Whole Child Pediatrics

Read this review to see what the owner himself is really like…
Awful practice, do NOT go here. We came to whole child a few years ago because we heard amazing things about the place, but we entered right when everything started to change and go wrong. All the doctors we saw when we first joined suddenly disappeared. Nurses as well.
I got so fed up when I had scheduled a wellness physical for my son at the front desk during his previous appointment. Appointment scheduled and all set. I get a reminder call the day before reminding me of the time I had on my reminder card that THEY themselves wrote for me. I show up at my appointment at that time on the scheduled day and the front desk lady looks at me and says I am 30 minutes late, looks annoyed and says I can’t be seen. I correct her to tell her my appointment was not 30 minutes ago but right now and she said no that is not what we have written down. She continues to accuse me that I am wrong and they did not make a mistake. I become furious so she starts to look embarrassed because there are people in the waiting room as I’m telling her that they made a mistake, so she said there is nothing she can do and it’s a busy day but I can come back in the afternoon. I tell her I’m not available that afternoon and remind her that I scheduled my appointment now and not 30 minutes prior and also received a reminder call yesterday to confirm that time. I leave, write a negative review on Unilocal,and that evening I receive a voicemail from the owner of the practice himself. In his message he says «I’m so sorry this happened and wanted to talk to you to see if there’s anything we can do to resolve this and make it right.» So I call him back and he apologies but quickly goes on to tell me that he saw my review on Unilocal and it was very harsh and if it were any other practice they would’ve given me a late show fee for arriving late and that they are a kind and accommodating practice that values their customers and are unparalleled in customer service compared to other places. He explained there was an emergency with the Doctor that day and she had to leave for family reasons so they could not squeeze me into the schedule when I was there and that’s why the front desk staff asked me to come back in the afternoon. I explained to him that I completely understand emergency situations but still they were all blaming me for their scheduling mistake and got upset at me for showing up at the time they originally gave me an appointment. He asked me if I would leave the practice and I said no probably not, so he then said well your Unilocal review as one star is just unfair if you’re not going to leave the practice, it’s harsh, can you consider removing it? I told him sure I’ll do that since I’ll stay with you guys. We hung up.
I receive two calls from this owner throughout the week leaving voicemails asking me when I will delete my Unilocal review. I told him as discussed on the phone I will remove it but with a sick child I couldn’t get to doing so until the weekend. He said if I don’t do it soon he will go ahead and post a reply to respond to the situation explaining the scheduling mishap and emergency staff situation. I removed it right after he bothered me that last time and haven’t heard from him since. If the owner doesn’t care about my sick child but only his precious 5 star reviews, why on earth would I trust this selfish and arrogant man who couldn’t even own up to his staff’s mistakes?
A year later I have a preemie who is discharged from the NICU and the hospital staff tell me to schedule an appointment with my pediatrician immediately when we get home and she must be seen within a day after getting her home. They said pediatricians specially accommodate for NICU babies and should put them into their schedule easily. Well… I call whole child and explain everything and ask to make an appointment… should be easy right? Uh no. The stupid front desk staff asks me all sorts of questions and says if my baby did not receive a vitamin K shot at the hospital then they cannot see her for six months. I tell her I have no idea if she got that shot but probably did but I will check and confirm can we go ahead and schedule an appointment anyway and if she didn’t get it I will let them know? I then say why can’t she be seen for six months if she didn’t receive that shot that makes no sense? And the lady just says she cannot be seen for six months unless she has that shot. Then I re explain the situation that I need an appointment and was just discharged from the NICU she is a preemie and was ordered to be seen immediately. The front desk lady says, oh is she a preemie? She was in the NICU? Oh I see. (I already told her this info three times!). Then she said well she can’t be seen for six months.
I called a new practice, with an amazing Doctor and staff, explained the preemie situation, requested an appointment, and they said my baby could come in immediately.

