Pediatrician - NW DC

[Anonymous]

I am 30 weeks now and a first time mom. I am starting the hunt for a ped in NW DC - we live in the Logan Circle area. Does anyone have any great recommendations or those to avoid? Thank you SO much!!!

[Anonymous]

Congratulations! I also live in Logan Circle and work downtown. We needed to find a ped. in close proximity to our home, daycare, and offices. I ended up going with Dr. Nicole Lang at 19th & M. I had heard excellent things about the care but some bad things about the wait times. We heard that they hired an additional pediatrician (3 women in the practice) and that the wait times had decreased. I'm happy to report that so far we have found this to be true. The staff is on the ball. Another person we considered was Dr.Ellen Hamburger at 21st & K.

[Anonymous]

Great!! Thank you SO much for the reply - I greatly appreciate it!

[Anonymous]

I also started at Dr. Lang's office, but after a number of long waits, unreturned phone calls, and a billing problem, I left. I am much happier now, we go to Foxhall Pediatrics and see Dr. Amy Sweeney. She is great, takes a lot of time with us , the wait is never more than 5 or 10 minutes, and she knows all her patients by name.

good luck!

[Anonymous]

I had the same experience with Dr. Lang. When we move to DC I heard great things about her and waited 2 months for an appt. for my two year old. We arrived and waited well over an hour! When we were finally moved into an exam room we waited another 20 minutes. I had only one spare diaper with me and went through the one she was wearing when we arrived and my spare while we waited. After the additional 20 minute wait in the exam room, I told them I was not prepared to wait any longer and left.

Now we go to Georgetown Pediatrics at Georgetown hospital. They are reliable, accommodating and call you back within 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

We go to Dr. Lang's and have found the wait times to really vary depending upon season and if it's a sick visit. What is nice is that they do same day sick visit appts (although sometimes you do need to argue a bit with the receptionist to book you). I go back and forth about switching. Her location is great for us (right in between work, daycare and home) and I have found when we've called with questions someone calls back in a timely manner. But, the waits on the days where they are long can be 2+ hours and with a young child it is not fun (there waiting room is pretty small). Then again, our last visit was a 15 month check up last week and we waited 5 minutes and was never left alone in the exam room for more than 5 minutes.

[Anonymous]

I also have had mixed experiences with Dr Lang. After my last visit I am very tempted to change. The reception staff are pretty nasty. And don't even think about changing an appointment as it is totally impossible. I also am tired of the waiting times and the feeling that I only have 5 mins when I finally get to see Dr Lang. It is also a nightmare to find parking and we always end up paying a fortune! If I had my time again I would go elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

We take our 4 mo old daughter to Dr. Ellen Hamburger at 2141 K St. NW and like her very much. The waits are not unreasonable and they apologize if they are long (only once). The front desk staff are friendly. We've also seen Dr. Sepe (male) in the same practice and liked him equally well. Overall we are very happy with the practice. If you call the nurse triage line you get a response within a few hours.

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I second Dr. Sweeney - we love her. She's smart and patient and concerned with our son's well-being.

[Anonymous]

I have not experienced any rudeness from Dr. Lang's front office staff. That is just my experience. Regarding the parking, what do you expect if you choose a downtown location? I assumed the poster, since she is in Logan, would be walking for most of the visits so that would not be an issue. We drove for our newborn visit and paid to park in the building's paid lot. Tuesdays & Wednesdays seem to be the least busy days. For any doctor appt., I try and get the first appt (or earliest available) of the morning. Keeps the wait times down.