Intown Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, PC

We have been going to Intown for 3 years and have always had good experiences. Tonight was no exception. My daughter has had a bad cold and we were abke to go in within 2 hours for a 7pm appt. We saw Dr Batille for the first time. He was great! Again, no exception to any of the Doctors or nurses we have seen before. Always a good experience every time! We love Intown!

My husband and I was referred to Dr. Bataille by our midwife’s assistant around August of 2012. Best decision besides saving for college & saving bonds as parents we ever made! :)
Quick detail of my decision to choose Dr.Bataille. Since I decided I wanted to give birth naturally at home, obviously I started looking around for more homeopathic doctors who wouldn’t pressure us to vaccinate or look down on us for our decision NOT to. The first 6 months after his birth we were taking him to one. First three months were great. The doctor was knowledgable as a doctor should be, but lacked the ability to hear the parents concerns. As if, her degrees were enough for you to believe everything she tells you and not have your own motherly instinct. It also seemed as though they wanted to sell us tons of their homeopathic (energetic) medicines. Which worked great. So we would purchase what we felt weneeded. Only to find out we could have bought it for a lot less elsewhere. As a new mom I was naturally nervous over the littlest sneeze or cough. There was just a lot of other problems we had with this place. Needless to say we did not stay there.
My review:
So when my Midwifes assistant told me about Dr. Bataille I was so pleased at how he was not judgmental over our decision to not vaccinate. He was professional, compassionate and he actually listened to a mothers concerns! He didn’t use scare tactics and his tone was the best! At the first visit we were seen rather quickly! Each time we come he is always concerned and not just business minded. He even gave me a great dental referral! We have since had a daughter and after another home birth I was happy to have Dr. Bataille for pediatrician. Five days after she was born we noticed her breathing was sort of noisy. So I took her in for her check up and he was absolutely amazing at handling a nervous mother. Immediately he knew what was wrong well before giving her a through exam. He did not assume or make me feel paranoid with non-​sense rhetoric of what could be wrong with her. The condition is called «Laryngomalacia» Basically its the floppy tissue above the vocal cords that falls into the airway when a child breathes in. He stated he has seen cases like this before and they usually go away when the child turns 2 years old. Before researching what could have been wrong I was beyond scared but after our visit with Dr. Bataille I felt more at ease and calm. Our daughter is now a healthy 20 month old and thankfully does not have LM. Our son is now 3 years old and loves when its check up time, to see… as he calls him «his super hero doctor». Thank you Dr. Bataille of In-​Town pediatrics. Life is not always easy with children but having a doctor who cares about your children makes it a lot better.
About the staff Review:
The check out girl however was and is not friendly with the offices patients. I have witness her be down right dismissive to one parent. There is one check out receptionist that takes her place from time to time, that we like she is professional and friendly! Also the manager at the front desk is not as discrete with your personal information has she should be. We had a $ 80 balance that our insurance did not cover and my husband forgot to pay it on the last visit. And she proceeded to loudly discuss that with me in the waiting room (tasteless and unprofessional). I politely and quitely ask her if she could discuss our private business in just that ‘PRIVATE”. As there are areas for that or she could have waited until we entered the exam room as there is always at least 5 min wait time to see the doctor anyway. So she could utilize that time. The look she gave me was one of oops! After our visit I let the doctor know what happened. And that I would be taking care of that bill before leaving. He said he would speak with her. Very professional about the situation. A few days later the staff in particular called to apologize for her behavior and that there was a miscalculation or something… that in fact the insurance company was suppose to pay. LOL! So, I say no problem. We had our insurance just reimburse us. So we wouldn’t have to deal with in-​towns administration part. 3 stars for staff. That does not detour me from seeing Dr. Batiaille as he is awesome! We love the quality of service he provides! We refer all our friends with children to him. And since my husband wants five children I will be seeing this office for years ro come or until we leave buckhead!
Sorry for long review but in this day and age we humans post/​write about bad experiences so much! So I wanted to write about a good experience all and all!
Thank you intown
I.W

I was very disappointed with the lack of compassion and service at this pediatrician office… long wait time… however if your late they will cancel your appointment immediately then schedule you weeks out. I will never go back there.

