Olympia Obstetrics and Gynecology

I called today to find out about IVF costs at their office. First I was told that they don’t contract with insurance, and that insurance companies don’t cover infertility treatments. Um, yes they do. Maybe not all, but some do.
Then when I asked about the costs of egg retrieval and the associated procedures, I was told it would have to be $ 5000 up front. Insane. And then when I told the woman on the line that we would have to find a different office because this was beyond our means, she seemed surprised. Yes, because most people just have $ 5000 lying around.
I’ve gone through IVF at several clinics and none of them were that expensive and then also did not take insurance. Way to prey on people in their hour of need, Olympia Infertility (associated with Olympia Obstetrics and Gyno, but doesn’t have a Unilocal page). And it’s really too bad, because there is a dearth of IVF doctors just in the Pierce Co area. This makes me wish I was back in Chicago where our IVF procedure, with insurance, ended up costing us like $ 500 total.

This is the obstetrician’s office that was recommended to me by a few people, solely based on Dr. Sorenson. Sadly I’ve only gotten to see her once, but I do like her and Dr. Bell.
What I don’t like, and what this review is based on, is the service I’ve received from others in the office.
I spent the night in the hospital on Thursday, and didn’t get to see anyone from Olympia Obstetrics (Oly Ob) until Friday at noon. I was told there was a doctor from Oly Ob all night but they were too busy.
I was finally released at 6 pm after the hospital nurse tracked down the doctor and reminded her I was still waiting to be discharged.
Part of the discharge orders was that I had to come in on Monday so they could see me.
While their office is open at 8 am, they don’t start answering phone calls until 8:30 am. Then apparently the person who answers the phone (after you hit a number to make an appointment) can’t actually schedule you an appointment, so you get transferred to a nurse who is never at her desk, so you can either leave a message and hope for a call back, or wait on hold until someone else can help.
I opted to wait since the last time it took a few days to hear back from them. After 15 minutes of holding, someone picked up the line and addressed me as «Heather» and told me to leave a message. I told her my name wasn’t Heather, and that I was holding for the nurse so I could schedule my appointment for today. She put me back on hold after double checking that I wasn’t Heather. I finally spoke to Denise who told me that there were no doctors in the office today and that I would have to come in tomorrow, and not with one of the doctors who I had seen already, but a new doctor.
The 3 doctors I’ve seen at the clinic are nice, but most of the staff who are the first impression of the clinic need major improvement. It took me asking 3 different front desk staff to correct my address (including at my first appointment) and of course I had missed a few mailings from them in the meantime, and they had no record of what was sent to me.
Parking here is normally easy with a private lot.

I just had a hysterectomy and a large fibroid removed by Dr. Bell this past week. After months of seeing other doctors that were just average, I was very surprised to find that Dr. Bell is excellent in every way. He was the perfect mix of being straightforward, very knowledgeable, caring, & compassionate. He answered all of my overwhelmingly anxious & silly questions with the patience of a saint. He truly makes you feel like you are his only patient & he has all the time in the world for you! My previous Dr had insisted that the only procedure that would work for my situation would be an abdominal hysterectomy, Dr Bell chose to do a more in depth procedure just so that my recovery period would be significantly lessened. Needless to say, everything pre op & post op has so far been successful & the best that this situation could be. I honestly can’t rave enough about Dr. Bell!

I had a hysterectomy this past January with Dr. Bell. When I first called the office to make an appointment, I was very sad to hear that the physician I had seen for years was no longer with the practice. I thought no one could fill her shoes, but now I am delighted to have a new doc that I trust completely! From the first phone call to my post-​op follow up appointment, everyone in the office was professional, friendly, informative, and on time! In the office Dr. Bell spent time explaining to me all my options, and the associated risks and benefits. I never felt rushed, and I had all the information necessary to make an informed decision. In the hospital Dr. Bell made sure I had everything I needed to recover at home and was very patient and considerate. His nurse Vicky was extremely informative and helped me to know what to expect in the days and weeks to come. My recovery couldn’t have been easier! I was up and feeling great much sooner than anticipated! As a nurse myself, I am fairly particular about who provides my care, and I would (and have) highly recommend Dr. Bell to my friends and patients!

