Everyone at Shady Grove in Fairfax from the front desk staff to the nurses and doctors have been absolutely wonderful! We had a long fertility journey and wouldn’t have been able to do it without everyone’s support. Thank you team for giving us the greatest gift of all❤️
I am working with Dr. Garde and team at the Fairfax location, and everyone is really friendly. Dr. Garde is wonderful! Very patient and knowledgeable. All the nurses are kind, Emilie has been fantastic to work with. She is on top of it. Medical billing can be challenging to navigate but I’ve been working with Kimberly and she has made the process so much easier. She is super responsive and informative. I’m really thankful to this team.
Almost every single person here has made me feel supported and taken care of as we navigate a very uncertain situation. Shout-out to Kiana, who has a steady hand, a calm demeanor and a reassuring smile -- my veins are in literal good hands with her. Julie makes the ultrasound sessions fun and informative, and my interaction with her brightened my whole day. I really cannot say how valuable it is to have someone explain what is happening and what theyre seeing. Kayla took the time to help me estimate my needed refills with patience and kindness. Dr. Doyle is beyond impressive with her knowledge, demeanor and ability to answer every question with data (which she has prepared and ready to go). She has taken the time to follow up with me at almost every step.
Nurse Chameui was great to work with! She was very professional and helpful during my appointment. I didn’t even feel the needle stick while she was doing my blood draw, which is a big deal for me because I hate needles. Consummate professional and very friendly. :)
All the staff are super friendly and make sure all things are correct. Sometimes, because of all the visits, I could feel like I am already family of this place, especially Kimya with her treatment makes you feel like she has known you for years! Human quality and professionalism, as well as a lot of empathy!
The service at this location is consistently outstanding! I am always warmly welcomed and attended to promptly. A special Thank You to the phlebotomist/medical assistant’s (I cant recall their names, but I believe both begin with a K) who provide exceptional service! Also, a huge Thank you to the NP for taking the time to explain everything during my procedure. Thank you, ladies! Your care and compassion did not go unnoticed!
It is impossible to overstate my profound gratitude to the entire team at Shady Grove Fertility in Fairfax. Everyone - the front desk team, the lab team, the team handling the ultrasounds, the financial counseling team, the team of clinicians and support staff running the OR and other specialized procedures, and the doctors - they are the most personable, compassionate, and informed group of medical professionals Ive ever encountered. Ive been through so much with SGF at Fairfax - a successful pregnancy, IUIs, IVF, miscarriage and D&C, etc. Throughout it all, people like Kimberly O., Emilie S., Danielle K., Dominique L., Dr. Garde, and Dr. Levens have been there to support and guide my husband and me through this journey. We are forever grateful to them.
Growing our family was not an easy process, but under the care of Dr. Levens and his team, I felt heard and taken care of. He was willing to shift and try new things with each cycle which I deeply appreciated. After lucky IVF transfer number 3, my husband and I were blessed with twins! Thank you to SGF and the excellent care of Dr. Levens for helping us grow our family.
The front desk I spoke to on the phone today was incredibly rude. When I called to change the location of the appointment, the person who answered had a very unpleasant and disrespectful attitude towards me. I politely asked if there were any earlier appointment slots available at the Fairfax location, but instead of assisting me, she began yelling at me over the phone insisting on the same appointment slot. Its concerning to see that this seems to be a recurring issue, as others have also complained about similar experiences with the front desk staff. I hope that the management at SGF addresses this matter promptly and take care of this issue. They get paid to help patients not to have disrespectful attitude towards the patients.
