My child went here from his first visit the day after he was released to the hospital (less than…read moretwo years ago) until his first birthday. We were, ultimately, not happy with this practice. We've since moved on and are much happier.
We weren't that happy from the beginning, to be honest. I think we were ready to switch after the first visit, but it was much too overwhelming with a newborn. We wound up staying as long as we did because of their lactation consultant. The practice had a nice room for nursing moms (the building as a whole is very nice) that had been recently designed by the lactation team. Sue, who is the nurse I worked with, was awesome. She was reassuring, attentive, and worked to make sure that I felt comfortable with nursing. We also had an issue with my son's weight gain before he was six months old, and she worked with us on that as well. If it hadn't been for the lactation support, we would have left. Here's why:
My biggest issue, looking back, is that Dr. Compa, who was our son's primary doctor (and the only person who saw outside of sick visits), did not notice that his weight gain was faltering. My son was born in the mid 80s for weight percentile. By two months, he had dropped down to the 60s/50s for weight. He bottomed out around the 29th percentile. Obviously, weight gain is not a rush to get chubbiest baby, but from what I've read, monitoring how that percentile develops over time and maintaining something approximate does matter (sample from WebMD: "No matter where your child fits on the chart, the important thing is that height and weight are proportional, and that growth progresses at a fairly steady pace over time.")
I had to point out that my son's percentile was dropping so drastically; the doctor did not notice. She wasn't very concerned, probably because my son looked good otherwise, but she did connect me to lactation again (who I had not been seeing once I mastered nursing, but did develop a relationship with again until my son's growth was back on track). When I look back on photos of my son from that time, he is noticeably skinny compared to his first couple of months and then once his weight was back on track. It's really concerning to me as a parent that I had to be the one to notice and ask about it; even if it wasn't a "big deal" (and I think it was), that should have been something the doctor spoke with me about.
I also felt the doctor was a bit rushed in her visits. I know they're a busy practice and that primary care doctors are slammed in general, but I felt rushed. I once brought my son in while he was sick; after telling me that he tested negative for strep, the doctor just left. She'd mentioned he probably had Coxsackie if he didn't have strep previously in the visit, but she never came back to talk to me about what to look for, what to do, etc. I was sitting there with my son still undressed for his exam for a while before I realized she was not coming back; there had been no goodbye, no good luck, nothing.
Essentially, I felt like the doctor missed something important with my son's growth and development and that there was no personal touch. I also had an issue where one of the PAs was rude/dismissive of me when I had a question about how to alleviate the pain of my son's ear infection (in addition to the medicine she prescribed). I don't think she was even listening to my question, truly. It often felt like the practice didn't take the time to think about how it felt to me as a first-time parent to bring in my sick child and need advice and reassurance and that I was not listened to carefully. It was a very "I've seen it all" attitude. And please trust that while, yes, I worry about my son, I am not an over-the top speculator always imagining and fearing the worst and making mountains out of molehills. I just didn't think I was going to need to rely on Google so much for advice (from credible sources) after a doctor's visit because no one there took the time to help me understand my kid's illness and how to mitigate its effects.
That being said, there are positives. Obviously, lactation consulting was a big deal for us There is a PA, Joyce, who was incredible. Warm, friendly, kind, and attentive. If she had been the doctor, we would have stayed. The building is always clean, nice, and up to date. The office staff are friendly. We never had an issue getting an appointment. There are service dogs there to hang out in the waiting room at least once a week, which is neat.
I know people love this practice and it came well recommended, but this was not a good fit for us.
