Before my kid was born I looked around for a pediatrician that would make me feel comfortable and would be able to treat my child while also listening to me. I first made an appointment to meet Dr. Goebel. When I got there I was put in a room and told another Dr would be in soon. When I mentioned to the medical assistant that I wanted to meet Dr. Goebel, she looked confused. This should have been my first clue. She got it worked out. I met Dr. Goebel and she was fantastic from the start. She has had many years of experience. You could tell that she not only was up to date on medical information but also was practical and had common sense (which isn't always the case). So I chose her and this facility. I have NEVER had a problem with Dr. Goebel. She was always on top of it when my child was sick and answered all my questions without hesitation and even gave me information that I didn't realize I was looking for but grateful to have.
The reason for 3 stars: the rest of the office staff and billing department. I was so frustrated with the entire operation that I wanted to leave, however it's because of Dr. Goebel that I stayed. 2 separate occasions the front staff forgot to tell the Dr or medical assistant I was there. I was left in the waiting room for an hour with a sick kid. The second time I was left in the exam room before I heard someone ask another person if there was someone in there...for 45 minutes. This wasn't just an isolated case. Every time I go in, I'm waiting in the exam room for 45 minutes before a Dr sees me. I understand there are multiple patients as well as emergencies, but when you have a sick kid it would just be nice to be told you might have to wait awhile so I can at least not get irritated while I wait with my irritable child.
The billing department is a joke. It took me 8 months to get a refund which should have taken a week. I had to keep calling their billing department (which is a 3rd party company) to get it taken care of. 2 times a month I would call when I would get a bill form them saying I owed instead of a refund. The 3rd party billing company would always tell me "we'll escalate this to our supervisor and get it taken care of". That never happened. I finally had to call the billing person in the actual pediatricians office and talked to her (twice) before I stopped getting bills and got a check mailed to me with the refund.
Since the start of us going there it seems they have a different front office staff, which is a little better...but not enough to keep me there.
Again, the only reason I stayed was Dr. Goebel. The other Drs are nice and would treat my son accordingly, however Dr. Goebel just made that much more of a difference. Now that she's gone, I won't be returning to Bright Futures. I finally found Dr. Goebel (after a lengthy search) at St. Rose Pediatrics. I made an appointment for my kid this morning.
I know every parent has different reasons for staying with a clinic or Dr, and that's great. Bright Futures is a decent place, but too many frustrations for me to stay. I wish them well and hope they have success. The other Dr's there are pretty good so hopefully they will have good reviews based on experiences with them.