I am a veteran of 20 years of active service and over 22 years of being seen here at the Miami VA. I am a 100 percent service-connected war veteran. I bring this up only to illustrate that I’ve been seen at the Miami VA more than the average Veteran. One day, as I was en route to the VA, traffic almost completely stopped due to an accident. My arrival changed from 45 min early to almost an hour late. My wife and caregiver received a call from the RN Rakhee Shajam Thoma, nurse in charge of the procedure and my wife explained the problem. She could not have been more kind and understanding. When I checked in at the front desk, the person there told me she had listed me as a no-show because I was late. We explained to her that we talked to the nurse and informed her that we would be late and she did tell us to still come they understood and will wait for us. She said that she would message the Doctor to see if she should reschedule.

Less than 2 min RN Rakhee Shajam Thoma came out and called my name. I was expected to be told that I could not be seen and that I would have to reschedule. I was happy that I was being called in to have the procedure as scheduled. RN Rakhee started all the initial preparations and made me feel very at ease, bringing my stress levels down from my being late and thinking I would not be seen. The Tech walked in and introduced himself. I made a comment to both of them and apologized for being late. They made it clear to me that they were there for me and that it didn’t matter what time I got there they would take me in if at all possible. The concern they had was how long I had been without eating or drinking in preparation for the procedure.

By this time the medication that was given to me for the procedure was kicking in and the doctor walked in. I remember being impressed with the doctor’s kindness as well. It is clear to me now that the superb and excellent care I received was a systemic characteristic of a very caring and well lead clinic that should be individually and collectively commended and awarded. As a team, they make the VA look good in their outstanding service to us veterans. This clinic should be a model for all the clinics at the VA to emulate.