This is the gratitude blog post intended for Friday, November 23, 2012. Today, I am extremely happy to declare a sincere gratitude for my daughters’ health provider, Pediatric Associates of Alexandria, located near the border of Springfield, Virginia.
Pediatric Associates has been a fixture in our lives since May of 2006, shortly after my daughter was born. My oldest was born at Inova Alexandria Hospital. It is there that I met Dr. Andreas Sideridis when my oldest was just a mere two days old. He was doing his normal rounds, examining all the babies and when he came to see me at the hospital room, I was full of questions (so what else is new?).
From that first day, I’ve keenly noted that Dr. Sideridis is a calm doctor, which is very good for people like me who get easily hyper. Nothing rattles that man, no matter what! I will talk more about Dr. Sideridis in my next blog post. For now, I’d like to focus on his employer, Pediatric Associates of Alexandria.
Shortly after I met Dr. Sideridis and asked him if he could start caring for our newborn (my oldest), he simply said “sure” and told me what to do. I was so new at parenting, even newer when it came to taking my newborn to the doctor. When did I have to do it? How often did I have to go? What medicines was I supposed to administer? How much was I supposed to be feeding my newborn? (See, I told you I was full of questions!)
I don’t remember much about the really early days, but I clearly and distinctly remember one memorable event that happened when my newborn (oldest) was just three weeks old. I had been nursing my daughter and had read that I was not to introduce formula until the baby was six months old.
Armed with that intelligence and my visiting mom at my side, I headed straight to Pediatric Associates, demanding to know why my child was crying at the top of her lungs. Dr. Sideridis was there, ready to greet me and my beet red face, high-pitched voice, crazed demeanor, and frantic hand gestures.
Just as cool as a cucumber, Dr. Sideridis proceeded to show me how to swaddle my newborn and how to get her to calm down. He also told me that I needed to start feeding my baby some formula. Sure enough, I obeyed all of the doctor’s orders and everything went well.
For the next four years, we continued going to Pediatric Associates for our sick appointments, well child check-ups, and shots. We mostly saw Dr. Sideridis, but also started experiencing visits with other doctors and nurse practitioners. In February 2011, my second daughter was born. Immediately, she joined us over at Pediatric Associates for what became more frequent visits!
In the six years we’ve been going to Pediatric Associates, I have enjoyed getting to know the administrative staff and they have gotten to know us. Both of my girls have grown and matured. The staff has noticed and has paid us wonderful compliments.
I am also really happy with the many changes Pediatric Associates has made. By far, the most impressive changes have been the conversion of paper records to electronic and the subsequent introduction of portable laptops at every single appointment, making note-taking and record updates a breeze.
Also noteworthy are the new, impressive patient portal which allows for a seamless online “conversation,” the changes made to the Pediatric Associates lobby, including a new station for the front desk, complete with warm lighting, and the new wall display of the provider photos. All good changes in my book!
The quality of care provided by the doctors, nurse practitioners, and administrative staff coupled with administrative changes have all given me sufficient reason to remain loyal to Pediatric Associates. I am so grateful for all that Pediatric Associates has done for me. I feel that I am a valued customer whose voice has been heard and respected.
Looking forward to many more years in this successful partnership of patient and provider! What are you grateful for today?