I’m finally sitting down to write this long overdue review. First, I will say if I could give this practice ZERO stars I would.
I recently pulled my children from this practice which I should have done a long time ago. Between the incredibly rude and non-​helpful front desk young lady (the young one with the accent) with her cavalier attitude and her ability to make you feel that you have greatly inconvenienced her by asking a question to the MAJOR doctor turnover and staff turnover, those were just a couple of the factors. After dealing with the front desk attendant in person and over the phone, enough was enough. It’s like getting through Fort Knox to try to get to a nurse or leave a message. She ALWAYS prefaces everything by first stating how busy she is and that whatever you needed will be dealt with if she has time. No major cosmetic renovation can mask the fact that the renovation needed most is in the ownership/​management. You don’t have high turnover with DOCTORS unless something is very amiss.
With a reputation in VA as being an opt-​in, non-​vaccine clinic, the other reputation among local physicians is that these doctors at the practice are out-​of-​touch and certainly not leading diagnosticians in their field.
The new physician that was hired as the medical director certainly seems to have wonderful credentials and is more in touch with patients. But, staying for 1 doctor is just not feasible. Seeing a doctor for 15 minutes but then having to deal with the front desk girl for scheduling, papers, questions, etc is just NOT WORTH IT!

Since posting my review in July, the president of Whole Child Pediatrics has reached out to me about my concerns outlined in my review. He has gone out of his way to ensure that the issues I had with the practice have been rectified with the most important one being the proper ADHD medication and dosage for my daughter. I met with Dr. Mindy Stern today, and she was excellent. She is very knowledgeable about ADHD. She listened to all of my concerns and asked me questions about my daughter’s ADHD that I hadn’t considered before. I loved that she was not looking to simply add more medication, and she understood the other holistic aspects of ADHD.

We started going to Whole Child Pediatrics in 2007 when I was expecting my 3^rd child. We had been looking for a new practice since our other one could never accomodate sick visits. We loved the practice and all the doctors. A few years ago, they went down hill. Our absolute favorite doctor left the practice and then our second favorite doctor semi-​retired. Then all the new doctors left within a year and there wasn’t any consistency. The last straw was when I had to retrieve my daughter’s medical records. If I waited for a hard copy it would take 3 – 4 weeks and I was told I could get them in 24 hours if I did an electronic version. The electronic version took over a week to receive. No one ever asked why I was leaving either. On another note, all of the nursing staff also left.

I recently left this practice with my son, something I’ve unfortunately had in the back of my mind since he was born. I had heard such great things about the practice while I was pregnant, but it’s apparent that staff turnover has really had an impact since the fall (when we started going to the practice). This is a long post, but I want to share all my experiences in the short time I was there, both good and bad.
Our first incident happened after my son was born. I was unknowingly struggling with breastfeeding, and we called to talk to a nurse and tell them he hadn’t had a BM in days. They told us to try caro syrup or rectal stimulation. In hindsight, since he was only days old, they should have asked us to come in for a weight in. I should have pushed an appointment and kick myself for this now, but I was a new parent and trying to figure out the ropes, while trusting medical professionals to lead me in the right direction. Luckily days later I went to a lactation consultant and discovered I was only producing what amounted to drops of milk and my son had lost an extreme amount of weight. We were rushed to the ER and NICU for 3 days. Whole Child was great in following up from the hospital visit, and we went in for an in-​patient visit after we were released. My faith was restored with Dr. Sami who apologized for the nurses advice and said we could reach her at any time personally if we wanted a second opinion.
Weeks later we had my son’s 1 month appointment and it was like no one read his charts (we previously had this issue about a HEP B shot — the nurse thought it was given it at the hospital, the Dr didn’t and back and forth, I had to keep pressing the issue or I don’t think he would have gotten this vaccination because of a mis-​read on his hospital paperwork). Dr. Sami, who perhaps was having a busy day, came in and it was like she forgot about our stay in the NICU. Since I was desperately trying to produce breast milk with no success, we were on formula (which at this point I was still struggling with). When I asked her about the type of formula we were using she looked at me funny and said «Oh? We’re not breastfeeding?» I wanted to cry right then and there. How I wished I could have been…
My husband was with me and was also having feelings of doubt about the practice. I thought perhaps we should try another Dr. before abandoning ship so we scheduled our 2 month appointment with Dr. Brooks. She was wonderful — experienced, knowledgeable, etc. If there was more Dr’s like her, I would have stayed no question. The problem was Dr. Brooks schedule (believe she was only there 2 days a week) and I had to re-​schedule multiple times just to try and get my initial appointment with her. Trying to schedule his 4 month appointment became impossible since they didn’t even have a schedule a month out, let alone 2.
In between this time and my next bad experience, my son did go in for a 2 month sick visit with Dr. Sami — this visit was great. It was our first time he was sick so of course we were worried, she reassured us everything was fine, checked his oxygen level and other tests and told us to keep with the humidifier, saline, and suction. This was a great visit with Dr. Sami, but my experiences were too polarizing so I still felt uneasy.
Around 4 months my son got sick again. This time with a lot of congestion and a cough that came out of nowhere. I went for a sick visit again (a definite pro is the sick waiting room and walk-​in visits) and was told it was just congestion. His oxygen level was not checked and a test for RSV was not done. I took him to daycare on Wednesday and saw a sign that 2 kids in his class had RSV. I called the nurse after getting a call from daycare that he was not doing well and told them about the other children having RSV. They did not ask me to come back to test, but rather said to keep looking for a temperature and trouble breathing. I understand there is nothing you can do for RSV, but for peace of mind I wish again (in hindsight) they would have asked us to come in to test him that day (at this point I didn’t know there was a test or I would have demanded it). By Friday of that week my son was really declining and so I made yet another sick visit — this time they decided to test for RSV and take his oxygen. He did test positive, but this was likely the worst day of it so things started to get better. I wish they would have tested Monday of that week at my initial visit so I wouldn’t have taken him to daycare in the first place. Before leaving my appointment, I already knew we needed to make a change. I didn’t trust the nurses advice over the phone, the Dr’s were different and inexperienced every time on my recent visits, and NOTHING was consistent.
Peds are whatever works for your family, just make sure you are well informed and feel like you can trust your Dr’s. At Whole Child, unfortunately, I did not.

