Northwestern Women’s Health Associates S.C.

Dr. Wise has no bedside manner. I was in for an annual exam and she seemed like she was judging me during the questionnaire part of the exam/​review of systems. Then she didn’t talk me through the exam… she just did it :(I would not go back to her.

I was referred to this practice from my old OBGYN’s office. I started seeing Dr. Abbie Roth in October 2013. I was already skeptical about a new OBGYN because I had loved my last one. I went in for this appointment and began with my history. I said I was previously seeing Dr. Walker. Abbie disclosed that Dr. Walker had passed away. I immediately began sobbing. I had seen Dr. Walker for around 10 years. She was amazing! Took time to listen to me and had a wonderful bedside manner. I enjoyed seeing Abbie Roth. She empathized with me especially as she had known Dr. Walker personally and professionally.
Last week, I wanted to see Abbie Roth again, but she has just returned from medical leave. I should have waited. I made an appointment with Sharon Wise, and it was the worst decision. I wish I would have read these reviews. I went in and began talking about my history since I had been in for my last Pap smear. I have infertility issues and was discussing this. She interrupted me and loudly stated, «wait, why are you here?!» I told her I’m here for my yearly Pap smear. She was disrespectful throughout the entirety of the exam. She was so impersonable especially during a vaginal exam which is invasive for many women. As a healthcare provider myself, I am appalled by her lack of concern and unprofessional behavior. To top it off, when reviewing my family history and noting the high risk of diabetes I have, she proceeded to say rudely, «have you ever been tested for diabetes?!» I told her I get tested yearly.
Please note this review is about Dr. Sharon Wise. NOT Abbie Roth.
I will never see Dr. Wise again.

I was referred to NW Women’s Health Associates by my gynecologist when I received the wonderful news of being pregnant. At first, I was hesitant to continue seeing a doctor in the city because we live in the SW suburbs, so I was anxious about the possibility of getting stuck in traffic during labor. Well, all I can say is I am so glad I went to this practice and would even commute further to be treated by them if I had to. And by the time I was ready to deliver, the distance didn’t bother me at all because of the sound plan the practice and I had in place.
Over the course of the pregnancy, each encounter I had with my doctor, the other doctors in the practice, the front desk staff, nurses and lab techs has been professional and genuine. A few key points:
— The practice is thorough in tracking and keeping your records. Nothing is worse than going to the doctor only to find out there is a lack of organization and collaboration within the practice. This will not happen here. They are on their game and it is hard to find that these days.
— They take pride in their service. People who genuinely care about the job they do, and the satisfaction of their clients/​patients, tend to go the extra mile — a common theme in this practice. These folks are straight shooters. You will not get the runaround with them. You can expect intelligent answers to all your questions and an open dialogue in each visit. You can expect a thorough check up each time and a thorough review of your history.
— Reliability — As a first time mom, I had plenty of questions throughout my pregnancy about what to expect and what was normal. Every time I called the office, even if it was 2am, I received a call back promptly to discuss my concerns and always felt relieved after hanging up the phone.
— Billing — I never had an issue with an invoice/​balance. Not once. This is a rarity these days in the health care industry and was one less thing for me to worry about.
— Partnership — One of my favorite attributes about this place is they treat their patients as «partners» in establishing the best customized plan for your care and in all decision making when things don’t always go as planned (a likely story in L&D!). You will never be demeaned, brushed off, or left out throughout your care.
All in all, I feel the health of myself and my beautiful baby has been in the best hands possible, and for that, I am forever grateful to have been treated by a wonderful team of doctors and staff. My husband & I truly consider them extended family, and look forward to being a long term patient!

