stab....
My experience (first and last) with the clinic in Las Vegas was less-than-appealing. I had never met them before and came in after having been referred by my San Antonio clinic after we moved from there to Vegas area. Well, the clinic treated me like they had no idea why I was there if I wasn't sick! Well, for starters, "I have CF! I need to get in with a clinic so when I <i>AM</i> sick, I have somewhere to go who knows me and has my medical records, etc.".
Well, aside from acting like I was wasting their time (note: The dietician and social worker were very friendly), they were crabby and not helpful. The doctor, though seemingly concerned, listened to a couple places on my lungs and that was it. I felt like I wasted a trip coming to see them. Aside from the deitician and social worker, they were terribly rude. They rarely smiled, and one of them even talked badly about my previous CF nurse in San Antonio saying she "didn't know how to use a fax" and just "seemed irrational". Funny, I always LOVED my CF nurse in San Antonio. Found it unprofessional this person would complain to the patient about her and what a pain it was getting charts from her.
Then, just this last November (yes, it had been about 8 months of not contacting the LV center), I called them to ask if I could come in for my flu shot. I mentioned they had me on file and that I hadn't been there cause I was currently in a study at the University of Utah for my CFRD, and they followed me for care there every 3 months. I told Vegas clinic that Salt Lake clinic was 400 miles one way, and I couldn't go there just to get a flu shot. They told me the nurse said it had been too long since I'd been to their clinic, and I'd either have to come in for an entire clinic day (which, I doubt insurance would pay for since I was already having such days every 3 months in Utah) OR, I should "just go back to your center in Salt Lake". I explained to them it was 400 miles away (which they knew), and couldn't I just get the shot from them... I mean, they <i>knew</i> I had CF and had been to their center, so shouldn't they be more concerned for their patient and want to help out so I didn't get the flu?!? Obviously not. So, I just told them thanks for nothing and hung up vowing never to contact them again.
I found it unbelievable that:
A.) They didn't understand my plight and the fact I can't go to two CF clinics for the same tests/visits, etc. just in order to give me a flu shot!
B.) I hadn't been in town long, and didn't know where they were having flu shot clinics, so thought the very least they could to was point me somewhere in town like a Walgreens or something where I could get a shot.
C.) Isn't patient's well-being most important? I even told them they could call Salt Lake to verify I was in fact visiting them for a CFF study and all was up to date. If they needed records, Salt Lake could give it to them. Seems this was motivated by money (Vegas wanted to get more from me than a flu shot could provide) and, more likely, power (why would they possibly help a CFer from another center?!? isn't that one of the 7 deadly sins?!?)
So, you can see my disgust with the Vegas clinic. They were rude. They didn't seem to care about a fellow CFer and keeping me healthy (even though I had been to their center) unless I was willing to pay and take my time to re-do tests I had had done a month ago.
The whole thing left a terrible taste in my mouth. I will not go back there. Matter of fact, I'm trying to get a referral to a regular pulmonologist in town for emergencies. I don't trust this care center to have my best interests in mind, and am soooo glad I found this out early on before I got really sick and left my care in their hands.
So, that's my story.
