People who liken The Waiting Room to Hell have clearly not been trapped in a Chilean mine, never had a bullet removed from their abdomen with just a rag to bite into for pain relief and never had to sit through a discussion about commitment with my son’s mother.
And sure, waiting is not all that fun…
But, well, some things in life are worth waiting for.
Wait, scratch that. Good things come to those who wait. Ehhhhh…
What I mean to say is, basically, that substantive, meaningful action takes time. And life often consists of deciding what we’re willing to trade for our time and effort, what this time and effort is REALLY worth.
Could this be what Hell looks like?
Is there anything more valuable than the health of our little bundles of life itself, the very living, breathing reasons we drag ourselves out of blissful slumber each day back into war with exhaustion, greedy and stupid landlords, heartless, soulless bueracrats, and (lately, especially) relentless, merciless armies of pollen?
No, of course there is nothing more valuable.
But Sweet Jesus on a mother-loving popsicle stick will the waiting room at Beth Israel Pediatric Associates test your mettle.
First of all, it is a pediatric waiting room so of course it’s pretty much required by law that there be at least 2-3 toddlers screaming bloody murder as their oblivious parents stare into their ubiquitous little screens. And secondly, it is a medical center so nothing is ever on time (totally understandable, I’d say- we’re dealing with human beings here!) And third, well… that says enough, really.
After skimming over the online reviews of the place I still don’t think that to wait for something so damned important is all that bad.
Some toddler-screeching and time-killing is no sweat in exchange for medical attention that feels warm, thoughtful, attentive and perhaps most importantly, skilled.
Over the years I’ve seen quite a variety of doctors here (Dr. Brescia, Dr. Marcantonio and most recently Dr. Guha all after our original MD, Dr. Neuspiel took leave) and I’ve never been disappointed. Each was painstaking and personable and made me feel like my son was getting the best treatment possible.
My years of experience with Beth Israel makes me take pause at some of the mixed reviews it has garnered online. The patient demographic is indeed erm… mottled. With a mom spectrum of gum-chomping Latinas dressed like Lady Gaga perched next to Dolce Gabbana-pursed UWS blondes tapping away at their iPhones, it is indeed heavy with some gully-ass folks sporting crappy-ass manners. In short, they lack patience and understanding where it is clearly required.
True, it gets fairly crowded but just this week I was able to call at 8:30 AM on a Monday and get an appointment the same day when SuperDuperKid was suffering from catastrophic allergy attacks. (The prescriptions Dr. Guha sent us away with led to our first peaceful night of sleep in almost a week, thank Bejeezus.)
Yes, on this subject you can certainly trust SuperDuperDad’s estimation over the din of winging crybabies on the world wide whine-a-thon. Year after year, Beth Israel Pediatrics has provided my little family with superb medical treatment. Now you can get the same. Just bring a hefty book and a good bit of patience.
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Official SuperDuperDad Yay or Nay Verdict: YAY! (Though I of course avoid going at all cost.)
Details: Obviously one should always call ahead as far as possible and it’s also good to get there earlier than your appointment. See below for more.
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Beth Israel Pediatric Associates10 Union Square East
Suites 2J and 2H
New York, NY 10003
212.844.8300
Mon, Wed, Fri 8am-5pm; Tue, Thu 8am-8pm; Sat 9am-5pm
Specialty: General pediatrics, newborn-adolescent
Practice structure: Group practice
Dr. Andrea Brescia 212.844.8316
Dr. Anita Guha 212.844.8322
Dr. Niloufar Gidfar 212.844.8315
Dr. Robin Jacobson 212.844.8337
Dr. Camille Senzamici 212.844.8308
Hospital affiliation: Beth Israel Medical Center
Insurance Companies: ABC, Aetna-US Healthcare, Allied, America’s, AmeriHealth, Anthem, Beech Street, Bronx Health Plan, CenterCare, ChoiceCare, Cigna, Empire, 1199, First Health, Galaxy, GHI, HealthFirst, HIP, Horizon, MagnaCare, MCI, MediChoice, Medicaid, MultiPlan, One Health Plan, Oxford, PHCS, PHS, Questmore, SelectPro, Unicare/Qualcare, United
All pediatricians are board certified
Some special interests of these pediatricians include breastfeeding, international adoption, complementary medicine, and sleep and behavioral problems. Email contact with the doctors is available through the practice website.
Parents may contact any doctor above for an interview.
Note: Urgent care phone is 212.844.8330
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