We have been going to Dr. Bataille since our 20 month old was born and we could not be more pleased. He is great at calming new parents’ nerves when needed, but also at being very direct in how to handle if there is a real issue. The office is clean and modern and we never have bad wait times. I send all of my new mom friends to Dr. Bataille, and everyone loves him. We especially like the fact that they do not over prescribe and use antibiotics as a last resort.
We agree with the recommended schedule of vaccines from the CDC so I cannot cosign with those parents that are upset that Intown Pediatric recommends the same. We are «better safe than sorry» parents and after the Whooping Cough deaths a couple of years ago of all of those kids, we would not risk that with our baby, particularly since there are so many parents refusing to vaccinate nowadays. Also, the Autism/​Vaccination link was disproven repeatedly and the guy that wrote that book has been arrested. But, to each his own. I know they will work with alternative schedules to a degree.
All in all, we are very happy with Intown Pediatric and will be sending our newest little one there when he is born this summer.

Dr. Sells has been my sons’ doctor since they were in kindergarten/​preschool (the oldest is now a teen). She has always been kind, helpful, and willing to take the time to explain things. She also respects my opinions as a mom about medications, etc.
Chris the PA and Dr. Bataille are also great.
As the practice has grown, it takes a bit longer to get an appointment and there has been the occasional scheduling snafu. But, thank goodness, this neighborhood practice is NOTHING like the Buckhead assembly line doc-​factory we went to when the boys were babies.

My daughters have been patients at Intown for 6 years and I cannot recommend them highly enough. Where else can you find pediatric nurses willing to have their own blood taken to show a terrified 7 year old that the blood test she is facing is going going to be ok?
I have never, in 6 years, had a negative experience at the office with anyone. When we visit, we normally see Dr Sells or Nurse Chris.
Dr Sells is clearly a very dedicated physician, she is direct in her approach which I appreciate when it comes to the health of my children.
Nurse Chris is just awesome, my children adore her, she treats them with the utmost love and respect.
Over the years, we also have seen Nurse Allie and Dr Battaille who are also very thoughtful, respectful, kind and informative.
I am very grateful that I have these community minded, highly educated and dedicated professionals keeping my children healthy, comforting them and helping them get better when they get sick.

We’ve been going to Intown for 2 years now, and frankly I was a bit shocked when I checked in yesterday and noticed all the low ratings, so I thought I would update my review.
It seems like most of the negative comments are from people that want «Alternative schedule» or NO!?! vaccinations and this office doesn’t, in those review’s opinion, work well with this (crazy) idea. So there you have it. If you are one of those «Jenny McCarthys» that thinks it’s a good idea to leave your kids vulnerable to diseases that have been cure, then maybe you better go someplace else.
I will say –1.5 star from my last review for the service since the renovations. The size of this practice doubled about a year after we started going there and the quality of the staff has suffered (not Dr. Sells, Chris or Ms. Kathy who all are amazing!). We have also had several problems with the automated calls, call in phone menu and tablet check in process, but none of that is even close to the horrible quality of care we received before coming to Intown.
We are hopeful that they continue to make improvements and weeding out the less effective and friendly staff.

I’m so glad we found Intown Pediatrics. What I like:
–clean, beautiful, modern office
–Friendly staff, especially Ms. Cathy makes us feel as though she really knows us
–Doctors who are professional and personable
–relaxed vibe
–reasonable wait time
–educational books and toys in the rooms, book given to patient at well-​child visits
–Chris and Dr. Batalie are our favorites
–when I have called with health concerns I have gotten a return call within a couple hours. Once when I had a newborn with a fever the call back was in 5 min. or less.
–They have been okay with me also taking my son to a natropath.
We have elected to do an alternate vaccination schedule. Because of the recommendation I had gotten for Intown, I was expecting them to be more supportive of this decision. I did not recieve a lot of flack, but I certianly wouldn’t say it was a supported decision. Neither was my point of view questioned – I was simply told that the shot stings only for a little and then it goes away (as if that was why I would choose not to have them done) and told all the risks of the diseases and that children may die. I did not feel that Dr. Sells was very pushy and even though she doesn’t agree with my decision, she did allow it.
If you are doing the vaccinations on schedule you would probably have no complaints here. We find our visits to Intown very pleasant.

