I went to see Doctor Howard Shaw after learning I was pregnant. I was referred to him by my gynecologist.
I had mixed feelings prior to my visit as the reviews online were both positive and negative, but I decided to give it a shot as he came highly recommended by my doctor.
It was quick and easy to make an appointment and the receptionist was nice.
A few weeks later I went in. I was first greeted by a receptionist who seemed to not want to be there (I will talk about the front desk staff later on).
After checking in, I was directed to the waiting room. When they tell you that first impressions are important, it is very true! This office is in desperate need of an update. Everything from the sofas, the AC units, to the lighting and paint on the walls needs to be redone. I believe that a physician's office should be squeaky clean, but unfortunately that's not the case here. Everything is dirty, broken, dusty and worn out. They do not seem to care about appearances and I find this pretty sad.
After waiting about 5 minutes, I was called by a nurse (Claudia) who asked me to follow her to an exam room. She took my blood pressure, weighed me and asked me a few background questions. She was professional, warm and friendly.
I was then asked to go back to the waiting room.
A few minutes later, I was called by a sonographer, who took me to an exam room. The room was also very worn out and not very clean. The temperature in there was really high -- so high that the AC was on (in January!). The lady performed the exam with no problem. She was also very nice, gentle and professional.
After being asked to wait a few more minutes, I was taken to Dr. Shaw's office to meet him.
I liked him right away. He was very friendly and welcoming. I sat down and we started talking. He was very warm and kind. He gave me his personal phone number which I thought was nice. As a first time mom, I had a lot of questions, but he took the time to answer each and every one of them. He then explained what I should be expecting in the upcoming months and what my visits at his office would be like. I stayed in his office for about 30 minutes.
Dr. Shaw has an interesting sense of humor that not everyone will get but I liked him. I liked him because he's funny, direct, kind, outrageous in a good way and will tell you exactly what is what and to calm down if you're being a little too crazy (which first time moms usually are). I liked that from him right away. His professionalism, compassion and kindness really made up for the sad condition of the office.
He delivered my baby via C-section and I couldn't have asked for a better doctor. I was nervous about the epidural, but he held my hands and helped me focus on something else. The whole procedure went really well and my scar looks amazing (I was really concerned about that and Dr. Shaw did an incredible job!!)
Would I recommend going to Dr. Shaw?
The positive:
-Claudia: couldn't have asked for a better nurse. She went above and beyond to help me and made this a good experience. She ALWAYS called me back when she said she would, she ALWAYS confirmed my appointments, she ALWAYS took the time to talk and ask how I was doing. She is wonderful! I wish there were 10 Claudias because she really did everything for me. A lot of times she took over the responsibilities of the receptionists and I was grateful for that. People like her, hard working and conscientious, deserve to be acknowledged and recognized -- her real worth should be a commodity and not only with me but other patients I came to be acquainted with, she definitely earns it day in and day out.
-Olga: she's the sonographer I had for all my visits and she is incredible! Professional, friendly and nice. Much better than the other lady who isn't friendly at all.
-Dr. Shaw: As I said he is the man!!! The best!! I already told him I'm going back to him if I have a second child.
The negative:
-The poor condition of this office. Please fix it or open a new location!
-The receptionists: These ladies had a major attitude and made mistakes many times. They scheduled me with the wrong time or the wrong date so many times (which Claudia then fixed on the down-low for me to what originally had been agreed on and scheduled). They were rude quite a few times over the phone to me and my husband. They never made the effort to fix an issue I had with billing and I had to call the department myself. Like I said, Claudia ended up scheduling my appointments and always called me to remind me of them -- I still don't know why those receptionists even work in this office.
Overall I would highly recommend Dr. Shaw if you are expecting. He is wonderful and will take great care of you. I only wish he worked in a nicer office or better yet, had his own practice!
I'm giving this place a 4 stars because of the condition of it and the receptionists really take away from the experience. read more