Dr. Wise is not a doctor I would recommend for first time pregnancies. She never asked me questions and never offered me information. Good thing there are so many apps and Google to ask all my questions too, along with friends. My biggest issue was that she told me that after gaining 8lbs in 5 months, that I really needed to start to work out and be on a better, strict diet. Not only is that awful, but 8 lbs is nothing in my eyes. Sorry, not sorry. She should look in a mirror and take her own advice if she wants to suggest things to people. Nothing has been wrong with my pregnancy the whole time. Also, she insisted on me taking the test for down syndrome. I am 28, healthy, with no relatives with Health issues. She never told me what the risks were or what the procedure would be. I told her no, we would not like to take the test. I would be happy no matter what happens. 4 doctor appointments later and 4 more times of that same question. NO means NO. I’m not taking this test and I’m not giving you $ 600 for something I never want to do. They are money hungry idiots. Baby and I have been happy and healthy. Now onto her idiot receptionist. They are the worst receptionists that I’ve ever dealt with. I’ve paid for things that when I called insurance I didn’t have to pay. They are awful at scheduling. When I decided to switch doctors 4 weeks prior to meeting my new doc they would never send my records over and now that I have an appointment with them tomorrow at 8am, they still never sent my records when they promised me it would be done… I’m extremely upset, stressed out and completely disgusted with them. Can’t wait to see them in the morning. Good thing I’m hormonal and my attitude will let them know how awful they are.

I would not recommend seeing Dr. Wise. My original dr was Dr. Roth whom I’d heard great things about (I’ve also heard great things about Brunengraber) and with her being out on medical leave I started seeing Dr. Wise for my pregnancy. I was very disappointed with the lack of information, education and communication that Dr. Wise provided during a complication that came up during my pregnancy. In consulting with other clinicians it became obvious to me that Dr. Wise did not take the time to fully explain what I had, and me not being a clinician I didn’t know all the right questions to ask. Even after I explained my dissatisfaction in the information provided by her and the PA, Amber, she defended it saying that was the complete information, but after learning more I’ve realized that is not the case. Dr. Wise did not show any empathy to a first time pregnant person (after taking a long time just to get pregnant and would obviously be upset after hearing bad news) and would not recommend her to anyone. After this happened, I read the reviews about her online and all of them made sense — I just wish I had read them before I started seeing her.

Some of the reviews on here are absurd. I have been going here since I moved to Chicago, 3 years ago. I started with Belmonte, who I very much respect, and because of her going strictly GYN, I recently switched over to Brunengraber when I became pregnant (YAY!)
My husband is a physician, so maybe that’s why I don’t get frustrated when my wait time gets close to 2 hours. That being said, stuff happens. Unfortunately, sometimes bad things happen to other people while youre belly aching because youve been waiting for over 30 minutes. It can throw off your doctor’s entire schedule. The more aware you are of this, the easier it will be when the wait is longer than 30 minutes. I can promise you they aren’t sitting back there enjoying a Pepsi while you wait.
Bedside manner: Brunengraber has GREAT bedside manner. Is it the most important thing to me? No. I want someone I can trust to get me through any situation. Big or small. I have my husband and family to hold my hand when I need that, but I rely fully on my doctor to do what’s best for me, not what’s best for my feelings. if that makes sense.
I couldn’t be more satisfied with this practice.

Do not go to this practice. They have way more patients than they can responsibly handle. The staff and nurses are over worked and rude. Also, that do not do ultrasounds later in the pregnancy (my new practice routinely does) and both me and a friend had emergency c sections due to issues they would have known about it advance if they did these ultrasounds. This place is a baby factory and I hated going here. Find another practice.

While the doctor’s and techs are okay, they have a bunch of monkeys scheduling appointments. They will add nothing but headaches to to your pregnancy. They run 2 hours behind but do not have the decency or courtesy to call and let you know. This is extremely inconvenient for someone that runs here between work hours. They have screwed up my appointments a few times now, stating that I have rescheduled the appointment with the doctor but not with the x-​ray tech. Anyone with an ounce of common sense can take a look at the schedule and see that I have back to back appointments but according to the schedule coordinator, they don’t have access to that information. REALLY?! Unless you want unneeded stress during your pregnancy, PLEASE go somewhere else.