If only the doctors and nurse practitioners made up a practice, I would probably rate this group 4 – 5 stars. However, the the office and nursing staff have just ruined it for me – today was the last straw when the nurse appointment I made for a single vaccine somehow did not make it into their system.
Two other examples: my four-​year-​old son was TERRIFIED of getting his yearly shots a month or so ago. The nurse was not kind or patient with him in any way, in fact, she had come into the room telling him she had two tokens for him for the prize machine when this was over. After a battle of trying to hold him down while he cried and thrashed, she told him she was only going to give him one token since he was so difficult – give me a break, he’s four years old and he is afraid of pain. And just last week, I left a message on the nurse line because I was concerned about my two-year-old’s diarrhea… and I never got a call back. Luckily, my husband has doctor friends who could weigh in for us.
I live in Grant Park, so this practice is convenient for me, but convenience does not make quality care. I am tired of second chances – I am finding a new practice.

Since I became a parent almost 7 years ago, we’ve been to several intown Atlanta pediatric groups. I tried Intown in 2010 when I was looking for a smaller practice with a more personal touch. I am really interested in building relationships with my family’s physicians. Rare these days, I know, but that is the main reason we keep searching.
I liked the location, which was convenient to my home at the time, and the hours. I had at least one Saturday appointment, which was nice because I could leave my older child at home with my husband. I really liked nurse practitioner Chris. She was very gentle and laid-​back.
I didn’t click with Dr. Sells. This is what it boiled down to. I really need a warmer, more collaborative personality when I am picking a doctor for my kids. We don’t go to the doctor very often, but when we do I like to be able to speak openly and feel like my provider is listening. If, God forbid, my child is ever hospitalized, I would like a physician with good communication skills to help me navigate that situation. Sells, to me, came off as rather cold and all-​business when she was examining my child (although she seemed fine at the meet and greet…). She also seems very set in her ways and not interested in parent intuition, which is a huge contrast from her warm and open NP.
The fit was bad enough that I switched back to my former practice, which had is own issues, but was more comfortable for me than Intown.

We were referred to this practice from friends and we are in love with them.
It is so convenient to where we live — everyone there is so nice and knows what they are talking about.
We love Allie and have seen her the most, but everyone is very knowledgeable.
Very short wait times and easy check in and out are fantastic.

We’ve been taking our girl here since she was a baby on a referral from Intown Midwifery. At 15m, we went because she had crazy-​looking hives all over her. I’ve since determined that it was an allergic reaction to something (likely something she ate), because Benadryll fixed it within a few hours, but they looked alarming at the time so I thought we’d best take her in just in case. I was a little worried, but mainly figured it was allergies.
Sidenote: I haven’t vaccinated her at all (at least not yet, as we are still deciding if we want any) and she was 15 mo at the time of the appointment. We are not crazy anti-​vax, mind you. We’re logical people who want to approach things in a factual manner, and there’s a lot of conflicting evidence out there to sort. So we are taking our time.
Not only was I told, before any tests were done, mind you, that it could be one of several life-​threatening scary things, I was also told that if it was measles that «the government would have to be notified» because there are so few cases and it would be of national concern. First of all: huh? And secondly: why are you telling me this? Notice I was told *if* because our doctor had no clue what it was yet. She’d only just glanced at her. Why on earth would you list all the awful scary things these hives could possibly represent to a worried mother who obviously brought her child in for your studied, evidence-​based, professional advice?
The doctor looked at me accusingly. «This is why we vaccinate,» she said.
Ah, I get it. Scare tactics.
If I wanted an alarmist approach to medicine I’d just sit around googling symptoms all day and freak myself out with the possibilities, not pay someone to jump to conclusions for me.
Of course she came back saying it was probably an allergic reaction and to give her Benadryll. AWESOME. Thanks for that heart-​stopping list of crazy assumptions you gave me before doing your actual job, that was real real cool.
Never going there again.

