ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

they said they'd bring the newborns right into the lab room but otherwise they dont have well and sick waiting rooms. dealbreaker?

Message edited 10/24/2012 12:15:37 PM.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Tough one. I was very paranoid when bear was really young. My ped has separate sick/well waiting rooms. However, I have COUNTLESS times seen parents walk in with their obviously sick child and sit with them in the main waiting room instead of going to the sick room. I never have the balls to say anything, which is my own fault. At the end of the day i'm not sure it makes much of a difference, and so long as the newborns are taken straight back, that's whats important. JMO.

ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Ours has separate sides of the place, but you all walk through the same front door and check in at the same counter. Which exam room they take you to depends on which doctor you're seeing, not whether you're sick or not, though. I don't think it really matters.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

My ped does not have separate waiting areas.

I have never been there for a sick visit, just reg monthly/yearly checkups and dd has never got sick from the waiting area.

For new borns as long as they stay in stroller or infant seat covered I think they are ok.

It's when they are moving and playing with the toys there.

this is not a deal breaker for me

ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Crashing - I met with two peds while doing my search and they both said the same thing when I asked about separate waiting rooms - they don't do them because people with sick kids tend to bring their kids into the healthy waiting room anyway so it doesn't make sense.

The ped I chose does infant/toddler well visits right after lunch so usually the patients who are there are infants and toddlers for well visits as well.

ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Our ped has seperate waiting areas and they take newborns in right away.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

My peds doesnt have separate waiting area for well/sick. however if there is a nb they put that baby in a room first.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

i wouldnt say a deal breaker necessarily if you love the pediatrician and all other positive factors for choosing that pediatrician are there. But i could understand your concern and i would be too. i like the idea of them taking newborns right to the back- do they have sick and well exam rooms.. i interviewed a doctor whose practice had 2 rooms for well visits and 2 rooms for sicks visits and then 1 room that was extra and they tried to keep in consistent for that day and wipe down completely if a sick child was in there prior to a well, one. i personally went to a pediatrician all my life who only had 1 waiting room- i dont even think that they had sick and well rooms back then so it wasnt really an issue. i cant remember but im assuming my mom maybe told me not to play with stuff/tough too much if i was healthy but i dont really recall her saying anything at all. lol

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Tough call, even after the nb phase. Spending time in the sick waiting room of a ped's office is kind of like hanging out in a petri dish of germs...

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Our ped has sick and well rooms but that wasn't a factor. They were separated by the entrance vestibule and that's it. No real physical barriers. I don't think it made a real difference except to make parents feel better.


We just called ahead and they had a room ready for us.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

thanks! i can see how it is not a dealbreaker. especially in queens, my standards are pretty low lol.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

Mine is pretty organized, has a sick and well waiting room with separate doors and receptionists... uber-important to because i'm a germ nut.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

I wouldn't say its a deal breaker but it definitly is a positive when you know that you have a well child and sick child area.

My ped has 2 seperate entrances, with 2 waiting areas and receptionists and 2 hallways one for sick and one for well patients as to keep them away from each other.

As for bringing a newborn into a waiting room with sick kids, I would do as I always do and keep in the infant carrier with a blanket over the top and all should be fine.

Re: ped question- is it a big deal not to have separate waiting rooms for well and sick?

my ped doesnt have seperate waiting rooms. they take us right into the lab room