This is the best Shady Grove office I have been to in this area. When you enter, Carolina and Sarosh greet you and always give you a warm welcome. Hillary is the absolute best and always gets my very difficult veins with no pain; she does so with a smile and always remembers a familiar face! When you get into the room, Katie is absolutely amazing. She is so knowledgeable and always answers my many questions, acts as a shoulder to lean on, and makes the appointments enjoyable. My care team consisting of Dr. Swelstad and nurse Sophie are always a pleasure to talk to. If you’re looking for a fertility office to get you through a very tough time, look no further!!
I have had a great experience at the fair oaks location! The front desk staff (specifically Sarosh and Carolina) are always so incredibly helpful and sweet. I have tricky veins but Hillary is able to get them the first time every single time! So grateful for that! Katie, who does my ultrasound, always comes in smiling and cares so much about her patients. I would highly recommend the fair oaks location. Everyone there has been phenomenal and I am forever grateful for them!
Everyone at the Shady Grove Fair Oaks office was really great to work with. They run things smoothly and always kept me informed of my next steps. Everyone is so nice and we enjoyed working with them!
I am so grateful for SGF at Fair Oaks, everyone I encountered at this office over the past year has been so kind, professional, patient, knowledgeable and helpful throughout this very emotional process. To name a few: Dr. Swelstad, Sophie, Katie, Hillary, and everyone at the front desk has been so compassionate and friendly that it made this whole process much less stressful. Sophie and Katie were some of the best nurses I have ever had, they were always kind, organized, explained everything thoroughly and were mindful of how stressful infertility can be. I felt very comfortable asking questions (there were many) and I was always reassured and felt very confident in everyone I spoke to. I would recommend this office a million times over to anyone! You will 100% be in good hands! Thank you SGF! :)
My husband and I have been working with shady Grove for about 4 months now. The staff has been amazing so far. Especially the nurse team and the front desk staff. The staff at the front desk are always helpful and make scheduling or rescheduling appointments an easy process. Our nurse who usually does the follow up calls to go over results and next steps is amazing as well. She is always willing to answer questions and is quick to respond through the patient portal whenever I need clarification or have follow up questions.
I just sat waiting for my first appointment for an hour. 15 minutes after my appointment start time, the receptionist did check in and say the doctor was running late. It was hard and emotional for me to come and to be forced to sit in a waiting room for an hour, did meditation breathe with tears rolling down my face for the next 30 minutes. Completely disrespectful. Makes me feel like Im not meant to be a mom and did not expect that today. I mustered up my strength and asked for the appointment to be canceled and for a refund. The receptionist apologized and refunded it, but no explanation.
I can’t say enough wonderful things about the staff at Shady Grove Fair Oaks. From the welcoming, friendly ladies at the front desk, the MAs (Hillary and Ariana) who put their patients at ease during numerous draws, to Katie and Julie who are the kindest nurses and techs who have the ability to make everyone comfortable during their ultrasounds. Thank you for making what is a difficult process to go through that much better. You are all treasures.
I highly recommend this location. They have been taking great care of me in every step of my IVF treatment, making me feel supported and guided by excellent professionals. Special thanks to Doctor Swelstad and to the ladies at the counter Sarosh and Carolina, who had always welcome me with a smile and made my check in and appointment scheduling so easy and smooth. They’re a great team!
If I could give 0 stars, I would. First, the financial office failed to submit the paperwork on time, causing a delay of several weeks. Then, the nurse messed up my appointments three times, making me come in unnecessarily. Finally, a nurse called and promised to send a portal message with the time for the trigger shot and the retrieval. Guess what? She left for the day without sending the detailed email or updating the calendar. This place is terrible. If it werent for my insurance, I would never come here. They do everything they can to make you feel stressed and miserable. The only thing they excel at is telling you that everything is your fault, not theirs.
I have had many appointments over the past year at this location. Everyone has been very supportive throughout my process. It is an added benefit to have a front desk staff that knows me as soon as I walk in. Sarash and Carolina Make me feel welcome at every visit.