I ran into some complications during my pregnancy. Anytime I called this facility to discuss my questions or concerns (no matter how small) I always reached someone directly that did not make me feel foolish for calling. A nurse even invited me in to check my baby’s heartbeat to ease my nervousness. I never waited to speak with a live person.
A short period later I experienced a loss in my second trimester that could not have been prevented. Dr. Darrell Bell assisted with my medical events and was compassionate and honest. Oly OBGYN promotes that their patients meet with all of their physicians during the duration of their pregnancy so they are familiar with them at the time of delivery. I had not had the opportunity to meet Dr. Bell yet, however would be (more than) completely satisfied if he were to assist with our future pregnancies.
Dr. Laurie Sorenson followed up with me the next day and as well as a few weeks later. She was also very knowledgeable and supportive.
From reviews that I’ve read doing my initial prenatal physician search, it appears more likely to read experiences from people that did not have complications. It’s still important to know how a doctor maintains themselves during the «not so good» moments & these doctors were awesome. Even through my pregnancy was not carried full-​term, it was the exceptional care I received that makes me want to stay at this practice.

Do yourself a favor and do not go here, my experience with them has been less than favorable. I am currently 33 weeks pregnant and got referred here, I just moved from Raleigh, NC. I was told I had to go in to sign a release form for records in which I did, I hadn’t heard anything back in over a week so I called them to see what was going on, the lady told me that when I was in the ER the week before that I had complained to the doctor seeing me that I was unhappy with them, first I haven’t been seen yet, also when the ER doc asked me where I went I told her that I was waiting for an appt at Oly OB. Which somehow turned into her accusing me, in which I never said, she then said that she put away my file because I wasn’t happy, so she said she would call me back, when she did they said that I couldn’t be seen until middle of July! I’m due in July! Then she said will that work for you in a very condescending way, I said it wouldn’t make sense if that’s when I’m due, she then said «oh sorry then, have a nice day» and hung up! What the hell?! Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere, they didn’t treat me very good or act like they wanted my business.

I had a high risk pregnancy. I seen a few of the doctors here each one nice as the next. Very caring and on top of all my needs. Dr. Sorensen did they C-​section and I healed in no time!!! I don’t even have a scar!

I am a new patient to Oly OBGYN, and I am 30 weeks. So far my experience has been good. I live in Yelm, and at my intake appt. my nurse made accommodations for me to see my dr. In Yelm for the bulk of my appointments. So far everyone has been very friendly, knowledgeable, and seriously concerned over my pregnancy. My only criticism is holy cow, the ladies in the lab are really not good with the needle. I’ve had my blood taken many many times over the course of my pregnancy, and these ladies are bringing the pain. I am going to try and get out of any future blood drawing just to avoid. If you have a fear of needles, they aren’t going to make it better… trust that. Other than that, compared to my past OBGYN in NC, they are a great choice. I am advanced maternal age and I think I’ve def picked the right practice. Now if only the phlebotomist could work on her needle skills…

Like the other reviewers, I am really frustrated with my experience with Oly OBGYN. I’m just glad I’m not pregnant and needing to visit them more than once! I went in for one office visit. After the office visit, I received one bill in the mail. I tried to pay the bill, but learned that unlike every single medical practice I have done business with in the last few years, Oly OBGYN has not yet entered the 21^st century. I couldn’t pay my bill online and had to speak to someone during their limited business hours in order to pay the bill. However, every time I called to speak to someone in billing, no one was available, which makes paying a bill on a 10 minute break from work rather difficult. I eventually forgot that I had never actually paid it.
3 months later, I received a bill stating that I was about to be sent to collections. Nothing ever came in between the initial bill and the collections notice. At that point, I spent three days trying to get a hold of a live person in billing. If I was lucky, I was sent to voice mail. If I was unlucky, the phone rang and rang or I got a busy signal. Let me state this again: I got a busy signal while calling the main line of a medical practice for pregnant ladies. That’s impressive. Finally, I left a message stating when I would call back and that I did want to pay my bill, they just make it very hard to do so. I missed their return call, but at least the person left me a message saying that anyone at the front desk could also take my credit card info and help me pay my bill, not just the people in «billing.» Good to know.
So I finally paid my bill. Or so I thought. The charge went through on my card and I received a receipt in the mail. A few days later I received another bill, and then a voicemail stating to call them back. I just spent 10 minutes trying to get a hold of someone to talk to about my account and apparently, their records show that I still haven’t paid, even though the charge went through over a week and half ago. I’m now awaiting a return call.
I have had lots of medical bills. I have dealt with a lot of frustrating billing issues. This place is the worst.

