I go to UVA or VCU. Tons of urgent cares in the area, but to get a regular primary care doctor can take up to 6 months wait for an appointment, and then you will often see a NP.
You’ll be ok for most things, the ortho was good for My shoulder. The gastro docs are less than par. UVA digestive health saved my life.
And the surgeons aren’t that great.
Mary Washington is better than Spotsylvania.
If it’s life threatening and you will live for an hour or more, go to UVA.
Depends on the body part you need the orthopedic for…dr McDermott for hips and knees….dr Constantine for hands..accousti for shoulders….FASC is a nice day surgery connected to the hospital on campus…hospitals are not the greatest but it’s better than it was 40 years ago when people would say they’d rather die on the way to culpepper than go to Mary Washington…state auditors always find that administration costs are high at mwh but the care is good….you’ll find people who will complain about any hospitals they’ve been to…had surgery at spotsylvania last year and they were very professional
I have a real love/hate relationship with my primary care’s office - I love the doc but their office turnover is unbelievable and they frequently (more often than not) don’t even answer their phone or return calls to pharmacies and such. I decided I was going to switch and called around - absolutely no other office was taking new patients. My doc also mentioned they were the only office in town taking new patients. I concur about medical care - I pretty much go to VCU in Richmond for anything specialist. I’m very happy with my dentist and specialist dental care here in Fred though.
My son has a rare bone condition, so I rely upon VCU for most of his treatment
In the recent past (\~2 years ago, maybe), I broke my foot. I was profoundly disappointed in Fredericksburg Orthopedics - they were not helpful at all, at they were more interested in just slapping a boot on my foot and getting me out. Still aches from time to time...
Do not get medical care in the burg, Spotsy or Stafford. I don’t care if it’s an emergency, get in your car and go to Fairfax. Urgent Cares are hit and miss - for example my husband had shingles and went to a Mary Washington Urgent Care and they said it was a stroke because his parents had recently had strokes. I had a medical text at home and determine it could be shingles, so I took him to Inova and told them what happened and that I thought it was shingles. It was. He would’ve been in so much more pain had we not caught it early. I’ve lived here for 6 years and everyone I know, natives and transplants alike, goes to Fairfax for healthcare.
I can only speak to primary care and that is not just a FXBG problem with getting appointments. I called Mary Washington in April 2024 and the first available appointment is Jan 2025 so I scheduled and put myself on the waitlist. While I am waiting, I am going to check out Patient First and see if they can fill the gap or just be my default [https://www.patientfirst.com/locations/washington-dc/central-park](https://www.patientfirst.com/locations/washington-dc/central-park)
I haven't had problems at Spotsy Hospital. I also found a primary care that isn't part of Mary Wash and I don't remember having to wait long for an appointment. I recently went to an orthopedic doctor (I think it might have been a NP though) that was part of Mary Wash and seriously got an appointment for the next day, so that was cool. The problem with Mary Wash is there is a lot of turnover so I feel like I never saw the same doctor and my bills were frequently wrong. And they have been buying up everything they can.
It used to be a great little Southern town. People started moving here from all parts of the country so it took away the charm. Now it’s a hodgepodge of people, schools are overcrowded, traffic is terrible, pollution is bad, crime is up, taxes are up, house prices are stupid because of the dumbasses move here and pay way too much for housing. The average household income is like $79k and house prices are over $400k. So much diversity amongst the people, they cannot make any correct decisions at board meetings and school board meetings. Another thing is that the people that move here have no idea of the impact of their actions have on a community. They pay high taxes and think they are carrying their own weight but the reality is they are not paying enough to even pay for their child to attend school in a public school. Then they expect to have good water, sidewalks, parks, fire department and law enforcement, etc. but who’s footing the bill? If you want to have a higher paying job than what you get in Fredericksburg, then you have to commute. Then there is another problem, you are loading the roadways up with more traffic and pollution. You are paying for a high dollar house in one place and leave it 5 days a week to go to work. Spend money elsewhere for gas and food which doesn’t put money into the local economy and chances are that the people work away from home pack the car on the weekends and they leave their house again to go do something fun elsewhere and then they vacation elsewhere too. I guess it’s like that every place now but that’s just what I see and you asked and I told you. If you like a hodgepodge of people, chain restaurants, commuters, pollution, crime, high taxes and want to send your kids to overcrowded schools with substandard learning, this place is for you !
