Golden VA Clinic

David Lauten

On time

Tabitha Wolf

The VA clinic in Golden is one of the best I have seen. The staff truly care.

J J

My favorite VA to go to all time and I've been to a lot in my lifetime. My doctor and nurse are amazing, the front desk staff is solid (better on floor 2 and you always have a few who are too into whatever is on their computer or their phone but that's more of a societal issue w/ anyone under the age of 30 honestly) and the facilities are pretty modern. I'd argue the only real pain is because they don't have a ticket system like the big VA, a lot of inconsiderate ex service members are always trying to go out of turn for lab work. Basically you'll set up your appointment, some random guy will show up two days prior to their appointment, check in, be told to come back, and then still go over to the lab and cut in line and lie and often because they're older or know the phlebotomists who just seem to let it slide. I'm okay with an extremely elderly person going in front of me and I give my seat to anyone who I think is older but in most cases these are just retirees who are around 50/60 who don't even work based on their convos just looking to circumvent a poor operating system which again hard to blame them at a regional location when I'd guess most of the lab techs think they're helping things when in fact they're clogging up the system and encouraging bad behavior. With most of the problems I usually see and all the problems at the big VA I still feel comfortable w/ giving them a 5/5 in comparison to others but could still improve overall if they ever want to become better than a good VA hospital which isn't hard to achieve.

J My

I have reoccurring sinus problems and indications link the problems to exposure to Agent Orange in Viet Nam. I went through the enrollment process, which had its issues and problems. First visit with Dr. M. Ellis, was pleasant enough. He seemed concerned and efficient. He said he would set up a referral to an ENT specialist and he set up a CAT scan of the entire head. Initially I was pleased with Dr. M. Ellis. A week later a package arrived from the VA that contained Mira lax powder and Docolax tablets. I called the VA and asked why. I was told that Dr. M. Ellis had scheduled me for a colonoscopy. I was not pleased that such a procedure had been scheduled when we discussed a CAT scan of the head and a referral to an ENT. No explanation was given for the oddity and I was told that Dr. M. Ellis would not be able to see me for six to eight months. If a “Primary Care” doctor is not available there is no reason to remain on his patient list. I requested another doctor that had better availability. I was assigned to Dr. P. Brauch. An interesting meeting occurred. My blood pressure was high and I pointed out that Labile Hypertension was the cause. I informed him that when I was participating in a Tadalafil (aka Cialis and Adcirca) research project, my blood pressure was stable for the entire month that I was on the medicine. Dr. Brauch informed me that Cialis was expensive and he would not prescribe Tadalafil to control blood pressure, BUT he would prescribe it for ED and the VA would only SELL me 6 pills a month. I asked him to simply write the prescription, for whatever reason he believed to be appropriate, and I would buy the medicine on my own. Again he said no. I applied at a pharmacy and they would provide the Adcirca (Which is used to treat Hypertension – High Blood Pressure) but they needed a signed prescription from the doctor. The reorder form provided by the VA pharmacy was not sufficient. I was told that IF I came to see the doctor, he would write the prescription. I traveled in 90 degree heat for nearly an hour for the appointment. Upon arrival, Dr. Brauch said that he would send over the referral for me to see an ENT specialist, but he would not write the prescription for Tadalafil (Adcirca). Dr. Brauch said that there was nothing that could be done for seasonal allergies. But he expected to see me again in six months. I wonder if there was a problem with my ancestry that makes the VA doctors in Golden often not available to see patients. Or was it that he was not keeping up with the latest medical findings. In any case I am done with Dr. P. Brauch and I may be done with the Veterans Administration Health centers in Colorado. Nothing that has been done by the centers had been of any health value to me.