I was lucky enough to get TuTu for my appointment yesterday and I couldn’t have been more grateful. She was so calming during my visit and helped me relax. The nurse working with her, which I didn’t get her name was also so kind. I felt very comfortable, which in these appointments can be hard. I also loved the positive post it’s notes on the door as I left 🩷
Update: Received a phone call and having my report emailed over to me. Unfortunately because of the communication issues I didn’t have my report on time but at least we will be receiving the report at the end of the day. Also didn’t need to have a release form signed I was informed so not sure what that was about initially. Thank you for the quick reply.I came to Shady Grove for an HSG test that I urgently needed but couldnt drive to our fertility clinic in Ohio to get at the time. Went to Shady Grove and had the test done and asked for my test results to be faxed to my OBGYN and fertility clinic in Ohio, Reproductive Gynecology and Infertility. My OBGYN sent in a request for the HSG as well and was never responded to. I called multiple times but the automated line kept hanging up on me since I am not technically a patient and everytime I talk to someone they say the same, I dont have a patient portal or anything set up so the existing patient line didnt work for me and kept dropping my call. I finally got through after my OBGYN called me the day before my hysteroscopy surgery saying they still had not received my records or report from SGF. I called, finally got through, and the woman said my records would be faxed over within 15 minutes. The following day, surgery day, I wake up from my procedure with a phone call from SGF saying I have a release to sign before they can send anything over to my OBGYN. POST SURGERY I find this out. At that point, my OBGYN gave up trying to contact them and I thought I had my records sent per the receptionist who told me she was sending them over.Clearly, there is some disconnect in how things are run over there. Not to mention how unbelievably painful the test was. I have worked with other clinics and my wife had her HSG done at our home clinic in Ohio and said she didnt feel a thing. I almost passed out....even the clinic told me if they know what they are doing then it shouldnt cause any pain whatsoever. Apparently I got someone having a bad day to do my procedure, that or they are incompetent. Will not be coming back to SGF and STILL waiting on my records to be sent over to my OBGYN to finish my treatment. We will see if those are ever sent.Lastly, SGF is a money grab. The prices they charge for their services is outrageous. Our clinic back home is 1/4 the cost and my wife who is ten years older than I got pregnant the very first cycle on IUI at age 37 with very low chances. RGI actually knows what they are doing and do it at a price that people can afford. It shouldnt cost an arm and a leg to start your family.
Medical professionals get this review above 1 star - thats a reflection of the business quality. In a 7 month time period we have experienced:- 3 basic issues in their prior authorization process- aggressive over collection (refusal of service if you dont pay before - no one will tell you thats the practice nor the cost) even after insurance attempting to reach them (no one picks up the billing dept phone and they do not call back)- care coordinator asking us about the status of scheduling procedures and medical instructions she was supposed to give us- surprise bills once you have completed all initial testing and mandatory counselingThere is another IVF facility about a 3 min drive away we recommend. The physician quality is not nearly enough to overcome the blatant money grab that is Shady Grove Fertility.If you choose SGF, be a hawk about your bills. They give a receipt that provides no information other than the paid amount. Always ask for a printed copy of the bill - youll see they frequently use uncoded entries to charge a manually entered amount. If you are aggressively over collected on like us, that will be how you get your refund from them when they bill insurance the next business day (they claim they dont). It will still require you to call your insurance to investigate and then the insurance company will reach out and should get the ball rolling on a refund roughly 3 months later.
Charmaine and all the medical assistant ladies have been very patient and provide great service. They know you by name and always make the constant blood draws and visits bearable by making you feel welcome.
Everyone was very warm and welcoming! The phlebotomist was exceptional. The encouraging words from the staff on the door in the exam room were very comforting. I always tell friends about the staff at SGF!
I’d highly recommend this practice, however, sometimes during the process I didn’t feel like I knew what to reasonably expect. If going through IVF, the doctors here are fabulous, but I’d also recommend joining a support group or talking to others who have been through the process. I have a happy and healthy baby, and I couldn’t be more thankful for that! If you need help growing your family, this is the right place.
Kimya is a true dream! She brings so much sunshine and light to an already daunting process, and makes the entire experience that much better every time! We are currently mid-process/ treatment, but between the front desk, phlebotomy staff, NPs Jessica and Stephanie, Dr. Levens, and all of the ultrasound techs, we have experienced nothing short of an abundance of care and compassion. Thank you all for making this journey as positive as it can be! We are crossing our fingers for a positive outcome, so it helps to have a great team to lean on.
The name “Shady Grove” couldn’t be more fitting, given the deceptive practices they engage in. We’ve been there over six times, and each visit has been a complete failure due to their ineffective procedures. Every single time, there was a massive discrepancy in the charges, which we had to dispute and resolve repeatedly. Beware before paying even a single cent to this place—this is a blatant case of medical billing fraud.
