Shady Grove Fertility

Someone always answered the phones when I called which may sound minor but given my experience with other medical practices was a welcome change. Everyone was courteous and informed. I enjoyed the fact that there were multiple offices I could visit based upon my schedule and availability. I split my time between Fair Oaks, which was opened Monday through Friday and handled my monitoring appointments, and Fairfax, which was opened on the weekends and handled inseminations/IVF procedures. I received the same high level of care at both offices. The only weakness regarding the front desk staff is that I received inconsistent pricing for my IUI. I had to pay out of pocket and it seemed like the staff was not used to this, thus I would be quoted between $200 - $250. I would just budget $250 and if it was less it would be a bonus to me. The finance department had some weakness as well. They were a bit slow to respond (compared to the speed of the nurses) and sometimes their explanations were unclear. However, I had heard that same complaint from others before I began working with the finance department so knowing that was the case I stayed on top of them. In the end, that weakness was insignificant to me in the grand scheme of things.

It takes a while to enter the system in terms of registering and initial testing. But once you get to your first treatment, the place runs like a well oiled machine. Communication through the portal is extremely efficient and the pharmacy recommendations are phenomenal. Appointments are easy to schedule.

Our financial coordinator Melissa was also a critical part of our positive experience at Shady Grove. Melissa actually worked with our insurance company directly and ensured that we did not pay one cent outside the global fee for the transfer - and we have a very frustrating insurance provider. We never waited more than a few hours for a response and she often replied to me after business hours. Shady Grove has multiple clinics across the country. I would say that a weakness is that you can never guarantee you will have your personal reproductive endocrinologist at any given appointment, including egg retrievals or transfers if that matters to you. That means that you really have to be comfortable seeing many different people. While we didn't experience this personally, there are too many people who struggle with their financial counselors and it seems like systemic failing in their system overall. Financial counselors are assigned to specific physicians, so when selecting a doctor at Shady Grove, you should also ask about their nursing and financial staff because those are the people that will affect your experience 80% of the time.

SGF is a very large clinic, which comes with advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages I experienced was my doctor presenting my case to her colleagues to get additional feedback. She came back with other recommendations for us to consider in my treatment. Of the disadvantages, the biggest one, for me, was that major procedures (retrieval and transfer) will be performed by doctors you don't know. I never had a bad experience with a doctor, but for people want their doctor for every procedure, it might not be possible.

We found the Ballston office to be ideal for frequent appointments because it was smaller and less hectic than the other offices. For weekend monitoring, we recommend K St over Fairfax for the same reasons.

The Clinic was amazing. I was always greeted nicely when I came in and a super friendly, we'll see you next time, when I left. The facilities were very clean and quite, so you could just breathe and relax, it was completely stress free outside the unknowns and the reasons you're there!

SGF Arlington is full of friendly staff from the front desk to the phlebotomists to the nurses and providers. SGF Fairfax is convenient but too big to feel like family. They also seemed to have higher turnover because I rarely saw the same staff members and they seemed less personal. I appreciated the convenience and weekend appts at fairfax though.

Their staff and facility interior design is excellent. Everyone knows your name and is courteous. Sometimes you have to wait a bit in the waiting room, but it is a nice waiting room and guess what, you're not alone! A lot of other women are going through the same thing.

Super effective and efficient with appointments. I’ve never waited more than 5 mins. Friendly and warm and welcoming. I don’t feel like a number, they know my face and ask how I am doing and if need anything. I’m on a first name bases with the staff after 2 appointments.

The clinic is very organized and clean. The entire staff is welcoming, friendly and compassionate. I believe they truly understand how hard this process can be for many people and try to make it as positive as possible.

I trust SGF, everything went really well for me from scheduling/rescheduling (Barbara in the front office in FairOaks is the sweetest person I met) to getting Ultrasounds (Julie is the best!!). Not much wait time in the lobby either.

Strengths - responsiveness, apt availability, bedside manner, amazing nurses, empathic doctors, easy to use trainings/portal for messaging and support from financial team Cons - nothing that I can think of to report, I all around had a great experience