I love the Fair Oaks, VA Shady Grove staff! I’d like to give special shoutouts to the women listed below because they are the reason I continue to schedule all my appointments at this location!First, I’d like to start off by thanking Sarosh! She always greets me with a warm smile and is extraordinarily kind when she checks me in or out of my doc appointments. It’s the best way to start an early morning doc appointment!Next, I’d like to give special shoutouts to Ariana & Hillary!! They are both masters when it comes to blood draws! I have a major phobia of needles and normally dread any injection or having my blood drawn! Patients are in good hands with either of these wonderful women! I don’t feel a thing and before I realize it, the blood draw is over! They’re the best!Last but not least, I wanted to give a special shoutout to Katie! She’s been absolutely fantastic! Katie is so friendly, kind, and a skilled professional! She always takes the time to ensure I’m comfortable and informs me of what she is doing and why it matters. She calms my nerves and never makes me feel like I’m just a number.These women are wonderful and the reason I will continue to schedule my appointments at the Fair Oaks location! Thank you!
We had a wonderful experience at shady grove fair oaks and Fairfax locations. We were well cared for and ultimately ended up with our beautiful baby girl who is now 7 months old! We had female and male factor and going to shady grove was the best decision ever. Take the step you won’t be disappointed!
Nurse Practitioner Katie is the absolute best! So kind, gentle and was great at explaining what I was looking at on the screen at every ultrasound appointment. Katie really made this entire process so much more comfortable with her knowledge and encouragement. I cannot thank her enough!The front desk team, especially Sarosh, was friendly, attentive and helpful. The ladies taking daily bloodwork were very kind as well
Sarosh at the front desk is very friendly and professional. She greets everyone with a welcoming smile. Check in and check out process is very smooth.
If I could leave 10 stars I would. EVERYONE we worked with - from Dr. Swelstad to Hillary A. to Sophie C. - was absolutely amazing. They answer all questions with understanding, patience, and care and no question is too silly! They are extremely personable, thorough, and professional. I had so many of them put my mind at ease and offer reassurance while answering my questions. Absolutely wonderful experience!
Shady Grove made it possible for my wife and I to get pregnant with our daughter, Iris. At the beginning of this fertility process, this review would’ve probably had fewer stars simply because we had so many failed attempts until Iris decided to stick around and even though we knew it was a matter of timing, luck, and a little science, it was hard to not blame every failure on shady grove. Especially considering the costs we had to pay. BUT they didn’t give up on us. They kept encouraging us to keep trying, to change the formula slightly, to find the path that would work, and I’m so grateful for that determination and belief that together it was possible for us to have our daughter. It is a hard journey so it can be easy to get upset at the clinic and blame them when things go wrong but now that we’re on the other side and we’ve got our baby, honestly, that whole struggle is a distant memory. Dr. Brown was very helpful in getting my wife and I to graduation day from shady grove and it was so good to feel her genuine excitement for us. She knows how hard this process is and she may seem at times to come from a less emotional place when you meet to discuss numbers and options but that’s because it’s her job to be realistic with you. At the time, it was difficult, but in retrospect, I really appreciate such transparency. She is an excellent fertility doctor and I highly recommend her services and shady grove overall (though I do wish costs were lower and a bit more transparent up front). The one negative we did experience that warrants a word of caution: one of our bills had a charge that was an error and it took lots of back and forth with billing trying to prove it was wrong before they eventually corrected it. But that’s not a reflection on the fertility services, so much as a reflection on everyone’s least favorite thing: bills. Just be sure to double-check all charges. There is also a one-time requirement to do a social worker consult for $300 (to learn how to talk to our child one day about how she was conceived) and that was a total waste of time and money in our opinion, but perhaps others find it useful. All in all, we’re grateful for everything shady grove did to help us get to Iris.
