East Portland Pediatric Clinic

We have been seeing Dr Mathieu since our 16 month old was born and just love her. She is warm and funny and smart and always spends lots of time answering our questions and taking a thorough exam. She’s a very reasonable physician and I like that she doesn’t get too worked up about anything. New parents need that reassurance not to worry too much. At the same time, I have full faith that she would take a serious problem very seriously. We have also seen Dr Skau and liked him as well.
The only reason I haven’t given five stars is we’ve had a couple of office/​administrative issues with the clinic. Not a huge deal, and possibly related to their computer system upgrade which is now completed.

I’ve been bringing my daughter here since she was an infant, she’s now 8 years old and I’ve never had a bad experience. The receptionists, medical assistants and physicians have always been very nice, caring, professional and efficient. I was very surprised to see a couple negative reviews on here. In the past eight years there have been quite a few times where I’ve called in on a Saturday, evening or anytime… they’ve always said no problem, bring her right in. I love how accommodating they have always been. I tell all my friends with children to come here and none of them have ever had problems.

I brought my baby from the very beginning to East Portland Pediatric Clinic on the enthusiastic recommendation of a friend. I’ve really had mixed feelings the whole way, and now that I’ve been there a year, I’ve decided to transfer elsewhere.
Positives:
When you have a newborn, they make sure you do not have to wait in the waiting room. You are immediately shown to a room.
Dr. Sequiera is warm, friendly, and all-​around wonderful. We have had brief exchanges with Dr. Skau and he seems great too.
They have urgent care availability that we have never needed to utilize, but I think it would be nice if we ever did.
Negatives:
At our very first appointment (baby was only a few days old) we met with the nurse who is a lactation consultant. It is clear that she is incredibly knowledgable, but the entire exchange was a little uncomfortable. I am incredibly laid back but I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was being implied that there was something suspicious about my behavior. I was being grilled in an intense way about what I had eaten that day, the fact that I was shaky, etc. I had just had a baby and was running on very little sleep. My system was weird for months, and I felt like my honest answers weren’t entirely believed. Luckily my mom was along with me to corroborate that I had been eating regular healthy meals and doing everything I was told to do. My mom is not as laid back as I am, and she was fuming over the whole meeting. On the way home, she insisted that I needed to change pediatric offices. I figured the nurse was just looking out for my baby, and had an uncomfortable way of going about it.
The no-​waiting in the waiting room came to a screeching halt for me at 9 months. Not only were we left to wait 30 min in the waiting room with an impatient 9 month old who was already walking and determined to explore, we were then left for another 30 min in the exam room until we were seen by anyone but the medical assistant for a brief moment. I’m not exaggerating. It was one hour from when we arrived at the time we were told to arrive until we were seen — I checked my watch because it was my husband’s first time along with us and he was furious (he also insisted that we needed to change practices). Then after all that wait, we were surprised to discover that we weren’t going to be seen by the pediatrician, but instead by the nurse (which was ok, but just seemed strange). Plus, after spending all that time in the waiting room, my son came down with an AWFUL cold. Maybe coincidence, but I kind of doubt it.
Before our 12 month appointment, I called the office to see if it was possible to reschedule the appointment. I was told that the doctor didn’t have any availability for three months. Then the line went silent. I wasn’t offered other options like seeing another doctor or anything like that. I changed things around to make it to the appointment, and it was just ok. When it came time to schedule the next appointment three months out, the only times I was offered were right on his naptimes (which never goes well).
I’ve tried to give these folks the benefit of the doubt, but it is finally time to move on. Some people (like my friends) probably have wonderful experiences here, but for me, I don’t think it is worth fighting traffic for.

My review is for how the clinic is run, not the pediatricians.
I love Dr. Skau & Dr. Matthieu. They are great doctors who spend time with me and my daughter, they answer all my questions. I use both of them and alternate appointments for my daughter to get different perspectives and it works great for me.
However, my last few appointments have not gone well.
1) my daughters 9 month appointment. I waited 20+ to get in and then was told Dr. Matthieu had to take a call. I didn’t see her for another 20 min. My appointment took over an hour and a half!
2) A couple of days ago, I got a call from Kim in billing about my insurance and that it had expired. I told her thank you for the call and that my husbands company changed insurance companies. I had the group # but not the ID# and she treated me poorly. I told her the ID cards were in the mail. She mentioned that if i didn’t have the information by the appointment date that we would have to pay out of pocket for the visit. It was fine by me. We can afford to pay for it and get reimbursed by the carrier. I told her thank you for telling me and that I appreciate the call and to have a nice day, she said nothing else to me and hung up!
3) Today was my daughters appointment was with Dr. Skau for her 12 month check up. Something I had been excited about and waiting for quite sometime for this. I made this appointment when we were there for her 9 month appointment, so in plenty of advance.
Now, I live quite a ways away and spend my time and money getting here on time (sometimes early).
I get there 10 minutes early. Check in. Fill out the paperwork. Then at her appointment time of 10:15, after sitting there for 10 min. I was told that he is running 45 minutes late!!!
They should have known that was the case for awhile and should have called me. Now with a 12 month old, there is no way she can wait 45min. So I rescheduled my appointment for a week from today and left.
I’m really having a hard time trying to convince myself to go back again.