The owner wrote me regarding my review. I was given an apology by the owner and I wrote them back to explain more about my story. It appears the good things I wrote seem to be attributed to VA Pediatric Group (about Whole Childs being pleasant and prompt to get us in) so I am changing that. I think any doctor can have a bad day and make a mistake. I do not think it makes for a bad doctor or practice and I’m sorry if that is how my review appears.
I do, however, think every practice should make an effort to address mistakes made openly, talk to patients about how they could make things better (have parents sign a liability waiver without pressure if they disagree with a doctor’s diagnosis, recommend another practice for a second opinion when conflicts in diagnosis arise, take newborn blood in-​office with a finger or foot prick, use more than a visual diagnosis for jaundice-​consider successful eating, checking poopy diapers, weigh-​ins for babies only 2 – 3 days out of the hospital and parental feedback over how they think things are going.) I still wish Whole Childs well and hope they take my story and advice under consideration.

I took my daughter here when she was born and the doctors were great. Dr Eden and morfitt. But all are gone! I was so upset hearing that they were gone within months from each other. Ever since they have left this office has been horrible. The wait time is terrible, 30 mins or more to get into a room. Another 30 mins and plus to see the doctor. And the currents doctors, I’m not feeling very good about. One of them is pretty unprofessional. The other is rude. Plan on changing to another practice.

