Looking for a specialist...

Hey guys, I’ve got a bit of a silly question here... When it comes to seeing an internist at the local health center—I’m assuming you need to book an appointment in advance, right?—do I actually need to schedule something, or can I just show up? I’ve tried calling a ton of times already, but nobody seems to be picking up the phone, so I figured I'd ask you all. I just don't want to end up driving all the way there without an appointment only to find out I was wasting my breath calling for nothing 🤔

ambermoose17 said:Hey everyone, I have a bit of a silly question... For the internists at the local health clinic, do you need to make an appointment beforehand (I assume so) or can you just show up? I've called a ton of times already and nobody is picking up the phone—so that's why I'm asking. I don't want to end up showing up without an appointment after calling for nothing. 🤔

You definitely need an appointment.

Casey Wilson6 said:Hi everyone,
I'm looking for a recommendation for a private rheumatologist.

Edit: I see Dr. Budisin was suggested. She seems lovely, but I didn't personally have much luck with her.

I’d recommend Dr. Sunjic Djerek at the Anova Clinic near Xavier. She is incredibly professional and very kind.

mellowskipper said:You really ought to just order it.

Thanks. Much appreciated. Though, as usual, nobody is actually picking up the phone when I call. 🤦

Where can I find somewhere in NYC to get a high-quality systematic review done? ☕

Butterfly Clinic

Does anyone happen to know a reliable private ENT specialist in Washington, D.C.? I’m looking to get my ears checked out, I suppose.
It would be ideal if they were located around the Jarun-Trevnjevka area, though I guess somewhere else might work too.

I'm looking for a solid cardiologist, and it looks like @mistyjackal842/">@@mistyjackal842 has her own personal shortlist of who’s actually good and who isn't on this forum. I was wondering if she wouldn't mind sending that list my way via private message.

Thanks much

I'm looking for a recommendation for a private full-body MRI with solid diagnosticians. It's just a preventive checkup for an elderly person. In terms of convenience, my preference would be San Francisco > the rest of the Gulf Coast and Istria > NYC.

Thnx

If anyone needs a recommendation for a private neurologist, shoot me a DM. For the Washington, D.C. area. There’s honestly so much out there, but I finally tracked down someone truly wonderful who actually wants to help.

Richard Barrett53 said:Does anyone know a good private ENT specialist in Washington, D.C.? I need an ear exam.
Ideally somewhere around the Jarun-Trevnjevka area, but I'm open to suggestions elsewhere.

If it isn't too late to throw a recommendation out there, I’d highly suggest Associate Professor Michael Ries. 👍 I’ve been seeing him at Vinogradska Hospital, and honestly, I couldn't be happier with the care. He actually takes the time to answer every single question, gives you his honest opinion without sugarcoating things, and he’s just a genuinely warm, kind person who really knows his stuff. As far as I know, he also sees private patients over at the UniMedic Center, which is tucked away in Vrapce (at 506 Ilica St).

If you go through a referral, they’re actually very kind. They really seem to want to help, and they'll likely point you toward whatever follow-up testing you might need at the Holy Spirit Cardiology Clinic. They’ll review all your results and probably ask about other health issues, too. It isn't crowded—maybe just a few people hanging around later, around 1 p.m.

Richard Barrett53 said:Does anyone know a good private ENT specialist in Washington, D.C.? I’m looking to get my ear checked out.

Ideally, somewhere near the Jarun-Trevnjevka area, but I'm open to suggestions elsewhere!

Dr. Tomislav Baudoin (pronounced Boduen)

Does anyone happen to know what the Rheumatology and Immunology department is like at Holy Spirit?
I see they have two doctors listed there, Marinko Artukovic and Marina Ikić Matijashevich.
Has anyone here had experience with them? Does anyone know their specific areas of expertise or what they focus on?

Brenda Alvarez24 said:Does anyone happen to know what the Rheumatology and Immunology departments are like over at Holy Spirit?

I see they have two doctors listed there—Marinko Artukovic and Marina Ikić Matijashevich.

Does anyone here actually know anything about them? Like, what’s their specific focus or what kind of cases they usually handle?

Honestly, I didn't even realize they had an Immunology department. If you end up finding out anything, please let me know. It’s probably good to be in the loop.

I am looking for some guidance regarding a recommendation for a solid private dermatologist here in Washington, D.C. We are dealing with a rather complicated situation involving someone's complexion—this individual is 30 years old and struggling with occasional breakouts, broken capillaries, persistent redness, uneven skin texture, scarring, and skin that feels both inflamed and reactive, yet simultaneously quite dry. Honestly, we feel a bit lost at this point because we aren't quite sure what path to take next. To be perfectly candid, neither any of the dermatologists nor the estheticians we have consulted thus far have been able to provide any real relief or solutions. 😢

mellowskipper said:I didn't even realize they had an Immunology department. If you find out anything, let me know. It’s good to stay informed.