There’s a special place in Hell for women who manhandle other women’s vaginas. Do not go here. Very dirty. Dr. Sharon Wise is a hot mess. Her exams are horrible. I’ve never bled from an exam. I think she likes torturing people. Who knows. Just don’t do it. Someone needs to take this lady’s license away from her. She obviously doesn’t have a clue.

I have been a patient of Dr. Friedell for the duration of my pregnancy and I’ve had a great experience with him and the practice. I was referred to Dr. Friedell by my regular gynecologist when she suspected that I could be having a miscarriage (which would be my second in a row). Dr. Friedell fit me in for an appointment the same day, which is very unusual for any practice, and ended up guiding me through a successful pregnancy that ended with the birth of my son about a month and a half ago. Dr. Friedell has a pleasant demeanor but he does not sugarcoat anything. I actually appreciated this, because I knew that if he told me not to worry about something, I could rely on his opinion. Dr. Friedell also reads laboratory results and returns calls in the evenings and on weekends. I’ve never had a quicker response time for rest results or questions than I experienced at this practice. I definitely always felt that Dr. Friedell was concerned about and would go above and beyond for his patients.
As some people have noted, there can be quite a wait to see the doctors and this was definitely true for Dr. Friedell. However, I quickly realized that the wait time is not due to the doctors blowing you off. Instead, they spend quite a bit of time with each patient in the office and often have to run to the hospital for deliveries and other procedures. Dr. Friedell never made me feel rushed at appointments and I felt comfortable asking questions. When I had my son, he stopped by the hospital several times and stayed with me once my water broke. To manage the effects of any delay, I usually checked in with the office about an hour before my appointment to find out if Dr. Friedell was running behind, and if he was I would come in a bit later.
Although I didn’t get to know the other doctors well, I had a great experience with Amber B., the physician’s assistant at the practice who also sees patients. She has a great demeanor and is very knowledgeable.

*For Dr. Sharon Wise*
Any woman knows we hate having to make these visits; however, I’m very lucky to have found Dr. Wise. I want to start a GoFundMe to collect money to send her back to med school to get licensed in all other parts of medicine so she could be my only doctor.
I think the reason I like her so much is my personality is a lot like hers. To the point but with empathy. She’s always so calming, makes light of my irrational «What if» moments, doesn’t become judgy and generally seems to care about my comfort. Never once does she seem rushed in the plethora of my questions and was happy to answer them all.
In the two years I’ve been seeing her, she’s referred me to some other great doctors… which is always nice when you end up liking each referral a doctor gives. Builds that trust.
Danke danke, Dr. Wise. See you next go around!

I’m surprised by the bad reviews as my experience was great. I was originally scheduled to see Dr Belmonte but received a call that she had a patient in labor and had to cancel. The staff was very helpful getting me in last minute to see Dr. Wise.
I arrived twenty minutes early because of the problems i had read about here and they got me in before my scheduled appointment time. Nurses were great and Dr. Wise was as gentle as a gyno can be. She talked to distract me, answered my questions, and refilled the same birth control i was on despite me being a new patient. She said results would be posted online but if anything was wrong she would call me.
As i was headed out I stopped to make an additional appointment and get billing info as I’m new to being insured and had a lot of questions. The staff was helpful and the head of billing came to speak to me herself and was very informative. I’m very happy with this office, the staff, and my experience. I haven’t received billing or results yet, but I’ll update the review on that experience.

