Vanderbilt Childrens Lions Eye Center

"Been bringing my kids here for couple of years and it’s getting ridiculous every year, they are nice but they are awfully late, an appointment shouldn’t take 2 to 3 hours to do an eye exam, last time here.."

"Been on hold for 10 min and then the rep came on and hung up on me smh."

"The doctors here dismissed me and failed to diagnose my eye pain. They tried to send me to a pain clinic and when I told them I thought I had corneal neuralgia they said they had never diagnosed anyone. They didn’t try to send me to anyone else they just suggested I take medication. I have been in pain for months and this clinic did not help me."

"Been coming here for a few years now and the doctors are wonderful. However they run consistently late. I try to schedule first available for my kid and it never fails that we aren’t called till at least 30 minutes after our scheduled time. That shouldn’t happen for a first in the morning appointment…."

"My daughter has had strabismus since she was under two. She had been being treated successfully with only glasses for the past few years. We moved from another state, and only a couple weeks after moving to Tennessee, she started complaining that she was seeing double (she was 5 at the time and has since turned 6). Since this was a major change to her vision, we needed to establish care with a new ophthalmologist sooner than we had anticipated. I started by calling Lion Eye Center because they were recommended, and being affiliated with Vanderbilt, I figured they'd be great. Unfortunately, I was informed when I called that they do not see self-pay patients regardless of their ability to pay. Since we had only been in Tennessee a couple weeks, we didn't have new health insurance yet, though it was in process. We were willing to pay upfront. They did not care what the situation was, they simply refuse to see self-pay patients under any circumstances. Well, there are extraordinarily few ophthalmologists in the Nashville area that will treat pediatric strabismus and lazy eye, so I felt pretty defeated. However, we were blessed to find one on the opposite side of the city from where we live who was willing to take self-pay patients. It is a bit of a drive, but she has been a great doctor. My daughter was able to get the corrective surgery she needed and her vision has progressed beautifully. Considering how many children are in need of ophthalmology services, and how few doctors there are to treat them in the area, it is really unfortunate that Lions is unwilling to treat children who need their help just because they don't have an insurance policy. Out of principle, I recommend avoiding Lions Eye Center. They do not see patients, only dollar signs. I now avoid every Vanderbilt affiliated doctor, clinic, or hospital, and, whenever possible, choose private practice physicians who aren't slaves to insurance companies."