Nobody wants to need treatment for infertility, but if you do, the SGF Fairfax office makes it as easy as possible. My husband and I were patients there for nearly four years as we grew our family and every aspect, from checking in at the front desk to surgeries was efficient and painless. Making and showing up for your first appointment can be overwhelming and intimidating, but everyone who greets you and helps you get to the right location is friendly and helpful. I always appreciated that the staff took the time to learn my name. After daily appointments across many cycles, I didnt even need to check in, as they would give me a wave and send me right back. The front desk staff also made it so easy to get appointments. I start work pretty early about half an hour away from the office. When starting a cycle, they would have me book all of my morning monitoring appointments for the first timeslot of the day to ensure I had the earliest appointment possible. If I had a concerning ultrasound or had a question along the way, the nurses were always available by portal to answer questions, usually within minutes. When something more significant would happen, they made sure I heard from Dr. Levens or was able to get in for an appointment ASAP. Little things like that made a huge difference in several rounds of IUI and IVF feeling manageable.Some of the people you see most are medical assistants, and theyre the best! When we first sought treatment, I used to faint during blood draws. The medical assistants were so accommodating and always found a private room for me to lie down during my blood draws. That said, they were so painless and easy that I eventually became comfortable enough to sit and even watch! I was so spoiled by them and am sometimes reminded of how unpleasant it can be to get your blood drawn anywhere else.Although we finally have our two beautiful boys, our journey to parenthood was not straightforward. We experienced many failed cycles, a miscarriage, unexpected setbacks that required follow-ups, delays, and even surgery. The nurses and sonographers are so compassionate and reassuring that even the most discouraging visits are filled with hope and positive energy. Our amazing nurse called to check in and encouraged us following news of our miscarriage and when I finally got pregnant again, told us that she was so excited she almost fell out of her seat! The encouragement and support from everyone was real and made the toughest aspects even easier. Not only does this office have the minutiae down to a science, but everyone went out of their way to make sure I felt comfortable when dealing with some big things, like proceeding with IVF while my husband was deployed. We are forever grateful for the two miraculous children they helped us to bring into the world and recommend them to anyone!
This team is always super nice and warm, Charmaine has drawn my blood multiple times and extremely gentle. This whole team is a vibe from the moment I check in to when I leave.
Disclosure to start. After 3 years we were not successful in conceiving.That being said, there were positives and negatives about Shady Grove. After taking a month to reflect on our experience, we feel that Shady Grove has a few great doctors but our experiences in communicating with any person other than those few people to be sub-par and left us wishing we took more time to explore other companies.The good:Dr. Levans: we found him to be incredibly knowledgable, empathetic, and professional. We were highly satisfied with the times we were able to directly communicate with him. We felt he genuinely cared. We still trust him and if you do choose Shady Grove, we highly recommend him.The not so good:1. Front desk staff. We found them to be very inconsistent. Sometimes they were polite, accommodating, and knowledgable. Other times they were down right rude, unprofessional, and oddly combative. This isnt a cheap service. Were talking about the price of paying for a car. Because we were so invested financially in Shady Grove, we felt trapped and taken advantage of by some of the communications we had. All we hoped was for it to be successful to make up for all of the failures in basic customer service we experienced. When we tried to bring attention to our feelings, we were met with more combative behavior. It really hurt us.The totally unacceptable1. The finance department, specifically Alexandra Taborda (Fairfax Financial Advisor) First, it was impossible to reach her unless I escalated the issue to a manager through the front desk. This was the case through the entire 3 year process. We found that she never answers the phone. Her message states she will call you back within 2-3 business days. To my knowledge, this never happened. At every point where we needed to sign papers or ask financial questions, it took several calls, messages, emails, escalations, before she responded. We even had an open non hostile talk with her regarding the lack of correspondence, to our disappointment, the pattern still continued. It culminated with our exit from Shady Grove. We exhausted our last approved attempt in their shared risk program, (personally disappointing but we already were planning our next moves.I went through the normal (for Shady Grove) process of calling several times, leaving messages, not getting a response, and then finally escalating the issue. We finally got a call back. She gave us the an answer and said she would be sending the required paper work. A week went by. No paperwork. We found we were back to square one. Two weeks of phone calls with no response. Finally, took the step to escalate the issue again through their front desk. She called me and said she had forgot to sign the forms and was resending.In closing, my husband and I are career hospitality professionals. We both were shocked and surprised by the over the lack of basic communication skills. Because we were so vested in the process, and under pressure based on our age, we felt that we had no other option than to deal with it.Shop around. Be diligent. I cannot recommend Shady Grove based on our experience. I hope that there are better options out there for couples in our position. Best of luck.