We’ve been at intown since 2007.
Reasons we love Intown:
1. Dr. Bataille– he’s probably the best doctor in the world
2. Location– central spot
3. Office is clean, modern, and cozy
4. The nurses are nice, young, and fun (for some reason I have scary memories of old nurses giving me shots as a child, so I avoid old scary nurses)
5. Technology: website, email newsletters, patient portal, electronic check-​in, iPad questionnaires
6. Chris is cool, smart and so nice
7. The office is a Mini-​community: braves game tickets, breastfeeding support group, flu shot party
8. Our kids get shots on our schedule. The doctors respect that.
9. Dr. Sells cares about the office and does a good job running things.
10. Ages & Stages developmental tracking: parents assess if kids are meeting milestones on time
Things we’d change:
1. Make Intown less popular. Too many people have found out about our awesome doctors. The scheduling can be far off for well-​visits.
2. Sometimes the receptionists can be rude, aloof, impatient, and unconcerned. THIS IS THE WORST THING ABOUT INTOWN
3. Sometimes Dr. Sells seems like she’s in a rush and easing parents’ worries isn’t worth her time.
All things considered, Intown is a great doctors office.

We chose this place for convenience of location. When we have an appointment, we never see the actual doctor, EVER. Thank goodness the nurse practitioner is competent, because she will basically be your doctor after the first few visits.
The last time we went we saw a resident who was pregnant, fatigued, and was not in the least bit thorough in her examination.
Needless to say this place has gone down hill, and through word of mouth it seems that the majority of business is based on convenience to Grant Park and Glenwood Park residence.

We love Dr. Bataille… us having him for our son’s first pediatric visit post-​birth/​hospital was a complete coincidental blessing! He is a gentle, patient, caring doctor with an obvious love for what he does. What a gift to new, concerned parents and children!
We also have seen a female PA (I believe?) who left a good impression.
A couple of the nurses we loved – what sweethearts! A couple of others, really not so much. Maybe those nurses don’t have children of their own or just don’t care much for working with children…
My partner also had one appointment with Dr. Sells where she had a student with her… he described her as saccharine sweet, and was very unimpressed with visit – especially the front desk this time! He said the lady he dealt with was flat out rude, which I found surprising because when we first started coming here I thought they were pleasant. It seems all of the disappointing service has occurred in our more recent appointments, unfortunately. The same goes for calling in about issues.
I won’t leave because we love Dr. B, and no place is perfect, but I am concerned… my partner is very positive and hardly ever thinks anyone is rude, so those are strong words for him… I hope it was just an off day!
The waits for appointments are getting rather outrageous, too. I guess they’re popular for a reason, though.

We have chosen Intown Pediatric for convenience since the office is only 5 min from our house and we expected to go more often with our newborn. We had three visits so far that were regular check ups.
OFFICE
nice, clean, new place
SERVICE
depends, receptionist Ms. Cathy is exceptionally friendly, the other girls not so much.
wait time has been around 15 min for us to be called in, then another 5 to 10 min until an associate showed.
We have seen Chris Harbaugh three times and she has been very friendly and willingly answered all our questions, offered for us to stay in the room to breastfeed the baby after the examination.
One thing I have been disappointed about was we have not been reminded to take our baby to get an ultrasound of her hips (she was breech). It was only after I reminded them that we have been given a referral to the Childrens Hospital of Atlanta which they work with.
Also, we expect international travel with the baby and therfore we were asking for an International Certificate of Vaccination from the WHO which they were not able or willing to help with.
The first vaccinations have to be administered still and our baby has not really been sick. I ll update my review accordingly.

Well, I switched to this doc based on a friend’s reccomendation. I had a 2 year old, and his previous doctor had a horrible attitude, so we switched 4 months ago to Intown. First visit was great. Office is nice and clean, wait time was reasonable, and Chris was super nice. Every visit since (or lack thereof) has been a nightmare. Twice I was told they could not schedule my SICK son in, and one of those times we ended up in the Childrens ER. I had a baby a month ago, and he was supposed to have his one month appt today. It has been scheduled for two weeks. We get to the office today, and there was a sign on the door that said: «closed for rennovations»…they are closed until next week… and no one called to reschedule??? Basically they have proven that they have severe issues with being able to take care of their caseload, or show common courtesy to their patients! I will *sigh* start looking for another doctor now.