Once when I was in college, I landed myself in an ER in The Middle of No Where, Georgia at which the person checking me in refused to believe that my home state of Massachusetts was a real state and the doctor that preformed my spinal tap instructed me to get into the «Baby Jesus Position» before he began. I was certain this would be the worst medical experience I ever had… until now.
When I found out I was pregnant with my first, I made an appointment with the Northwestern Women’s Health Associates. I was directed to them through a service that Northwestern offers to help patients find a doctor. My appointment was with Dr. Brunengraber– I should have known something was up when it was so easy to get an appointment, but if Northwestern says they are good, they have to be good, right?!
I didn’t get three steps into the place before turning back to my husband to give him the «we won’t be coming back here» look. The place was filthy! My husband gave them the benefit of the doubt saying it’s fall, maybe all the junk on the floor in the lobby came in on people’s shoes, but no, the entire facility was FILTHY. Including the medical equipment.
The woman that I dealt with at the front desk was pleasant enough for the end of day on a friday, but she was by far the nicest and most professional of the office staff. My experience mimicked plenty that have already been documented in other reviews, so I will spare you details, but I was truly shocked when my non confrontational husband actually had to ask the nurse that took my blood to please be nicer to me.
My experience with Dr. Brunengraber specifically was not awful– she was very nice, had decent bed side manor, and was clearly attempting to make us feel comfortable and at ease, but her lack of experience was obvious and made me very uncomfortable. Soon after my first visit, my pregnancy failed and she handled it horribly, at best. I was given multiple incorrect diagnosis over the phone and given absolutely none of the pertinent information that I needed to continue with my treatment.
After realizing that Dr. B and I were not a good match, I called and asked for my follow up visit to be with a more experienced doctor. I was assigned to the founder of the practice, Dr. Friedell. My experience with him absolutely solidified my feelings about this practice. To begin, I waited an hour and 15 minutes to see him. From the beginning of our encounter he was awful. Clearly on the defense about me having requested a new doctor; he started in immediately with offensive comments regarding my switch. I did not utter a single negative word about the practice or Dr. B, but he clearly knew what I was thinking. All in all, he was a rude, pompous, smarmy ASS-​HAT. (Can i say that on here?). I left his office as fast as I could with clear intentions to never return.
I waited to write this review until I had an experience to compare it to– I have now found myself with Dr. Garvey at the Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group and in contrast I can say with confidence that Dr. Friedell and practice are unacceptable beyond repair.
I am not one to write bad reviews, in fact, this is my very first time writing a review, but if there is anything I can do to steer unknowing women away from this practice, I will. This city is full of wonderful doctors, there is no reason to let people and places like this taint what should be an exciting and happy experience!
I do want to add that my feelings about Dr. Brunengraber do not go hand in hand with my feelings of Dr. Friedell and the rest of his office– During my chaotic experience, I wanted a doctor that had seen it all before, not one which i was pretty sure I may have been the first patient of. I do hope she realizes that staying with this practice will be detrimental to her career and that she could do SO much better.
TLDR: RUN AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!

I’ve been a patient of Dr. Friedell’s for about 15 years. Two months ago he delivered my first child. Dr. Friedell is an exceptional health care practitioner. Over the years, he was always attentive and always clearly communicated results of test and/​or procedures. My husband and I started our infertility plan with Friedell a couple years ago, and again, he was clear and direct and always compassionate about our particular situation. Because specific procedures cannot be prearranged, I had the pleasure of meeting other doctors in his practice early on in my care. Dr. Feldstein, in particular handled a couple of my procedures. He also was direct about the procedure. His demeanor was friendly and also compassionate.
Friedell referred me to a fantastic fertility doctor at Northwestern and after becoming pregnant, Friedell took over my pregnancy and labor. I had the privilege of meeting all the doctors in his practice. Feldstein, I knew from prior procedures and he was awesome. Dr. Roth — she helped me out when I wasn’t feeling my baby move as much as I had previously. She put me on a monitor and explained what we were tracking and checked on me every 15 minutes. She was attentive and had a warm demeanor. Drs. Bemonte and Wise were both friendly in our 15 minute check up. I would have been happy with any of these doctors delivering my baby. Amber Briski, the physician assistant was great also! I had to go in for a quick check up and she was able to tell me exactly what she was working through and was kind during the entire procedure.
My labor and delivery were perfect because I had Friedell as my doctor. We had a couple hiccups along the way, but he continued to be supportive and didn’t leave our room (even though he had patients waiting at this office) until my son was delivered.
An hour after my delivery, I was asked by a nurse how it went and if I thought I would be back. I would deliver a baby every 9 months if I knew Friedell would be there!
The only issue I ever had was about the office was that he’s always running behind. After going through a delivery, I understand why. He sticks by your side and works through any issues in the delivery room. He doesn’t tag out and let another doctor take over. I’ll wait patiently going forward, because there may be another mom and baby he’s helping out.