What happened?
I’ve never been at a medical practice with such a high turnover of providers at such a fast rate. In the past two years, three of my favorite pediatricians left. On top of that, they are extremely short staffed. Forget same-​day sick appointments unless you’re lucky to see a nurse practitioner or one of their ‘regular’ inexperienced doctors. The good ones are always booked. And the practice’s website is constantly being updated to reflect the current influx of new ‘doctors,’ who come and go as the seasons change.
One of the new doctors, Dr K., who has left the practice, was so bad during my toddler’s physical that I thought she was a new inexperienced doctor but she’s been in practice for at least 7 years. Not knowing what vaccine to administer, she went on and on how she was trained differently in medical school so she had to double check with another doctor before she would choose the ones my child had to have that day. The next thing I knew a nurse walked in to give my toddler a vaccine he already had 6 months ago and had completed the full dosage for. Good thing I caught it before it was too late. What a scare that was!
On the other hand, even seasoned pediatricians start out inexperienced and eventually become amazing doctors. It would be unfair to let one bad experience tarnish a whole practice’s reputation. In contrast to Dr. K mentioned above, another new inexperienced doctor we recently saw, Dr. Sami, turned out to be amazing and restored our faith in this practice.
My husband and I were humbled by her professionalism in diagnosing my sick young child. She went the extra mile to check every concern we had about his illness and thoroughly examined him to make sure he did or did not have a certain condition. Even though my baby was resistant, Dr. Sami confidently restrained, pacified, and jumped over hurdles to check his throat with a tongue depressor (yay!) and even removed ear wax from one ear, to confirm that she could see the ear drum clearly and that he had no infection. She did not brush anything off and even throughly examined his eyes, which had been hurting all week. So after a long stressful week of wondering and second guessing ourselves as parents and being misinformed by another inexperienced pediatrician at a different practice that he had an ear infection that needed antibiotics the day before (that’s another story) we finally came to a conclusion about what’s going on with his prolonged symptoms and came to a closure. Dr. Sami even ran the flu test and RSV in the office which we really appreciated.
Doctors like her give me hope about this practice and for the meantime, will result in renewed visits. For non-​serious medical issues its not that bad considering they accept delayed vaccine schedules, don’t send erroneous bills, and the front desk staff have always been courteous and nice. Why they can’t retain qualified, experienced pediatric providers is beyond me. The trend of departing experienced pediatricians has been a consistent trend at this practice for the less then two short years I’ve been with them. With deep remorse, I truly miss the old providers — Dr. Haynesworth, Dr. Eden Woredekal, and Dr. Morfitt. They were top notch pediatricians, who really helped our family through some tough medical crises. And unfortunately, they’ve all moved too far away for me to go back to. Too bad and quite sad, actually, too.

We’ve been taking my 4 year old there for the last 2 years and have seen a complete turnover in doctors twice! The of the ones there currently is a joke. I thought maybe she was a new doctor because of how unsure she is of herself (and medical information) but she’s been doing this for 7 years! It’s ridiculous. The only one we will allow our 4 year old and newborn to see is just okay. We are currently looking for a new practice.

My daughter is 4 months old and we have been coming here since she was born. I am SO glad I found this office. In particular we love Nurse Practitioner Sue Tillman — I refuse to have an appointment if she is not our provider.
They are generally very prompt and don’t make you wait too long which is great. And they have a well and sick waiting room which I highly appreciate as a mommy of a little baby that is prone to everything!
I was very nervous having the vaccine conversation because I wanted a delayed schedule and I know a lot of doctors aren’t too thrilled about that. But Nurse Tillman was SO accommodating (we are on the Dr. Sears schedule since our daughter is not in daycare and is at home with a nanny) and she is so gentle and sweet with my daughter when she sees her. We had tried out a few doctors at this practice but we found that Nurse Tillman was the most thorough and asked the most questions and felt like she cared the most.
The nurses are also SO sweet — so far my daughter has had to get vaccines twice and the nurses have been so sweet and as gentle and quick as they can be. The front desk staff is very nice too — every time they see my daughter they comment on how big she’s gotten and how adorable she is, it’s so sweet and makes it nice to visit the office.

I just moved to Ashburn! Have 4 kids and need a reliable Pediatrician. I’m so upset that they are so under staff and cannot attend my sick child especially in the afternoon ! As the represented stated «If I would of called in the morning he would of been seen». How was I going to know I was going to get a call from the school to pick up my son in the afternoon? Does not make sense ! Plus only 2 doctors then 1 had to leave early! Not even the Nurse can see him? This is crazy!!! So upset!!! Going to another place ASAP! Not recommended to small to accommodate the Ashburn population!!! Plus my 4 kids!

I have not been pleased with Whole Child Pediatrics, except for the fact that they accept altered vaccination schedules. At our last appointment I was brushed off, hurried, and could not ask the questions I wanted to ask. My daughter is extremely sick and now I have to take her for more opinions and to a Dr who will listen. The Dr at Whole Child even accused me of being a Googling mom — I did not appreciate that, it’s not the case at all, and I left frustrated and very upset. I started going there because of the good reviews, but now am searching for a new dr. I can’t express my disappointment with them enough. I don’t want to be rude, and I rarely write negative reviews, but the way they treated me was unacceptable.

I’ve been really happy with whole child. Really friendly staff and open to all parenting styles.