I cannot speak more highly of Shady Grove Fertility in Fair Oaks. Dr. Swelstad and Saimah, our physician and nurse, were so incredibly wonderful the entire step of the way. They were always very knowledgeable in any questions my husband and I had, they were very timely in their responses, and they were so flexible and cooperative with all of our personal requests and schedule requests. I never felt nervous or anxious at any of my appointments. Everything always felt so catered to my personal needs, and everyone is so incredibly kind. As difficult and arduous of a journey infertility is, SGF and all of their staff are wonderful lovely people. I highly recommend this location for your journey.
The Fair Oaks Office of Shady Grove is filled with compassionate staff, helping to make a scary and emotion-filled process easier. It is bittersweet after having their hands-on assistance to graduate and return to your regular obgyn. I couldnt be more grateful for my experience with the Fair Oaks office, off and on for 3 years. I highly recommend this office.
I will forever be grateful to Shady Grove Fair Oaks for giving us the gift of our daughter! The journey wasn’t always smooth but that tends to be the case for most going through assisted fertility. I was frustrated to have to go through 3 IUIs and two frozen embryo transfers to get there but now that our baby is here it’s easy for me to be thankful for shady grove and Dr.Brown for making it possible for us to grow our family. The nurses at the Fair Oaks location were wonderful. And I loved the phlebotomists (I saw them so often for over a year and really grew to love my brief time with them in those stressful mornings). One thing I would recommend is just keeping a close eye on your bills. One of my procedures was coded incorrectly but after I caught it shady grove gave me the refund. Also they do go through accounts at the end of year and send you any refunds they might owe you. Lastly I’ve been grateful for the free support groups they offer… we became real life friends with some of the couples we met in the support groups! It’s so great to be raising our kids together!
Ariana .E. the phlembotomist is always so kind with a smile and very professional.she makes the blood draw very relaxing and painless. Thank you Shadygrove for hiring the right People always.Thank you Ariana for doing a great job with care and excitement.
I saw Dr. Browne last fall to talk about freezing my eggs and she did such a great job explaining my options and potential outcomes based on my personal test results. I never felt pressured to move forward and she was there every step of the way to explain everything. I don’t think I could have done it without her and the entire team.
Sarah’s and Carolina are so welcoming- they greet me by name when I come in, and are very prompt with service for check in and out. Truly the best front desk I could ask for!
Hillary A. MA is amazing. She is always welcoming and kind. Not to mention she is the best at blood draws! Thank you Hillary :)
To anyone struggling with infertility I am so, so sorry for what you are going through.If you are in a position where you can work with another fertility clinic, I recommend doing so. If you are not, and need to continue with Shady Grove, stay on top of them for EVERYTHING. We went to Shady Grove for support in July a month after a devastating pregnancy loss at 21 weeks. We have still not completed an IVF cycle with SGF due to completely avoidable and unnecessary delays. The first of which was a month long setback due to Shady Grove forgetting to submit our referral to their preferred PGT testing vendor, NextGen Genetics. That initial delay was the catalyst for all other delays we have experienced since. (In the comments I am sure shady grove will reply to specify that some of the delays are due to labs with their preferred PGT partner, NextGen Genetics, which is true, but had they submitted that referral in July when we went to them for help, all these delays would have been avoided.)In any case, it’s now December, we’ve been working with Shady Grove for 6 months, with no IVF cycle scheduled.I was so heartbroken from our pregnancy loss when we started looking into IVF that I couldn’t stand to read any negative reviews. I had to believe that IVF would work. I just want to make clear that I still have hope in IVF, and I don’t want a negative review to take away hope from any other couples struggling with infertility. If you’re able to pick another IVF clinic (especially if you will need PGT) absolutely do it, and if you have to work with Shady Grove hold them accountable, and to a higher standard than they hold themselves. Good luck!!!!
Wonderful, friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and helpful staff. They take the time to really explain and answer questions. They have gone out of their way to help me make sure all things are taken care of . Dr. Swelstad and his team have just been absolutely the best. Couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to help me with this journey. HIGHLY recommend.
I had a second opinion sort of appointment with Dr. Swelstad, he is Amazing!!! He listened to me patiently and answered all my questions. He will be the infertility doctor for us if we wind up needing help. I highly recommend him.
