I've brought my teen to this doc office since he was an infant. My son was a preemie who spent his first 3 mos in a hospital. When he was discharge, Old Fourth Ward Pediatrics (OFWP), which was then Drs. Hammad, Platner and Charles-May (& Associates also), who highly recommended.
When your child is born with or w/o health challenges, you want to be assured that the meds pros know their stuff. I quickly felt that way about the docs and the staff. When I reflect on my experience, I can candidly say that the staff may have seen me at a few usually tough moments, but I don't recall seeing them have any.
The wait room use to be kinda dated. Now its getting a fresh and vibrant update, so be patient with the reno. They do have separate room for sick and well kids. I'm not sure how much people pay attention to it. Yes, there will be a time when the waiting room will be crowded and you'll have to sit where you find a chair. You may even have to wait a bit to get to a room and be seen by a doc. Estimate 5-15 in waiting room and another 5-15 once you get in a room. However, assuming you arrive at your appt time, between paperwork, co-pay and vitals, things will move.
The docs are pretty thorough, keep pretty detailed records, and actually listen and address questions. During your appt., you can see the first available doc, or a select one. Each of the long-time docs have been super helpful in their own way. Some of the most beneficial wisdom has been in the areas of the asthma/allergy link; med&non-med options to addressing attention issues; and their patience with my "mulling" over optional vaccines for my son.
The staff are also friendly, knowledgeable and seasoned. Actually, there appears to be very little turnover in their core medical assistants/staff. I once casually complained about the price of a medication my son was taking while waiting for a record. One of the long-time med staff said, "Using coupons would help." And proceeded to give me a couple she had. With that statement, the song "A whole new world," went off in my head. At that time, it never crossed my mind to use coupons with prescription drugs.
Now, the office. Like I said, they are doing a major reno while keeping door open. Be patient. Its looks good so far.
Neighborhood: Let me just say upfront, if you even think the area is hoodie now, you should have seen if 10+ years ago. The promise of the Beltline has done much for Old Fourth Ward.
Environment: I've gone to docs offices in areas with staff & patients who would drown in a rain storm. I didn't necessarily get better service (maybe coffee with that snoot). Yes, there may be screaming kids, but it's a Ped's office. What would you expect occasionally (like really, I rarely see it).
I have looked into other Peds offices for my teen over the years, but in the end, I have remained at OFWP. They are doing more than a few things right and my teen has grown to see the office as "his" doctor's office. It will be interesting to see what happens when he has to find a GP. Oh! I am not ready.
Tip: Plan your arrival and departure accordingly if you intended to park in the garage. You have to pay, but it's not horrible ($4 about 60mins). I've paid more parking in Decatur for the same time. read more