How rude!!! I would use bad language but I would hate for one to think that I’m not a professional who treats patients regularly at a community clinic and give better service than this on my worst day!!! This is Northwestern for god sake!!! The service at this practice is so terrible. I enjoyed my first ob appt with Dr. Wise… She did have cat hair on her pants though… however from the lab techs, to the assistants, to the front desk staff and even the other doctors… they don’t have a clue on how to care for you with professionalism! I was confused on where to place my urine sample when I left the bathroom… I saw Dr. Belmonte leave a room and there was no one else there to assist or ask… she threw her finger up and told me to wait a minute before I could even ask her a question. I don’t do rude. I requested my chart and left before I could have my ultrasound. I would hate for my Dr. To have an emergency and have to deal with that snob! I’m good!

I have been a patient of Dr. Wise’s for about 3 years. She is a knowledgeable and thorough doctor who I have come to trust. She has a straightforward, no nonsense bedside manner while having your best interest at heart. I strongly recommend Dr. Wise.

While Dr. Roth is a wonderful person/​dr, I would steer clear of this practice. I have never waited less than 45 minutes to see my doctor (more often I’ve waited over an hour). Although I’ve been going to the same doctor for 4years (and have had one baby under her care), she rarely remembers anything about me. Dr. Wise, Belmonte, and particularly Fridell have awful «bedside manner». I have dealt with them all and Roth is the only one worth seeing. However, the inefficiency of that office is astounding and makes it difficult to stay with her. I have finally left this practice and am so glad I did.

So we had just moved to Chicago and were referred to this doctor from our previous doctor. To start the Dr. had horrible bed side manor and was just down right rude or oblivious to the fact that the stuff he was saying wasn’t nice. We decided to go for the surgery that he suggested and when we went in to get the required scan we were slapped in the face with a 5000 dollar bill after insurance for just the scan so obviously we declined and left. We then did some research and found that the same thing could be done in our home state for about 2000 for the same thing before insurance. We let the doctor know that we will wait and he continued to call and leave odd messages stating he would love to talk about the price and see what he could do. We still decided no to go through the doctor. After a month we received the first bill for the visit that had the ultra sound scan for about 349 and I paid it immediately. A month after that we got a second bill that was 400 and this was after insurance. I called to explain how upset i was and they proceeded to tell me that all new patients pay this and i responded with this should be told before i walk in the door since everything about the visit was ridiculous.
Long story short. This doctor is overpriced and based on the feeling i received I’m not sure he’s even a doctor.

I picked this practice when I first thought I was pregnant and was looking for an OBGYN. I had been seeing a general practitioner before that but wanted a specialist given that my mom has ovarian cancer.
I am so glad that I found this practice, and have had a very positive experience with the nurses and with my doctor. They are very informative and really care about their patients. As it turned out, I miscarried (due to no fault of my own). My doctor was incredibly kind and sympathetic and took time to answer all my questions. She insisted that I call if I needed anything, and reassured me that, unfortunately, many women miscarry and there is often nothing you can do to prevent it. She made me feel much better about my situation.
I would highly recommend this practice. Not only are they wonderful doctors, they are also affiliated with Northwestern Prentice Hospital, which is nationally known for it’s Womens’ care and I“m sure will be wonderful for delivering my future baby :)

I’ve been to this clinic three times and the staff is extremely unprofessional – discussing clients’ issues. Not only is it disrespectful, but it breaches that thing we call confidentiality in the helping profession… smh.
Finally, all three times I’ve visited, i had to wait at least an hour for Dr. Belmonte. The most recent incident was last week when I had to wait an hour and a half, which at that point, i gathered my things to leave. The manager confronted with multiple excuses.
I will NEVER go to this clinic ever again.