Worst Place! Big Scam!We spent more than 30K total on multiple cycles (+ medications). ALL FAILED. So we ALMOST gave up on our dreams to have a child. Then a miracle happened and we conceived naturally!In hindsight, I wished we never went to these people. They are worst than car dealers. They will cash on your emotional pain, misery and fear that you might never have a child. Dont believe their stats. Everything is just a business for them. Inflated prices for both treatment and medications.Dont be too hopeful from these people. Keep trying! MIRACLES DO HAPPEN! Good Luck!
The entire team at SGF Fair Oaks is amazing! Navigating infertility, the costs, the insurance and the unknown is difficult enough. It was so nice to have this team on our side! The attention and care we received exceeded our expectations and then some. The communication portal is fantastic and I never waited longer than a day for a response (baring it was the weekend of course). The office staff was always very welcoming and friendly, and got to know my name and welcomed me during my monitoring appts. The blood drawing staff are so sweet and gentle, especially when it got to our multiple monitoring appts in a week! We are expecting our IVF baby in June and none of it would have happened without the team at SGF Fair Oaks. We cannot recommend Dr. Swelstad and the team at SGF Fair Oaks enough!!
We have had a great experience with this office. Dr. Swelstad is very knowledgeable and in general a very kind person with great bedside manner. The staff has been nothing but great and appointments always went smooth and without delays. I cant praise SGF in Fair Oaks enough and highly recommend this office and specifically Dr. Swelstad!! Our miracle is now 6-months old and wouldnt be here without him.
I love the doctors and nurses here. Staff is helpful and flexible. The nurses are kind and supportive. Appointments are always available and they will squeeze you in at a moments notice.I would give it 5 stars, but BEWARE. The billing is a nightmare. Almost every month Shady Grove would send me bills for random amounts. It took weeks upon weeks to get the billing situated. We havent been to the office in 4 months and I am still trying to get my insurance to tell them I dont owe them any money!!! Each visit they tried to add on a few dollars and it adds up. Know your benefits and insurance, because they WILL try to get more money out of you!
After reading the reviews I was a little hesitant but decided to give SGF a try. I went to the Fairfax location (3 visits) and was just fed up with the customer service recieved at front desk (nursing/tech staff was great) and was over it. Fortunately I had an appointment at the fair oaks location. This place was great from the first hello, to the actual appointment, to the checkout and follow up. Nita is phenomenal! I forgot the other lady name but she was great too. Even with dealing/resolving my dissatisfaction with the other office and billing concerns. Dr. Swelstad was very nice, great bedside manner and was patient even though I know he had back to back appointments. This office is definitely the standard.
I would like to share my great experience and highly recommend dr. Brad Swelstad! After many years of disappointment , I decided to turn to SG as my last hope. I have to admit, I was skeptical, I was hard to be convinced and most likely not an easy person to work with. Nevertheless, Dr. Brad and his team were extremely patience and showed unbelievable empathy for me and my case. By no meanings it was an easy process, it required a lot of commitment and patience, but the doctor and his team encourage me every step of the way through the entire process. Its very important to have in addition to professional care and medical support someone who can also push you up when you become hopeless, which I was at many occasions, especially when my first transfer was unsuccessful. We will do It attitude helped me overcome all obstacles on my challenging path to become a mother. After second transfer, in which on dr. Swelstad advice, two embryos were transferred, both not so great quality, miracle happened and I stayed pregnant! It was unreal feeling for me and the happiest at the same moment. I followed my baby growth through pregnancy and he was just perfect! I finally become a mother at the age of 38, thanks to SG and amazing Dr. Swelstad! Now I have healthy two months old boy that has changed my life forever. I couldnt be happier.Thank you, Dr. Swelstad and your fantastic team!