The staff at this location are ALWAYS very friendly, accommodating and welcoming!From the ladies at the front desk (Batceba and Kelly) to all the nurses who I see in the morning, including Julie, Mrs. TuTu, Kiana, Kimaya, Charmaine, Jocelyn, Kelly and including Kayla who was so pleasant to speak with explaining next steps. These individuals have all contributed to making (what can be a very stressful process) a pleasant one!!!
I feel compelled to share my experience with Shady Grove Fertility, particularly under the care of Dr. Paulette E. Brown, as a cautionary tale for others considering fertility treatment from Shady Grove. I had high hopes for Shady Grove but the way they have treated me, both before and after they almost killed me, has been awful.I sought IVF treatment from Shady Grove Fertility because I was having difficulty achieving a healthy pregnancy due to egg quality issues. However, my experience turned into a series of severe medical nightmares.During my first and only egg retrieval procedure with Shady Grove, complications arose. Despite expressing immediate post-procedure pain, I was discharged home. Hours later, the pain intensified significantly, accompanied by severe abdominal pain, abdominal distension and shooting nerve pain up my back. Concerned, I contacted Shady Grove Fertility, who advised monitoring my symptoms which they thought were likely attributable to “minor internal bleeding” and seeking emergency care if I started vomiting or nausea occurred.As my condition deteriorated rapidly and I began having trouble breathing, I went to the ER. Tests/scans revealed significant internal bleeding, with a substantial blood clot in my abdomen and active bleeds from a damaged uterine vein in multiple locations. Shady Grove had punctured my uterine vein during the egg retrieval and somehow were not even aware that they had done so, not once, but twice. Emergency surgery and blood transfusions were necessary to stabilize my condition, stop the bleeding and save my life.Following the ordeal, I experienced weeks of anemia, accompanied by headaches and depression while recovering. Upon getting home from the hospital, Dr. Widra (DC Executive Senior Medical Officer and my main Doctor at Shady Grove) called me and stated that such incidents are relatively regular occurrences at Shady Grove, which was disheartening. He claimed that what happened to me happens to several of their patients each year and is an unfortunate known risk of retrievals. Shady Grove was unwilling to do anything to help us or make this right, despite the fact that we incurred thousands of dollars in medical costs to repair the damage that Shady Grove caused.When I switched fertility providers, my new Doctor was shocked by my experience at Shady Grove and confirmed that it had never happened at their practice to her knowledge or to the knowledge of her colleagues.Despite retrieving one genetically healthy embryo, my fertility journey with Shady Grove ended tragically with a spontaneous miscarriage, which I had never experienced before.After switching providers I had a second retrieval which went flawlessly, with no complications and we were able to retrieve 3 more healthy embryos. We transferred the first embryo and I got pregnant. At around 11 weeks, my uterus ruptured for unknown reasons (at the top, close to the location of where Shady Grove had punctured my vein in two places). I lost my healthy baby and had to undergo an emergency hysterectomy.My experience with Shady Grove Fertility and Dr. Paulette E Brown M.D. was horrendous and I fully believe (as do many of my doctors) that the damage to my vein directly caused my spontaneous miscarriage and hysterectomy.I urge prospective patients to seek fertility care from one of the many other options in the DC area. I know of one other patient who experienced a similar complication at the Shady Grove Maryland location.
The front desk staff is unprofessional, and lacking in competency regarding their duties. After visiting this facility for 3 separate appointments, I can tell you they did not make me feel comfortable as patient. In fact, my experience has been the complete opposite; If you have a child, they cannot come into the facility. Something about other women who do not have children. I understand it, but what about Moms who do? The Doctor zooms through the consultation appointment as fast as verbally possible. She left a tiny window of room for questions, but I felt more of a nuisance that she needed to get out of there, than a couple at their consultation appointment for infertility treatment. Also – no Doctor on site to prescribe blood pressure medication, if necessary, at any time. That is what I was told.We were referred to Shady Grove, however my husband and I have found a fertility specialist with better ratings, and that is better suited to fit our needs in this journey. Called them this morning, and I already feel better about our decision, from the first phone call. We wont be referring anyone to Shady Grove Fairfax.
My wife and I had a great experience with this team. From the front desk (shoutout to Elliot), to our doctors and especially the nurses, we were always met with kindness and attentiveness. Our baby turned 8 months old a few weeks ago, thanks to this incredible team!
Dr Rachana Garde and her team is the best Emilie Smith is the sweetest nurse ever she explains everything very good I really recommend them.
