Looking for a great pediatrician near North Wales, PA

[Lan84]

Hi ladies,

I'm sick of my useless pediatrician. She's very nice and is in sync with me regarding most of my parenting ways and views, but she is absolutely and completely useless when it comes to emergencies. I never feel confident in calling her when I have a question because I always get an answer of "ehhhhhh...".

When my son was 5 weeks old and spiked a fever out of nowhere and was lethargic and not eating, I called her to find out if I should try acetaminophen before rushing to the ER or if I should bring him straight away. Her answer was "Ehhhh, it could really go either way.." She spent 10 minutes on the phone with me being wishy-washy. I said screw it and brought him into the ER. Glad I did because he had to spend 3 days getting IV abx. His fever would just not go away. I've gotten this same answer from her multiple times on different issues.

Anyway, I'm looking for a small 1 - 2 pediatrician practice that's great in an emergency, very pro breastfeeding (and extended breastfeeding), pro AP, good at discussing all information and making decisions with parents, ok with delayed/selective vax, not pushy, up to date on current AAP and WHO recommendations, and preferably female.

I moved here from Canada and don't have any friends/family in the area so I have no one to get recommendations from around me. My midwife gave me my current ped as a recommendation (though after I told her the stuff that happened when my son got sick, she stopped recommending her to others) and I'm really not sure where else other than here to get recommendations from.

My family is currently on a wait list for Dr. Kressly, who I hear is excellent, but her wait list is still at least a year long. Please feel free to share any info you have. I appreciate it!

[phillytwinmama]

We use Woodland Healing Research Center in Quakertown, but they're not peds, they're a family practice but have lots of little patients.

woodmed.com

[Lilcrunchie]

We just moved back to the area and I'm in the same boat. Found someone locally who I read was okay with nonvaxing, etc. and I'm kinda meh for the long haul on that particular doctor.

Still looking for the right fit and we're open to family practice or a ped.

Someone mentioned a holistic leaning doc that recently (in the last year or so?) opened a practice in Chalfont. She's family practice I think. I'd have to dig up the old thread but I've been thinking of giving her a call.

[MrsMike]

There is Dr. Larry Miller in Lansdale. He is right on Broad Street near the Cowpath Road intersection. He is reported to be very pro-breastfeeding and is certainly okay with delayed and non-vaxing parents. My DH has seen him once and we are a little on the fence. He seemed very nice and caring, but I'm not sure yet. I may bring DS to him for a wellness visit to see what he's like for kids. He is a family doctor and is very popular with parents who have autistic children.

Dr. Richard Fried operates the Kimberton Clinic in Kimberton, Pa. It's a haul - almost an hour away (more when you can't even get out of North Wales with that freakin' construction). He is pro-breastfeeding, likes natural remedies and the only vaccine he recommends is tetanus. We went once and he was fine, though eh was pretty pushy about the vaccine (we declined), but the drive was annoying. http://kimbertonclinic.com/

Dr. Rebecca Nice is new. She just opened a family practice/wellness center in Chalfont. It's called Wellness Works. She specializes in complimentary alternative medicine. http://www.wellnessworkspa.com/index.php

Hope this helps! Welcome to the area!

P.S. Can you PM the name of the ped you were seeing. I have an idea of who it is based on another mama's experience.

[Lilcrunchie]

I wanted to respond as I called Dr. Nice's office today to see if they participated w/ our insurance (they do). However, they are not planning on seeing patients under age 12 at this time. I was hoping they would see young children

She may be someone Dh and I will see but I was hoping for a family practice doc we could all see.

I saw her ad today in the Courier free paper thing that comes in my mail and decided to finally call. I'm kind of bummed.

If anyone has any additional leads that would be great. I can't really find someone that I'm crazy about yet.

[Mrs. B]

My kids go to North Willow Grove Peds and they have an office in North Wales, near Costco, on Horsham Rd. We mostly see the NP, Donna, and I really like her. They are fairly mainstream, but she is supportive of AP choices as she did some of them, too. I am there for medical reasons, though, so my parenting choices are not really up for debate (although I have never had any issues, even with extended/ tandum BF). We delay vax and she helps me come up with a schedule, no problems. Not sure how she would be with no vaxing, though. I don't call often for sick visits, but they always get me in that day, sometimes immediately, although you get whichever dr. is there.

[chr157y]

We go to Kids First in Souderton.  They are very pro-vax, but never bothered us about our alternate schedule.  We just have to sign a release if we decline any vax.  I like that they are a CHOP office, so we can always talk to a nurse at CHOP off hours if we have even a silly question.  Again, I can't say enough about them being a CHOP office.  My son had a few little holes in his heart when he was born, and they have been a breeze to deal with and to get appts at the outpatient Cardiology office in Chalfont.  Again, when he needed a hearing test b/c of a speech delay, it was easy to get an appointment with the CHOP audiologist in Chalfont.  Another time, when my son hurt his leg at school an had a limp, they got us in immediately and had us scheduled right away for x-rays.  I never had to call about getting records transferred, b/c it's already in their system.  Like, I said they aren't very crunchy, but they are very efficient, always return calls, and incredibly knowledgable.  I <3 CHOP.