I write this with a heavy heart. After trying to conceive and then taking a break to deal with some family problems that arose, my husband and I were finally blessed with a baby girl. One of hubby's coworkers told us that SMG had a great pediatrician office, and suggested that we take our little girl to see her daughters' doctor. Unfortunately, that doctor was not taking on new patients but we were assured that all the other physicians were really good and they often saw each other's patients if needed. I made an appointment for the first Monday to see Dr. Geronemus, after being discharged from the hospital with my new baby.
It was unusually chilly the day we went for the appointment and I probably could have dressed her a bit warmer for the trip. The office was cold as well, since for whatever reason they had the air conditioning on full blast, likely because the days before were very hot and humid. Hubby and I were freezing in the exam room because of the cold air flowing in from the vent; even Dr. Geronemus commented on how cold it was in the office. On top of the cold air, they kept our baby undressed for a long period of time while taking her measurements, temperature and weight.
When they finally checked her temperature, they mentioned it was low by a tenth of a degree and although there was no real concern, they insisted on checking it again to make sure it was just an anomaly. When they checked it again, we were told it dropped almost a full degree. I found that kind of odd. The nurse was having issues with the thermometer malfunctioning and they didn't have a spare, the doctor was questioning the nurse's ability to take the temperature correctly and we were reminding them that it was cold outside, cold inside the office and the baby had been undressed for almost an hour. They decided to bundle the baby up and check again in ten minutes but the problem with that was that they came back after only a few minutes to check her temp so of course, there was not significant difference in the temperatures taken. We asked them to check it once more because they really didn't give it enough to improve at all and when they re-checked, the temperature remained the same.
The doctor then insisted we take our baby to the nearest hospital's ER as a precautionary measure to make sure she was OK and did not have an infection.
Long story short, when we get to the ER at Westchester Medical Center, they checked the baby's temperature which read the SAME as in the doctor's office so, of course, we were nervous but then the nurse tells us that the temperature was withing range. We asked why the doctor would have told us to come to the ER if the temperature was fine and they had no clue. In addition to sending us to the ER, the doctor also reported that the baby was hypothermic which prompted them to follow an infection protocol, including an unnecessary spinal tap, unnecessary antibiotics that have grave side affects as well as numerous testing that was also ultimately deemed unnecessary because as we tried to tell everyone from the pediatrician office to the hospital, our baby was completely fine.
We should have known not to listen to the pediatrician because she also seemed very unsure of herself. She really could not give us definitive answers on anything and in hindsight, we should have just run the other way. After four days in the NICU and multiple IVs placed, we've received many bills due for treatment that should never have been given in the first place. Even the doctors at the hospital told us that while they did not feel our baby was sick, they had no choice but to follow through with their protocol based on what Dr. Geronemus wrote in her report. A nurse from the hospital at which I had my daughter, happened to call and follow up with me that week and after I told her what transpired even she said that the doctor was out of line to have jumped the gun without taking in all the other factors.
I'm unsure how the other pediatricians in that office operate but we made sure to find other means of medical treatment for our daughter. I will never go back to Scarsdale Pediatrics, nor will I ever refer them to another family. If you feel like giving them a shot, that's fine, just make sure that you get a second opinion if the physician seems unsure of her staff's knowledge, the accuracy of the equipment and even her own knowledge. read more
