Lakewooders; WHAT do you do when you CAN'T get a dr appt????

Busy as a bee

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 12:00 pm

amother wrote:

Ditto to this

same here!
I love dr indich
I rarely have to wait more then 10 mins
they are always accomadating to bring my kid in even last minute
and they even will culture me (once also my husband!)
cuz we couldnt get an appt by chemed till the next day...
really love it there

Mama Bear

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 12:54 pm

So sad that in lakewood there arnt enough schools, mikvahs,and now pediatricians!? it's crazy!
and a $40 copay? Where I live, a sick visit for a child if you have no insurance or you go a dr after hours when it's not your PCP, is $45. how can $40 be a copay- how much do these drs charge for a sick visit?!

mommyla

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 1:13 pm

Mama Bear, the copay has nothing to do with how much the doctors charge, it's based on your insurance policy. A sick visit with my PCP is $35 on my plan, I think $45 for non-PCP, and different rates for different visits. Well visits don't have a copay. It's a flat-rate thing, not according to the pediatrician.

And there are plenty of pediatricians, but some practices are more popular than others. I stick with Dr. Shanik because I'm happy there and don't mind the inconvenience of the appointment issue (plus I'm willing to go to offices other than the main one).

sky

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 1:22 pm

My co-pay is determined by my insurance company, not my dr. And its considered a good plan...People who have Jersey care don't realize how much they save on every appointment.

Dr. Shanik's office is open from 7:00 am - about 10:00 pm every day, motzei shabbos and Sunday.
I think his hours are pretty generous. And he has 3 offices within decent driving of Lakewood (if not 4).

I stay with Dr Shanik because in the times I've had emergencies he has really come through. One time I had to go straight to CHOP. They provided me with food, directions, private phone numbers. Asked if I had a cell phone, money, arrangements for my other kids.
when I arrived at the ER I was admitted immediately, my paperwork was in order. They called me every few hours to check up on us. In the hospital every time a dr left the room they called me to make sure I understood what was happening. Next day called a few times. I felt like someone was really holding my hand.

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 2:29 pm

Same experience here. They were there for me more than any other doctor-from what I hear from my friends. It makes me feel secure knowing that Dr. Shanik has my back-worth the long waits in the waiting room and the frustrations with getting appts.

FTR-I have Jersey Cares, and I still don't take my kids to the doctor unless I feel there is really something wrong. With the results being that they have rarely been on antibiotics.

amother

Beige

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 3:13 pm

DD recently started using Dr. Fenster & is extremely happy. He's officially in Neptune for a certain amount of time due to non-compete (& will have office in Lkwd in a year or so), but will see you in his house early morning & later at night.

Chayalle

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 4:00 pm

sky wrote:

I stay with Dr Shanik because in the times I've had emergencies he has really come through. One time I had to go straight to CHOP. They provided me with food, directions, private phone numbers. Asked if I had a cell phone, money, arrangements for my other kids.
when I arrived at the ER I was admitted immediately, my paperwork was in order. They called me every few hours to check up on us. In the hospital every time a dr left the room they called me to make sure I understood what was happening. Next day called a few times. I felt like someone was really holding my hand.

Same, when I was in CHOP with a child he was there for me the whole time, ensuring my child got the proper care. I stay with him because despite the inconvenience of a busy office, he's the doctor I trust the most when I really need him.

MyKidsRQte

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 5:40 pm

Chayalle wrote:

Same here,

I once I had to go to CHOP during a blizzard. Dr Shanik kept calling me to make sure we were ok, he got us admitted to the ER right away, and called us a few times in the following days

amother

Beige

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 5:43 pm

Our family has gotten phone calls from Dr. Indich to check up on a child that was ill. It is not exclusive to Dr. Shanik.

He is a big tzaddik and I understand that mothers think he is one step from Moshe Rabbenu, but if you can't get an appointment, there are viable alternatives!

sky

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 6:28 pm

Of course not. I know a family he made a very serious mistake with.
And I had a different local doctor (not in his practice) make a serious mistake with my child.
With every doctor you have to daven.

edit.

Last edited by sky on Mon, Nov 23 2015, 6:32 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Green

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 6:29 pm

amother wrote:

This cracks me up. There once was a thread about various pediatricians in Lakewood addressing the issue that they did not completely agree on a vaccine policy. Posters who were pro Dr. Shanik vociferously defended him to the other posters that attempted to say - eilu v'eilu. Some doctors agree with Dr. Shanik and some don't. Then a poster (who was probably 19 years old or something) said - but Dr. Shanik is THE expert! No one can disagree with him! Sure, you can go to other doctors "operating out of a barn" but he is the only REAL doctor in Lakewood!! (she did actually call any doctor in Lakewood other than Dr. Shanik as "operating out of a barn." )

Therefore I am not shocked to see this thread, disturbing as it is. Personally, I would find a doctor that would - um- see my kid when he's sick! Without having to plead about how much he's screaming and how his fever is! But I guess if you think this is normal, then gezuterheit.

sourstix

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 8:13 pm

could it be that dr. shanik was the first pediatrician here in lakewood when yeshivish pp moved here. and thats how they created sucha strong liking for him. he is an intresting person. on the one hand pp think hes a tzadik. but then when someone that has worked for him and wants to open a office here in lakewood he wont allow for the first 2 yrs. I dont call that a tzadik I call that greedy. why on earth if he has 4 different offices and he has such a large crowd coming to him (and he cant even deal with so much) cant another perosn open another office? whats he so afraid of? why does he do that? please explain. I am not trying to take away the good stuff he does but that to me isnt "tzadik"
so now let the bashing begin... :banging head

amother

Green

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 8:55 pm

sourstix wrote:

I would say the lengths people go to vigorously defend his practice weird. BUt I have no stakes in the game and live very far from Lakewood. I'm just offering my perspective as an outsider...all the worship seems so strange. You don't have that in other towns with other doctors.

Chayalle

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 9:00 pm

amother wrote:

all the worship seems so strange. You don't have that in other towns with other doctors.

You haven't heard some of my neighbors from Flatbush go on and on about some of the doctors there. I've seen people who go back for visits, as they think they are the only competent doctors on the planet.

sourstix

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 9:00 pm

well I never joined his practice. for the reasons pp posted here. its very strange to me how pp are willing to look away at so much. when they should get better care. I understand he has access to chop. ok, I am sure others do.

amother

cornflower

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 9:05 pm

I would hardly think him greedy if associates need to sign a noncompete. The practice is not exclusively his and this may be a part of their by-laws or another partner's pet peeve. Obviously I have no idea, no inside knowledge, but he's fairly well-known and has done many ppl "tovos" in many ways, so I'd like to throw out a possible "dan lekav zechus" scenario.

yogabird

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 9:09 pm

Chayalle wrote:

But they don't all talk about the same doctor.