I first called Shady Grove Fertility in the begining of July. The first appointment was set for August 17 costing 180.00 day of appointment or 230 if billed. They were able to move it due to a cancel in mid July. I was told the appointment via video would be an hour or hour an half. It lasted 20 mins. I paid and was ready to move to next step. They are going give you a team financial, nurses, doctor and coordinator. You will have a list of questions after the first appointment. Biggest issue I am receiving is the financial person has no idea what the doctor ordered so cannot give me an accurate break down of cost. The initial consult Dr. told me I want to check this on you (XYZ) and send your husband to Urologist. Took me 2 weeks and many many calls later to get better idea what this all means. Urologist is a 6-7 week out appointment via phone. Thats disappointing. needless to say. So for about 400-500 dollars and 3 months in you get two phone calls with Dr.s and not real progress. I hope by year 2022 we will finally meet someone in person to help us. Between testing for my husband and I it will be 1,500 ish. So far REALLY disappointed in response and how generic the emails are by shady grove. Does not make you feel they are caring to each patient as an individuals. Almost scam like feels while starting the process. Hope things get better.
Unprofessional that takes forever to respond to questions and appointment requests. Give you the runaround because they say your insurance doesnt cover certain things when it does. They will nickel and dime you for every procedure, test, and every other service they claim theyre providing for you. Theyre not satisfied until they have squeezed every single penny from you that they can which includes additional visits for tests that are unnecessary because their procedures were unsuccessful in the first place. I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND!
We have had the same issue twice with regards to referrals. Very unprofessional and unsympathetic. Our insurance required a referral in order to see the doctor, so both my husband and I got referrals they were valid for months ahead. We were under the impression that the referrals were good for all visits. Once we were booked for appointments and treatments and finished, they notified us AFTERRRR we finished appointments and treatments that the billing would be our responsibility because we didnt have a referral. We were confused and explained that we did get a referral and they stated that a referral was needed for each individual visit and treatment. So, we told them no one notified us of this and we were only told we needed to get a referral. The reply we got BOTH TIMES was oh..we probably forget, heres your bill. And so my husband asked to speak to a supervisor and when transferred, got put on a long hold and then sent to voicemail where no one returned his call.When you are going to get help with a sensitive issue, you would hope that those youre going to for help with help with the process would ease your stress and not add on a heavy weight.
I cannot say enough good things about Dr. Malik. She is sensitive, kind, knowledgeable, and communicates clearly and frequently with her patients. She allows plenty of time for questions and I always felt listened to and respected. It was also clear that Dr Malik was very well informed about the most current research on best practices for a patient with my profile. My whole clinical care team was highly responsive and extremely professional. I always got an answer to my time-sensitive questions, no matter the time of day. I always felt that I was receiving the best possible care. Cannot recommend more highly.
**UPDATE: In the response below they said they resolved the issue. That is false, theyre just trying to downplay my review.**Ive worked with some subpar medical professionals in the past (unfortunately) but I think Shady Grove takes the cake. Its been 4 weeks since my test was supposed to be ready in one week and after a dozen calls, tons and tons of waiting on the line, correcting their many mistakes, etc., I still dont have my results.Theres a reason they make you pay up front – they do horrible work.
Im in a SGF Facebook group and have just been reading some horror stories about some of the other facilities. I just want to say THANK YOU to SGF Fair Oaks for how you treat your patients (very positive messages in there about this specific facility). The personal phone calls (whether treatment worked or not) go such a long way. Some in the FB group are talking about monotone nurses and doctors leaving voicemails on their phone and I cant imagine. I appreciate this facility so much (especially my nurse, Patrice & my doctor, Dr. Malik)! I havent had success YET :) , but the treatment I have received thus far has been wonderful. You all connect with your patients and it shows! I just wanted to pass this along to you all incase you havent heard it before. It doesnt go unnoticed!
From day 1, we always felt cared for. Sometimes my impatience would get to me while waiting for results but Dr. MALIK was so sweet and kind with calling me personally and checking on me. Also front desk was always prompt and lovely. I never had any issues with financial or billing and they also provided medical records to my new OB same day I graduated.