I have never regretted switching to Intown Pediatrics. I just wish I had done so sooner. The offices are clean, but not clinical. There are enough toys and books to keep kids interested, but not so many that upkeep is hard.
Dr. Sells, Chris, and the nurses are all fabulous. The older woman at the front desk lacks a little in people skills, but I can take that. There is a monthly breastfeeding support group with IBCLC. My daughter has been slow to gain weight and while keeping an eye on it, they have never pushed formula supplements or rice and corn syrup like our last pediatricians did.
To give you an idea of how Intown operates, I will give you a short version of our visit today with our ten month old daughter, who spiked a 103 fever at 5 am. They got us in the office ASAP and we had no wait. Dr. Sells walked into the room, introduced herself to my husband since they hadn’t met, and made it clear that she had read our daughter’s file before walking into the room. (How many times has your doctor entered the room while opening the file and asking, «So what brings you here today?) Our baby had been fighting a fever and cold since Saturday. We were worried she had RSV or was developing Bronchitis. Dr. Sells spent more time listening to her heart and lungs than any doctor has for my children or myself. When it proved to be primarily another ear infection (third in the past few months), Dr. Sells put her on a different antibiotic and suggested probiotics for the side effects. She asked us to come back in three weeks and mentioned that we might look at seeing an ENT if things don’t improve. She was calm, caring, professional, and unflappable by the three year old playing under her feet during the exam. Dr. Sells and the nurse made a point to talk to our son, giving him some of the attention he has been missing with a sick baby at home. I don’t think they went out of their way to do that. They naturally operate with grace, calm, and an obvious love of children– and their families.

Intown Pediatrics has a nice, clean office and attentive staff. Wait times are not bad averaging about 5 – 10 minutes. Dr. Sells was friendly and accommodating to various questions my wife and I had about our newborn. Chris Harbaugh (APRN) is exceptional and will readily volunteer information about things you didn’t know to ask.
Having nothing to do with care level or competency but having more to do with general business practices, the second question in the meet and greet with Dr. Sells was, «Do you own any guns?» I refused to answer the question just as I would if she had asked if I owned a security system or fire extinguisher.
Dr. Sells is a medical practitioner, and I was in her office for my child’s medical evaluation. Her question had no medical relevancy whatsoever. I was instructed by the doctor, with presumably no formal certifications, training or expertise in the field of firearm function and safety, on how to store and handle ammunition and weapons inside my home.
CDC 2004 unintentional deaths for children from 1 to 10 yrs old:
41% Motor Vehicle
19% Drowning
14% Fires and Burns
6% Suffocation
5% Pedestrian Other
2% Transportation Other
2% Falls
2% Natural/​Environmental
1% Firearms
1% Poisoning
1% Machinery
6% Misc. Other
Oddly, I was not asked, nor should I have been, if I kept my car tires properly inflated, owned a bathtub, used space heaters, bought plastic trash bags, used toxic cleaners, had high ledges or owned heavy machinery.
I think doctors can speak with authority in their field of expertise — medicine. I do not believe they should be advising patients on subject matter outside their purview.

I love, love, love Intown Pediatrics and Dr. Sells.
I have seen her since my son was born, and sadly, right before he turns 6 months old, we are moving out of state.
But, about Dr. Sells and her staff.
1. They are always friendly.
2. They don’t over-​medicate — he has never really been on medication since he was born.
3. They recommend natural, holistic, remedies first.
4. They are willing to work with immunizations.
Crazy enough, I found Dr. Sells on a Wholistic Atlanta Mothers website. And when I first saw her, I told her I didn’t want to vaccinate my son until he was 2 years old. She sat down and shared her recommendation with me — to start vaccinating him earlier since even as a nursed baby, he would lose my immuniities starting around 6 months.
To support another alternative vaccination schedule, she lent me her Dr. Bob Sears «The Vaccine Book.»
We agreed to go with his alternative vaccination schedule due to her recommendation.
Her staff is always wondeful. Her office is warm (both physically and emotionally) — if you’ve ever taken your baby to a pediatrician; you know you have strip them down. He was never cold and always giggled and was happy to see everyone at the doctor’s office. That says a lot, in my book!
Make the drive for Dr. Sells, she’s so worth it!!! I knew I loved her — but I had no idea how very much until I had to look for a new pediatrician. I’d move her down if I could!!!