Worst billing department. A complete disaster. Charged for things I have already pay. I called for months back and forward to get help understanding my bill and correcting the charges. Voice messages are never returned. During the process, I felt like a laboratory rat, not like a human. The IVF process is stressful enough to then be dealing with wrong billing charges and lack of service. Please, save you time and money and look somewhere else.
I like going to this clinic. I feel very welcomed. This clinic is very clean. Nurses and doctors are very nice. If you have any questions at all, they are there to help 100%
Doctors and nurses seemed great, but we are having an absolute nightmare with their financial department. Their lack of communication and their tardiness and mistakes with insurance have jeopardized our ability to get time-sensitive treatment. I strongly advise others to be cautious with this facility if you are under urgent time constraints. Its abhorrent how nonchalant they seem to be when the stakes are this high.
Would not have my two biological children without Dr. Levens! Cannot thank him and his staff enough.
My husband and I are incredibly thankful for the warm and kind welcome from the entire Shady Grove - Fairfax team. They made the entire process easy for us, answered all our questions in detail, and we were in great communication with them from beginning to end. Thank you all for your amazing service.
I have had a pathetic experience with this clinic. Dr Rachana Garde is always booked fully whenever you want her appointment. They do not value customers time, money and emotions. After 1 st visit the doctor doesn’t communicate with the patients. It’s only the nurse team would convey the message. Also, the nurse team is very bad for following up with the patient. I would not recommend this place to anyone as it’s waste of time, money and most impt your emotions. I would not even give one star , but I had to, to post my comments.
The front desk people were so rude to me. I was trying to get a follow up appointment with the doctor and they talked to me with an bad attitude. And they said they cannot book me an appointment because some problem with the Columbia nursing team. I asked them if they can communicate with them because it was Columbia side who asked me to book an appointment. They did not want to help at all. The way they talked to me was really rude and made me uncomfortable. SGF you can do better! We are paying patients and customers.
I wish I could give 0 stars---I have been a patient here for over a year and have experienced just a dumpster fire of issues. IUIs were a complete nightmare--it seemed like no one opened my chart or knew what was going on and I was told multiple different things by different people--some of which related to the timing of the IUI itself which is really pretty important. Switched to IVF--and initially went smoothly, but the last few months have been hell. My most recent loss was sent for testing with results expected in 7-10 days. I continued to check in and was told no results...so after about 20 days I called the company testing my D&C directly only to be told the results had been sent to shady grove the week prior. Now Im attempting to get prior auth to thaw and test my remaining embryos (thankfully its covered but with proper documentation)...my insurance company keeps telling me no clinical documents have been received. This same issue happened for one of my last prior auth requests and it fell on me to continuing calling both shady grove and my insurance company repeatedly to get the issue resolved. After undergoing fertility treatment for a year suffering multiple back to back losses I am completely emotionally and physically drained. It should not fall on ME the patient to have to manage things between the insurance and the clinic and yet Ive had to spend countless hours on the phone with both places only to get nowhere. Oh and I tried to reach out to the patient advocate and their email is a complete SCAM! Its an undeliverable address- so dont waste your time. They clearly do not care at all about their patients at all and cant even do an adequate job despite being paid thousands and thousands of dollars. Currently looking into a fertility lawyer as I literally dont know what else to do at this point to get proper care.
The nurse who performed the HSG was very nice and explained everything to me. She made the experience a lot easier.
Wish I could give zero stars. Extremely poor customer service and multiple billing errors that never get resolved. Please avoid this business if you can and try to find a better suited infertility clinic to address your needs. This business is completely unprofessional and when I contacted them multiple times regarding billing issues they say they will be resolved but never do. This is extremely disappointing and frustrating. I will never return and never recommend this business to anyone. You have been warned.
I was facing chemo treatment and needing to preserve my eggs prior to treatment. First thing I must say is that this facility will pressure you to start doing unnecessary test as often as they can get you in just to run up your bill. I would caution to not start any testing with them until you are 100% ready to start the process (dont let them pressure you).I went to Shady Grove fertility Fairfax for an HSG procedure, which was required by my insurance company to approve my egg retrieval. I had researched the procedure and watch videos to make sure I understood how the procedure was supposed to go before hand. I understood that it could be a little uncomfortable and cause cramping, but that did not bother me because I have a high threshold for pain. This is a procedure where they insert dye in your fallopian tubes to detect any blockages.The technician and nurse were having the hardest time inserting the catheters with the dye and the next thing I know the dye exploded all on my exposed body. This was very traumatizing. The nurses attempted again but it seemed like they didnt know what they were doing and the pain was horrendous. I couldnt continue with the procedure. Never in any of my research did I see a potential situation like dye exploding all over you mentioned. Fast forward a few weeks later I get a bill for $500, for a half done job for images that were not of good quality to show anything. The experience was so horrible that I gave up on my hope for future egg retrieval, as I had to start my chemo ASAP and didnt have time to start the process all over again somewhere else. I tried to call the SGF Fairfax, VA location to discuss the situation and the manager Stephanie had very little sympathy for my situation and experience. Nothing she could do she said bluntly. Well, I will make sure to never recommend anyone to Shady Grove do to their lack of concern and care for their patience experience and well-being during such a challenging time.