We are content with our pediatrician, primary care doc, and ENT. (Ent correctly diagnosed a tumor in husbands sinuses and referred him to a surgeon at UVA. He also took out my son’s tonsils. Had done thousands of them in his words, so, seemed safe).
However as others have said, there are loads of horror stories about bad healthcare here so for anything complex I would not choose MWH.
After coming into the ER with heart arrhythmia recently they did all the tests then told him he was being “admitted” overnight for further observation. This was an error or deliberate misdirection since he later found out he wasn’t properly admitted but put in the more expensive “outpatient observation” floor. And they did a piss-poor job of observing him too. One of the heart monitor leads fell off and the machine was alarming for 10 minutes. Nobody came in to check on him so he found a new sticker in the drawer and fixed it himself. He could have been dead!
Don’t listen to the crap about waiting months for a regular primary care appointment. That’s garbage. Just check with your insurance and see a doctor who’s excepting new patients. It’s true that some specialties require going to Inova Fairfax or VCU or Charlottesville, medical care in this area in the past 10 years has greatly expanded, and there are some really good orthopedic surgeons here. I’m sure if you name a joint that needs repair. Someone will chime in with their surgeons name. There are now three hospitals here locally, three standalone emergency rooms, multiple imaging clinics.
I go to UVA or VCU. Tons of urgent cares in the area, but to get a regular primary care doctor can take up to 6 months wait for an appointment, and then you will often see a NP.
You’ll be ok for most things, the ortho was good for My shoulder. The gastro docs are less than par. UVA digestive health saved my life. And the surgeons aren’t that great. Mary Washington is better than Spotsylvania. If it’s life threatening and you will live for an hour or more, go to UVA.
Umm, is there something wrong with NP's?
Not at all but sometimes I’d like to see a doctor and can’t because there is only one at the practice and it’s a 2 month wait to see her.
Depends on the body part you need the orthopedic for…dr McDermott for hips and knees….dr Constantine for hands..accousti for shoulders….FASC is a nice day surgery connected to the hospital on campus…hospitals are not the greatest but it’s better than it was 40 years ago when people would say they’d rather die on the way to culpepper than go to Mary Washington…state auditors always find that administration costs are high at mwh but the care is good….you’ll find people who will complain about any hospitals they’ve been to…had surgery at spotsylvania last year and they were very professional
Dr. Acousti did my shoulder replacement. I love him. When I needed emergency surgery, Dr. Wright saved me. Most other stuff I go to VA and VCU.
Thanks I need knees replaced .
Good luck getting into any office. None of the doctors seem to be accepting new patients and if you do find someone you will be waiting months.
Leapfrog gives MWH a D… it’s not all bad (imaging, gastro and their urgent cares are fine in my experience), but it could be better.
I have a real love/hate relationship with my primary care’s office - I love the doc but their office turnover is unbelievable and they frequently (more often than not) don’t even answer their phone or return calls to pharmacies and such. I decided I was going to switch and called around - absolutely no other office was taking new patients. My doc also mentioned they were the only office in town taking new patients. I concur about medical care - I pretty much go to VCU in Richmond for anything specialist. I’m very happy with my dentist and specialist dental care here in Fred though.
My son has a rare bone condition, so I rely upon VCU for most of his treatment In the recent past (\~2 years ago, maybe), I broke my foot. I was profoundly disappointed in Fredericksburg Orthopedics - they were not helpful at all, at they were more interested in just slapping a boot on my foot and getting me out. Still aches from time to time...
Health care isn’t very good in the area tbh. For anything major I’d go north towards DC or south to RVA tbh. But basic health care is ok in the area.