We just relocated to Irving TX and I am miserable with out my WCP! I just called them to tell them I miss them. I have 5 kids and have been using them for the past 8yrs.
To start with the front office staff– They are genuinely happy and always have amazing personalities. When you have a question they are quick to get you a response. They really take pride in getting to know each family and helping in all ways they can. When they are on the phone they are always courteous by smiling and acknowledging me.
Drs.- I agree there has been some recent reorganizations with Drs. It was sad when the others moved away, but they still found some amazing ladies to come in and work in their place. The Drs. take an approach not like any others. They don’t shove medicine in your child just because, they are patient when you have children with disabilities and always helpful. We had the hospital prescribe wrong dosages and they were on top of it filing complaints etc.
They also have early morning walk-​in appts. which worked amazingly for my family and Saturday morning appts.
Again we are very sad to no longer be able to use them. The quality of Drs. that we have found so far just aren’t to their standards. We miss you

We have been taking our newborn and 21 month old here for 6 months now. We have been so happy to have found this practice. We previously went to a practice in Manassas that was very condescending regarding our desire to raise our children with a more holistic approach. The staff and doctors at Whole Child have been such a great balance between utilizing medicine with a more natural approach. They are not quick to jump to antibiotics at every sniffle, but are thorough in investigating any kind of issues. They have also been flexible and supportive in our choosing an alternative vaccination schedule. We have found that they strive to empower the parent with knowledge to make informed decisions about how to raise our children. Dr. Eden is amazing. Super friendly and informative and always positive. She has been so patient with explaining things to us so that we can make the best possible decisions for our family. If you are looking for a practice that is balanced, well-​informed, friendly, patient, and supportive, this is a great place to take your kids!
Practically speaking:
The office is very clean. The waiting area has age-​appropriate toys and books to keep little ones entertained. There is a separate area for well-​visits and sick-​visits to keep the sick kids separate from healthy ones. Much appreciated for a new mom!
The office staff is very friendly. Even when speaking on the phone, they get back to me quickly and are informative.
Scheduling appointments is very easy. We have had no difficulties getting in. There are even sick hours so you can get in easily if your child turns up sick that morning.
Very professional when checking in, making appointments, giving vaccinations, and taking care of insurance claims and billing.

This office is beyond amazing! My son is special needs and I couldn’t be happier with the care and support they give us. The doctors answer every question and you do not feel rushed. I always can get same day appointments when Joshua is sick. Yes, there was recently some staff changes but the new doctors are just as amazing! J see’s Dr. Haynesworth the most and we absolutely love her!

We have been seeing Dr Bunger for 10 years. Until recently I would have given 5+ stars. The entire office has had an upheaval of staff I don’t know any of the Dr’s anymore and certainly do not feel like they understand the importance of seeing the same Dr when you have a child with true medical issues. We stay for Dr B need to get to know the others better. I just hope they stay before another upheaval of staff. Dr Chamberlain is no longer there :(, or Dr. Mayuga, or Nurse Practitioner Brown -? Or Dr. Haynesworth.

We started going to Whole Child because my husband wanted to find a practice closer to home (we were previously going to my childhood pediatrician out in Purcellville). They came up as a recommendation from a friend who goes there.
We met with their new doctor, Dr. Eden. She saw both of my girls in the same visit for their 2 year and 4 month appointments. She was fabulous for keeping my two year old corralled and managed to exam both girls quickly but thoroughly. She was 100% supportive of breastfeeding and our vaccine decisions. As a attachment parent who eats organic/​whole foods (generally) and treats with many holistic and homeopathic options before using modern medicine, I felt at home and at ease with her.
WC does have separate waiting rooms for sick/​well children which I love. The rooms are comfortable and have books and some toys that were entertaining for my 2 year old while waiting. While we don’t go to regularly scheduled well baby visits, when we need a check up or sick appointment, we will definitely be going back to Whole Child!

Good Group, great front desk people! We switched to WCP after our other ped retired and the docs that took over his practice were just awful. I like WCP early morning walk in sick hours, very helpful for working parents. The front desk is incredibly nice which is a pleasant surprise in a NOVA doctor’s office. The doctors are great, they have several ones that we love which is great because they switch around. Dr Bunger is awesome, Dr Chamberlain helped us through a pretty scary time with one of our children. The only reason I gave then 4 stars is I hate waiting in the exam rooms. I have squirmy kids and I would rather wait in the waiting room with the toys and books.
Wait times can be a little long but that is not the norm, all in all great office!