The receptionist is incompetent. She didn’t write my telephone number into the system. They informed me they send my information to wrong address and then told me it was my fault for not following up. The receptionist says to me that the post office would of caught it. I arrived to my appointment 5 minutes early and she said I must reschedule. The receptionist said she and the staff will not work with me and that I have to make another appointment. I took a day off for my appointment. They could of quickly work with me but she took all the time to tell me why I had to arrive 10 minutes early or 20 minutes early. I never got any appointment reminder as the receptionist didn’t put information down. Their listening skill is poor and customer service is poor. I would not recommend this place as I know it is not a place that will work with your needs. I rather drive far distance then to receive care from uncaring staff.

Their office is clean and fancy, there is plenty of parking and a lot of their nurses are nice, and that is all the good I can say about this place. This practice overall is extremely disappointing.
If you have any choice, go somewhere else. At every appointment, I felt like I could buy a fetal heart monitor and some pee sticks off Amazon and give myself better obstetric care than this practice. They don’t read your chart, they don’t remember who you are and they have no idea what’s going on with your pregnancy. The doctors could never answer my questions, and they were extremely patronizing. I’m an adult woman taking responsibility for a future generation. Please, don’t protect me from scary things like information about pregnancy complications. As an added bonus, the phlebotomists in their convenient on-​site lab hurt the ever-​loving shit out of me every time they drew blood. I get blood drawn a lot, so I am familiar with the normal level of discomfort it can cause.
So, I switched doctors halfway through my pregnancy. The «Practice Manager» called me to ask if I was dissatisfied with my care, and then proceeded to argue about everything I said. You have to be some special kind of asshole to call a pregnant lady and argue with her to try to stress her out. She said I have diabetes. I don’t — my chart has many lab results that show that I don’t, but they don’t read your chart. In fact, the Oly OB nurses had called me on two separate occasions to tell me I don’t have diabetes. (I guess they don’t communicate internally either).
She never apologized for getting that information wrong — and that is kind of a Big Thing to get wrong when you’re talking about someone’s health. Have you ever heard of customer service? Because that’s not how you do it. In fact, she never apologized for anything I was concerned about. She didn’t actually want to listen to the problems I had. I am certain that her strategy was to terrify me into running back into the safe, paternal arms of Oly OB by telling me crazy shit like «you have diabetes and your babies are at very high risk because of it if you transfer to a practice without the scope of care that Oly Ob has.
Haha, okay. «Scope of Care.» That’s hilarious, Deb, Practice Manager.
It was a metaphor for their whole care philosophy in a nutshell — wait for something to go wrong before you try to fix it, and then tell the patient/​customer they are an idiot.
BTW — if you are switching practices, leave plenty of time for your records to be transferred. The Practice Manager had no problem telling me she legally had 15 days to hold my records before she had to send them and she was willing to hold them the whole time.

I am so frustrated with this place! They make an appointment with you, but then they call you back to change the appointment time and day because it’s better for someone else that way. Who cares?! If you made an appointment, they need to honor that appointment time. I’m only 11 weeks pregnant, and they have done this to me three times already! It’s going to be a looooooong 9 months with these people.
The only reason I didn’t give them 1 star is because when you actually get in there (when they don’t mess up your appointment times), then the service with the doctor is good. But that’s only if they honor the appointments that you make!