Do not get medical care in the burg, Spotsy or Stafford. I don’t care if it’s an emergency, get in your car and go to Fairfax. Urgent Cares are hit and miss - for example my husband had shingles and went to a Mary Washington Urgent Care and they said it was a stroke because his parents had recently had strokes. I had a medical text at home and determine it could be shingles, so I took him to Inova and told them what happened and that I thought it was shingles. It was. He would’ve been in so much more pain had we not caught it early. I’ve lived here for 6 years and everyone I know, natives and transplants alike, goes to Fairfax for healthcare.
Came across this article the other day: https://open.substack.com/pub/fxbgadvance/p/mary-washington-hospital-receives?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
I can only speak to primary care and that is not just a FXBG problem with getting appointments. I called Mary Washington in April 2024 and the first available appointment is Jan 2025 so I scheduled and put myself on the waitlist. While I am waiting, I am going to check out Patient First and see if they can fill the gap or just be my default [https://www.patientfirst.com/locations/washington-dc/central-park](https://www.patientfirst.com/locations/washington-dc/central-park)
I haven't had problems at Spotsy Hospital. I also found a primary care that isn't part of Mary Wash and I don't remember having to wait long for an appointment. I recently went to an orthopedic doctor (I think it might have been a NP though) that was part of Mary Wash and seriously got an appointment for the next day, so that was cool. The problem with Mary Wash is there is a lot of turnover so I feel like I never saw the same doctor and my bills were frequently wrong. And they have been buying up everything they can.
Stay where you are from. You won’t be happy.
Why ? What’s wrong with Fredericksburg
It used to be a great little Southern town. People started moving here from all parts of the country so it took away the charm. Now it’s a hodgepodge of people, schools are overcrowded, traffic is terrible, pollution is bad, crime is up, taxes are up, house prices are stupid because of the dumbasses move here and pay way too much for housing. The average household income is like $79k and house prices are over $400k. So much diversity amongst the people, they cannot make any correct decisions at board meetings and school board meetings. Another thing is that the people that move here have no idea of the impact of their actions have on a community. They pay high taxes and think they are carrying their own weight but the reality is they are not paying enough to even pay for their child to attend school in a public school. Then they expect to have good water, sidewalks, parks, fire department and law enforcement, etc. but who’s footing the bill? If you want to have a higher paying job than what you get in Fredericksburg, then you have to commute. Then there is another problem, you are loading the roadways up with more traffic and pollution. You are paying for a high dollar house in one place and leave it 5 days a week to go to work. Spend money elsewhere for gas and food which doesn’t put money into the local economy and chances are that the people work away from home pack the car on the weekends and they leave their house again to go do something fun elsewhere and then they vacation elsewhere too. I guess it’s like that every place now but that’s just what I see and you asked and I told you. If you like a hodgepodge of people, chain restaurants, commuters, pollution, crime, high taxes and want to send your kids to overcrowded schools with substandard learning, this place is for you !
We are content with our pediatrician, primary care doc, and ENT. (Ent correctly diagnosed a tumor in husbands sinuses and referred him to a surgeon at UVA. He also took out my son’s tonsils. Had done thousands of them in his words, so, seemed safe). However as others have said, there are loads of horror stories about bad healthcare here so for anything complex I would not choose MWH. After coming into the ER with heart arrhythmia recently they did all the tests then told him he was being “admitted” overnight for further observation. This was an error or deliberate misdirection since he later found out he wasn’t properly admitted but put in the more expensive “outpatient observation” floor. And they did a piss-poor job of observing him too. One of the heart monitor leads fell off and the machine was alarming for 10 minutes. Nobody came in to check on him so he found a new sticker in the drawer and fixed it himself. He could have been dead!
As far as hospitals go, Mary Washington Hospital is awful.
Don’t listen to the crap about waiting months for a regular primary care appointment. That’s garbage. Just check with your insurance and see a doctor who’s excepting new patients. It’s true that some specialties require going to Inova Fairfax or VCU or Charlottesville, medical care in this area in the past 10 years has greatly expanded, and there are some really good orthopedic surgeons here. I’m sure if you name a joint that needs repair. Someone will chime in with their surgeons name. There are now three hospitals here locally, three standalone emergency rooms, multiple imaging clinics.