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

amother

Taupe

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 6:33 pm

sourstix wrote:

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

When I worked under a prominent healthcare professional I had to sign a non-compete agreement for 5 years. It's standard practice and certainly not reason to call someone greedy.

I don't use Dr. Shanik, so this is a non-biased opinion.

amother

Green

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 6:55 pm

Chayalle wrote:

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.

Yes, but you don't have an entire town of people defend one particular person. I mean, everyone can do whatever they want. But even if ex-Flatbushers love their old doctors, that still is not the same single-mindedness I'm seeing with these threads here on this one particular individual.

amother

Silver

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:01 pm

amother wrote:

There's obviously a good reason for it! He's the most humble person around town and is not running after kavod at all. That was actually suggested by someone who never even used him. BTW I don't use him either but have great respect and would trust him more than anyone in time of need (C"V).

cool_mama

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:07 pm

that's why I use dr Hirsch at chemed. I always get an appointment by him and if he is full for the day I can call him directly and he would see me at the end of the day. in such cases I usually bring him something along as a thank you for going out of his way. I am very happy with him and I wouldn't want to change to any other pediatrician. he even once checked out my husband because the internal department didn't have any appointments till late the next day and he was feeling very sick

sourstix

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:09 pm

look I really dont want to make this into a long discussion. can someone explain how him not allowing to open a practice for the first 2 years is not kavod? how is that humble? he has 4 practices! isnt that enough to make place for someone else? open your eyes lakewooders! I dont mean to bash him I just wanto understand this particular craziness. sorry I just cant fathom this. I have never heard of such a crazy idea. it doesnt sound normal. I have no problem you can all go there. I am sure there is something nice about him. but this is not nice.
I am waiting to hear if someone can explain this......

amother

Crimson

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:10 pm

Dr. Shanik is supposed to be amazing at diagnosing. When there are issues bigger than ear infections and sore throats, he is very good at knowing whats going on. I know someone whose son had a rash of some sort and the doctor she was using scared her that it was something major. She went to Dr. Shanik for a second opinion, he took a look and told her its nothing. Thats when she changed to Shanik. I know someone who uses a different pediatrician in lakewood. Her baby had to be in the hospital and landed up with a resident poking at her baby, and he kept bleeding. She told me straight out " if I was using Shaniks office, this wouldve never happend (resident dealing with baby)"

Also I hear from pple using chemed that the appointment situation isn't great at all.

amother

Green

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:15 pm

amother wrote:

I am glad you have in your town someone you believe helps you in time of need. To me, time of need is not just a trip to CHOP's ER but getting timely seen when my child is wheezing, without having to beg and exaggerate symptoms. But to each her own. I'm happy you're happy.

The issue I was trying to highlight was that there seemed to be a underlying POV running through any thread that mentions his name, and that is it is completely blasphemous to suggest he's anything other than perfect. It's near worship. That posting that said that if you don't go to Shanik, you may as well go to someone "operating from a barn" got many likes. I'm just saying to outsiders it is WEIRD. But like I said, I'm happy you found the One. Just - don't write a post complaining that your PERFECT doctor is too busy to see your sick child.

anonymrs

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:33 pm

sourstix wrote:

Dr. Shanik doesn't "own" Pediatric Affiliates. He is kind of the "manager" of the Lakewood branch, but he is not the one creating the terms of contract with other doctors.

anonymrs

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:36 pm

sourstix wrote:

Again, to be clear, Dr. Shanik does NOT have 4 practices. Pediatric Affiliates has been around before Dr. Shanik was part of it.

amother

Cyan

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:39 pm

A non compete clause in completely standard, and as one poster mentioned, 2 years is considered very short for a non compete clause. As a matter of fact, a different doctor here in Lakewood has a 5 year non compete clause for associates.

amother

Cyan

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:42 pm

Well those of who are calling our beloved doctor greedy and some other terms obviously don't know him. It's kind of laughable as he is so humble, low key.
I find it interesting that people are moving into Lakewood in droves and then don't understand that the existing infrastructure/services can't keep up with the demand.

12rivkyk34

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:43 pm

Did you ever hear of a non-compete? It's standard in almost any employee contract. Any medical facility has such a clause in the contract. It wouldn't make sense to hire and train doctors and have them open practices next door to you all the time. Dr. Shanik helped the new doctor with many aspects of opening his practice but could not possibly allow him to open within xxx miles of his practice before 2 years as it would only cause problems in the future.
If you really need an appointment there are cancellations & many PA's or other doctors in his practice. And yes, for anything a drop more major (think stitches or broken bones) it's amazing to walk into any facility in the tri-state area and have the red carpet rolled out for you because the doctor's admire your pediatrician.
And if chas vshalom it's something more serious then that- we all know he is a mumcha in diagnostics and continues to support those in need throughout serious medical issues. He will call at 2am to find out details, speak to doctors etc.
It may same like we idolize him- well, when it's a matter of our children's health & life- we choose someone we respect and place our faith in completely. I want a doctor who is confident in his answers with a strong track record of being on the mark.

amother

Cyan

Mon, Nov 23 2015, 7:47 pm

sourstix wrote:

its so sad that there are no real good dedicated pediatricians around anymore. here in lakewood and in brookly where I came from. I had this feeling there and here. there is nothing we can do. Sad

Huh?? Lakewood is full of real good dedicated pediatricians - Dr. Shanik, Dr. Gittleman, Dr. Indich, Dr. Preschel, West Park, Dr. Hirsch, Dr. Fenster. The only thing people are complaining about is that they're too overloaded!! I don't think anyone questions their capabilities nor their dedication. We should certainly appreciate them!

amother

Blush

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 2:17 am

amother wrote:

I'm the op. This was exactly my point. These Drs are amazing and dedicated but the overload is what's making it hard Sad

That's why I asked WHAT do people do? We need more Drs but until then???

Notsobusy

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 5:37 am

sourstix wrote:

I just want to tell you, I don't know if you ever met Dr. Fenster, but knowing him, he would be the first to be upset with what you're saying. He is such a mentsch, I don't think he would want anyone to defend him by mocking other people, whether or not they deserve it. And, from reading your posts, I'm positive you have never met Dr. Shanik, who doesn't need me to defend him.

Last edited by Notsobusy on Tue, Nov 24 2015, 6:38 am; edited 1 time in total

Notsobusy

Tue, Nov 24 2015, 5:43 am

amother wrote:

I'm the op. This was exactly my point. These Drs are amazing and dedicated but the overload is what's making it hard Sad

That's why I asked WHAT do people do? We need more Drs but until then???

I don't think anyone would argue about the overload, unfortunately Lakewood is growing too fast and it's a problem in so many areas. Honestly, if I just had my first baby, or I just moved to town, I probably would not use Pediatric Affiliates, the difficulty in getting an appointment would scare me off. But, being that I've been there so long, and I've experienced the same amazing treatment the other posters here have been talking about, I would never leave.

It is easier for me because my kids are older, they don't get sick as often and because they can express themselves it's easier for me to judge if I need to insist on an appointment the few times I do need it. If I still had a bunch of little kids I don't know if I could handle it.