My husband and I saw Dr.Swelstad today for our first visit and he was so great! He made us feel very comfortable and he was very knowledgeable. He made some jokes and put my nerves at ease and he asked questions to get to know us. He seems to love his work and genuinely care.We’ve been trying for about 2 years and we’ve been feeling so sad and low about it, but today Dr.Swelstad gave us hope and we feel excited.If you need fertility services, I highly recommend Dr.Swelstad, he’ll make you feel prepared and hopeful.
I had a great experience with Shady Grove, I did 2 IUI’s and thankfully my second one was successful! Everyone was very nice and professional, special shout-out to my nurse Jean, Dr.Browne, Dr.Swelstead, and Julie!! I was actually sad when I had to leave them and go to my OBGYN!
I dont wanna share a ton of personal data but I was dehumamized and treated like utter garbage at this place. I was supposed to get a blood test done on day 3 of my cycle but was out of town for a wedding on that day. I called when I returned to VA to let the clinic know and the receptionist YELLED at me! She actually yelled at me and scolded me for not coming in; as if I was a disobedient child. I was in tears by the end of the call and never went back. It was horrific.I did get a recommendation from my Dr to go try a different shady Grove in woodbrWood and that one was just as bad. Without doing any blood tests or having any conversation with me I was told to get a scale and then Immediately told I was too fat for any treatment.Please, please do not go to any Shady Grove clinic. These places are horrible.
Dr. Swelstad, is very knowledgeable, patient, and always willing to listen and answer any questions you have. Even when the outcome may seem hopeless he is always positive and encouraging and will explain the process again and again and the key to keep going and trust the process. I highly recommend him!
Shady grove is the best place to go. The staff are friendly and understanding on how sensitive one can be while going through the process. Me and my husband were lucky enouph to get pregnant on the first go with IUI. We were so emotional and cried when we were notified we got pregnant. We are now the proud parents of a three month old boy. Thank you Shady grove for making our dream a reality.
Updated review:I’ve had a good experience with shady grove thus far.Shady grove responded very quickly to an issue I had related to their mask policy. I sincerely appreciate the quick response and kindness. This issue was the only issue I’ve had at sgf, and it’s been resolved. Thank you!
Shady Grove has been professional and excellent in working with us through our infertility and embryo adoption journey. We are so thankful for their work, and how they have helped us grow our family.
HIPAA law states that a patient can request his or her medical records at any time, for any reason. It is a federal law. Shady Grove Fertility states that cannot release medical records to a patient if there is an ordering physician.They state that the “andrologists” (pronounced: lab tech) process the sample in another location and send all the remaining results.What happens if the results aren’t sent, get lost, or the fine folks here have no clue why the records never got sent?You find yourself in my situation. I went in to request my medical records and they said “you signed a release that says we won’t give you the information”.Apparently Shady Grove believes that:1) you don’t have a right to your records.2) Corporate Policy supersedes a federal mandate3) You can’t google lab results and gather some of your own information based on that.Needless to say, I was handed a “medical records request form” and was able to get my results. I wonder if they’d just left well enough alone if I hadn’t told them that I also work in medicine and know how protective HIPAA laws are for situations EXACTLY like this.With all these lovely steps in the medical INDUSTRY (emphasis mine), it’s obvious that there’s multiple ways to make money and make a simple issue so convoluted that it hinders the process instead of helping patients. Primum non nocere...etc
Fairfax office receptionist rude and unprofessional I went there on my appointment I have Medicare she saying we don’t except Medicare and we can’t see you don’t come back I offered cash or credit card payment but she said it’s law we can’t see Medicare patients that’s crazy if Medicare not covered we willing to pay cash
Awful, awful customer service. They literally never answer the phone. I have been calling for 3 days. No return call from my voicemails either. The other fairfax location actually answers the phone.
Highly recommending this place and Dr.Malik she is so professional and highly knowledge! I cant stop say thank you them the Best team and doctors!
I never had issue or anything. Everyone was nice and Dr. Browne was awesome!
Wish I could give zero stars there is no way to call this office to speak with someone they have the same recording no matter what time you call. Terrible!
Dr. Malik was very helpful, and we have enjoyed our visits.