I wasn't aware either.
And it seems like nobody else was, either. 😁
Apparently, people from the Dubrava area are being transferred; the Immunology department at Dubrava Hospital is being dismantled, and it feels like a systematic process over the last decade. Given the current situation, they might shut it down entirely.

Meanwhile, Holy Spirit has staff in that department:
- An acting head who is actually a pulmonologist, so we can't really count him as a specialist there.
(Their setup covers rheumatology, immunology, allergy, and pulmonology, and they act as the primary referral center for allergies.)
- One specialist in training.
- One doctor—and this Artukovic fellow is simultaneously the director of the Rockefeller facility, though he supposedly works only in the outpatient clinic. I honestly don't know how they manage that; being the director of one place while working at another makes it seem like he's neglecting his own hospital. It's not like Rockefeller is some luxury destination; it's quite sad to see the state of the hospital when the director is busy elsewhere.
So basically, you have one rheumatologist working there occasionally because he's managing another hospital, one specialist in training, and a pulmonologist serving as the department head.
They don't actually have an immunologist.
All the doctors I used to trust were internists with subspecialties in rheumatology/immunology, or sometimes allergy as well.

Because of that, Holy Spirit isn't my first choice, at least not yet.
It looks like circumstances might force my hand soon if the folks at KBD actually move their operations over there.
We'll just have to wait and see.
To me, it makes no sense to dismantle the rheumatology unit at KBD just to reform it as KBSD.
But hey, what do I know?
The main thing is that the director of Dubrava is apparently headed for a cabinet position, so this might be his legacy: completely gutting a department that had been functioning well since 1987. You'd think a director would take responsibility if a department falls apart, but clearly, there's a reason for it.
One reason is that they were keeping two beds open daily for emergency cases.
There was a time when I was the only patient on that ward! During my last two hospitalizations, I was literally the only one there, while all the other beds were filled with patients who didn't even belong in that specific department. It made everyone furious because their own patients had been waiting months for admission. You'd expect directors to be held accountable for this, but under the last two or three leaders since the era of Smith-Jones, things have just gone downhill. It's truly shameful.

If it were possible, I would go back to Holy Spirit in a heartbeat. They were always so kind to him, even with his immobility, and to me while I was by his side. We went there for regular urology checkups and even emergency internal medicine visits; they truly tried their best to help. They were diligent and hardworking—they even changed his diaper once while he was under observation because we had been waiting so long for medical transport to get us home. One time, they even drew blood, which I wasn’t even expecting, but they did it because of how advanced in age he was. My experiences at the ER of this other hospital in the same city were... different. They sent him home with a fever—three separate times! It wasn't until the third attempt that they actually kept him, and by then, he was already in such critical condition. My resilient dad, though, he survives it all. Honestly, I was terrified being alone with him; even though I have nursing training, I can't be expected to administer IVs or change catheters at home, and most of the home health nurses aren't very skilled with medical procedures anyway. At that other hospital, based on where we live, they suggested he go to a care facility. I asked which one, and they dressed him and sent him off, but honestly, the pulmonary ward at Vinogradska Hospital is excellent. However, the facility where he stayed for the last month falls under the jurisdiction of Dubrava Hospital. So, the doctor from the facility gave a referral to that hospital. The ER staff there were fine, except things were a bit chaotic. But those seven days at Dubrava Hospital? A living nightmare. They just don't care about immobile patients. They wouldn't even change his shirt for an entire week, even when it was 98 degrees out in the summer. I had the option to call private transport and take him to a different hospital, but I listened to that facility doctor instead. Because he wasn't considered life-threateningly ill when he arrived at Dubrava a week prior, they basically let him go to the facility just to die. Please, if you have someone who is immobile, do NOT send them to Dubrava Hospital. They told me they provide great care, and I believed them. It didn't feel like they were lying to me. Everything just seemed to fall apart. There were no visitors allowed.

I’m not saying every department at Dubrava Hospital is terrible, but the pulmonary ward for standard lung patients? It’s a total disaster. Looking at the staff list, there were plenty of nurses, including one young woman who stepped up this morning and said, "We're on it." Well, they did absolutely nothing. Everything was sitting there unopened—even the creams—and she actually had the nerve to tell me to send more creams. They insisted on running invasive tests on him, which felt completely unnecessary since there was no point in putting an immobile patient through all that stress. At the other hospital he was at a month ago, they wouldn't have even dreamed of doing those kinds of tests. They just focused on supportive care; he was on oxygen and receiving IV antibiotics, but they didn't push those invasive procedures.

If we're talking about an immobile patient dealing with rheumatism, then I guess it’s definitely better if they aren't at Dubrava Hospital, but instead over at Holy Spirit Hospital, where they generally take much better care of patients who can't move around. I actually knew this elderly lady once who was also immobile because of her rheumatism; she ended up in a nursing home mostly because that was a long time ago. Her condition actually took a turn for the worse after she went to a spa retreat. I suppose those treatments just didn't sit right with her, even though she was still mobile before she decided to go to the spa.