Stay with Foxhall or follow Dr. Engel to Reiter & Hill?

[Anonymous]

Hi!
So, I realized today from reading the forums that Dr. Sarafian at Foxhall no longer accepts BCBS Federal Standard. I was previously a patient of Dr. Engel and decided to stay with Foxhall rather than follow him, but now that we're planning another baby I am not sure if I should just follow him there or try one of the doctors still available to me at Foxhall? I wasn't Dr. Lightfoote's biggest fan before, but she was fine. I never saw either of the other two doctors, but I've read good things about Dr. Pardo. What have other people's experiences been? I'm inclined to stay at Foxhall because the location is between my office and my husband's (good for him coming to appointments) and I was very happy with their office staff and the fact that the doctors always called me with test results, rather than nurses or office staff. Is Reiter & Hill a decent office in that sense? I've read that it's hectic!
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I have Dr. Pardo and really like her and Dr. Beckerman.

[Anonymous]

I was a patient of his and stayed with Foxhall when he left. I see Pardo now and love her. There are so many doctors at Reiter that I wasn't sure I'd really be able to see him as much as I wanted and it was very possible I wouldn't have met the doctor who delivers me. I used to go to Reiter and I found it to be rushed and factory-like. There have been several posts about this issue recently so you might try searching the archives.

[Anonymous]

does pardo take BCBS. Same boat - had engel. havent moved but not sure what i'll do when i get pg again. Pardo delivered me and was great.

[Anonymous]

Yes, Dr. Pardo takes BCBS.

[Anonymous]

Dr. Pardo is great, she delivered my first. Dr. Lightfoote is also really good. She gets a bad rap on this site. She is laidback, like me, so i really like her, but realize she may not be the best fit for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Foxhall is definitely a great practice, and convenient because it has ample parking, shopping nearby, low stress, etc. I stayed with Foxhall through two pregnancies and am glad that I did. But once my second was born in November, I switched to Dr. Engel...Foxhall stopped taking my insurance and Reiter Hill took it. But I was frankly glad to have a good excuse to move. Dr. Beckerman delivered my first and he was a total rock star in the delivery room. For my second delivery one of the female docs delivered. While I loved this doctor throughout my appointments (for the 1st and 2nd babies) she was an entirely different person in the delivery room--incredibly rude and condescending to the nursing staff, to the point that it genuinely made my my husband and I really uncomfortable. It was like she had a text book God complex. The kicker: she gave me an episiotomy without any warning or gaining my consent--this after I had explicitly told her that I did not want an episiotomy unless absolutely necessary. My first was 10 lbs, vaginal delivery, no episiotomy. Second baby was three ounces heavier and I got snipped. I am not convinced the procedure was necessary--and even if it was, I think verbally acknowledging it in the delivery room should have happened. It was not a stressful delivery. I think the doc just tends to do them. Anyway, I adore Dr. Engel...he's smart, caring, and has the most amazing bedside manner--I had a miscarriage three years ago and he was the doctor who conveyed the sad news and he was AMAZING. I trust him completely.

[Anonymous]

I've always been really happy with Reiter & Hill. I go to the Falls Church office, which feels well run and very calm to me. The one time I had to go to the downtown office (last-minute reschedule on my part), it was PAINFULLY busy. I can see why people don't like the practice very much if that's the office they use.

As for doctors calling back with test results, I'm not picky that way. I really like Muffy, the nurse practitioner in the Falls Church office. She's very responsive and so experienced that I'm happy to talk with her if a doctor is not available or not necessary for the issue.

[Anonymous]

I'm only starting down this road, but I've been a gyn patient of R&H for about 8 years -- and Muffy (Margaret King, one of their nurse practitioners) and the Falls Church office were the reason I stayed.

Downtown is a mess, but there are bright spots there. I'm still looking around, but at least from the GYN practice, I've been happy.

[Anonymous]

If she takes BCBS, i'll stay w Pardo. She was great, laid back and i most of other docs as i rotated through and liked them all (including lightfoot). Reiter-Hill is bigger so seems more likely to get someone you haven't met in delivery

[Anonymous]

I have BCBS and it's my understanding that I can see Pardo, Stany or Lightfoote at Foxhall and that one of the three of them will deliver my baby. They also use Dr. Burke to fill in and he is amazing. Although he is not part of the Foxhall practice (so you wouldn't meet him before delivery) he delivered a friend's baby and was awesome.

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone! I was surprised to see new responses to this, but I'm glad I checked the forums today!

I am going to see Dr. Pardo and if I decide to leave I'll just go to Dr. Engel then. I really like Foxhall as a practice and I was reassured when I called and the Office Manager spent time on the phone with me and I remembered why I kept going there in the first place. When I was pregnant I went there and started yelling at a receptionist who had annoyed me for some reason or another.....I was leaving with my husband (pregnant hormonal over-reaction to something that probably would have still annoyed me otherwise but not as much) and the Office Manager came out of her office, stopped us before we even got to the door and talked to us about the problem and fixed it immediately. My first delivery I actually went ot a hospital in Baltimore and it was fie, so I don't care if I don't know the Doctor on call as long as they know what they're doing.

[Anonymous]

Engel is my Dr. as well and I was going to stay but when Foxhall stopped accepting my insurance around the same time I left and went to reiter and hill, despite feeling extremely nervous based on their reputation for being crazy in DC. I ended up going to the chevy chase office, which seems quieter and because Dr. Engel was already my Dr., they scheduled me directly with him. So far so good . . . .