Sea Girt Pediatrics 2130 New Jersey 35, Sea Girt, NJ 08750

"Parents beware! Both our sons have been patients since 2018 at Seagirt Pediatrics. The first few years were good, however there was a downward spiral during and after the Hackensack Meridian Health transition. Sick appointment requests were often met with "no appointments available" the same day, even when calling 1st thing in the AM. We were told they were short staffed on multiple occasions and directed to go to another Hackensack Meridian Health location or to a walk in clinic. This is not why we have a PCP at Seagirt Pediatric. Today put us over the edge. 2am our 12 yr old son came to our room in tears that his stomach was burning and cramping. We tried a few antacids and an allergy med over the next hour or so and he continued to feel worse. Crying and screaming in pain. He kept burping and curling up. That when the vomiting started. Over the course of the night/early hrs he was vomiting about every half hr. He would feel good for only a min or 2 afterwards and the cycle would start again. We contemplated the ER and decided to call the Seagirt Pediatric after hrs #. They put us in contact with an after hrs nurse and we explained what was happening in detail. ( No fever btw ). She said to keep a close eye on him and call the office when they open at 8:30am and she would write in his records that she advised that he be seen within 2-3 hrs because of his condition. My wife called the office at approx 8:40, spoke to an answering service that put her in contact with the front desk. She explained the situation and told them what the nurse said and they said the earliest they could give us an appt was 2:30pm. We waited through the night to be able to see his PCP ( Dr. Plaine if she was there or another doc if she was not ) just to be told 2:30 was the earliest. Mind you, after about 8 vomiting fits, your could imagine the condition of our son and he could not wait another 6+ hrs for an appt. I called back and spoke to the answering service again and they put me in contact with Rita at the front desk. She asked what his symptoms were, so I repeated them again and explained the convo with the nurse again and she put me on hold. Then came back on and said 2:30pm is the appt time and that's the earliest. I expressed that we did not want to bring him through the ER unnecessarily ( subjecting him to maybe something worse, being poked and prodded etc). I asked how could we get a AM appt with Dr. Plaine in the AM if we call 1st thing and the earliest appt in 2:30pm. She said " we split the day in half. The first half is for Well visits and the 2nd half is for sick visits." Then she says " well if it's an emergency then you'll have to take him to the ER" with a snippy tone. Why wouldn't you see sick children 1st in the AM when 90% of the time children fall ill at night and by the morning is when they need the most help. Like I said before, this was not the first time ( probably 4th to 5th time) they have directed us to either a walk in clinic or an ER rather than trying to help our children and keeping them out of the ER when possible. I said to her " Let Dr. Plaine know I will be following up with this afterwards, this is Bull@*#". Don't put yourself in the position we did. We are currently searching for a new PCP that puts these children 1st. We are very disappointed in this practice and what it has become. Maybe it's management, maybe it's the front desk or maybe it's 1, 2 or all of the Doctors. I'd lean towards management and the front desk from what I have experienced with them. I personally like Dr.Plaine as well as some of the other doctors there. But, if you can not get your children in to see them when they are in the most need the what is the point. I will be bringing this up the chain at Hackesack Meridian Health as well. Eric - concerned father Note: I would prefer 0 stars, but that is not an option."

"The office staff is so pleasant and efficient. Dr. Pantano is amazing - not only is she smart, she takes her time with her patients, answers all questions and is very compassionate."

"You can’t go wrong with seeing any of the doctors here, they’re all great! We have been seeing Dr Fury for any planned visits, she’s very thorough. She once called to check on my daughter (8 weeks old at the time) multiple times throughout the day to check her progress, called the ER to give them a heads up we were coming in, and consulted with another dr after hours to get the best plan of action. We have never had an issue being seen same day for sick visits, and if you’re not sure if your child needs to be seen the nurses and staff are great at helping you decide. Entire staff is great with kids, and wait times are always minimal."

"The lowered rating is purely due to the way the front desk interacts with patients. They are very abrupt and seemingly annoyed by questions parents may have. I've liked the doctors fine but have found their front desk less than helpful."

"Dr. Plaine is AMAZING!!! Can't go wrong with her. She has been nothing but amazing to my son and I. The office however yeah I may be switching. They shouldn't be accepting my sons insurance if they "Can't" give him the vaccines he needs. Meanwhile my insurance says the vaccines are covered. Absolutely ridiculous."