Although IVF was challenging for us, I am so thankful for the experience provided by Shady Grove Fairfax location. The nurses and staff were always very polite, accommodating and personable which made the frequent visits pleasant. I am thankful for my doctor, Dr. Levens. He is a straight shooter and always kept things very honest with me which I appreciated during a time of uncertainty because as we know the success of IVF is not guaranteed. Communication about billing, appointments, test results and procedures were always clear and open. Whenever I had a question, the nursing staff was quick to respond through the phone or via email. I would recommend the SGF Fairfax office to anyone who is dealing with infertility. I am thankful for a great experience and am blessed to be 6 months pregnant with my first child with the help of the SGF Fairfax team.
Everyone at this office is great! You are never there waiting long. When you have an appointment you can feel assured that you will be attended quickly and not have to wait forever. Everyone is so helpful and they honestly care about you as a patient. They answer every question in a timely manner and if you call them, they call you back so quickly. This office is great and Dr. Doyle and her team are the best!
Highly recommended, they are very professional, friendly, and knowledgeable, the place is beautiful and super clean.
Wonderful experience, everyone from the nurses, doctors to the front desk staff- overall a great atmosphere! Everyone was super welcoming and made me feel important, I cant say enough great things about the Fairfax office. Additionally, the office manager Courtney Schmidt is amazing! She took time out of her day to see my husband and I to explain the IVF injection process thoroughly to us. 10/10 recommend this office to anyone looking to undergo fertility treatments!!
Horrible experience. Left this location feeling scared, worried, frustrated, and in tears (as if this journey isnt stressful enough). I was led to believe something could seriously be wrong with my reproductive health and when staff refused to answer any of my follow on questions I asked to speak with a doctor on staff...which also never happened. When the RN could tell I was seriously concerned and frustrated with the information shared with me (or lacktherof) SHE looked to have an attitude with me for trying to gain clarity on what was and remained terrifyingly vague. This visit was a disappointment and raised serious concerns about their professionalism and customer service. Very unfortunate.
I cant thank Dr. Nicole Doyle and her nursing staff enough. I had such a positive journey from the start. Dr. Nicole is a wonderful, caring, and understanding doctor who assisted me in becoming pregnant not once, but twice. Unfortunately, the first pregnancy was a chemical pregnancy. With my second pregnancy, I graduated from SGF yesterday at 8 weeks.Dr Nicole Doyle always called me, from egg retrieval to transfers to beta tests. She is so nice that she even called me while she was on vacation. On the phone, she never rushed me. Always listened and responded to all of my questions.All of my nurses were wonderful, and even the nurses who took my blood tests were rooting for me and praying for me.I had a positive experience with my financial coordinator as well. I assumed my insurance would not cover ivf and was prepared to pay out of pocket, but it was my financial coordinator who went out of her way to contact my insurance company to ensure I was covered.In addition, I received a refund check from SgF that I was not expecting for overpaying. It was very thoughtful of them to double-check everything and refund it without asking.This is the best fertility location. You will not be let down.
Please stay away, they do not care about you. No knowledge or information provided and expect patients to know what exactly they need to do and schedule.Nurse Michelle is rude and unhelpful. To know this is the industry that is supposedly bringing hopes and lives to women is truly disappointing.
I think the stress caused by SGFs (Arlington/Fairfax location) sometimes rude front desk staff (I think mostly the supervisor who may or may not be there anymore) AND the HORRIBLE experiences with the billing department actually made it harder to make a baby! The billing department in particular seemed to willfully try to help as little as possible AND would only demand pay now, pay now, pay now instead of working with us to resolve issues they said couldnt be resolved, that through my wifes hard work were resolved and proving SGFs intransigent, or incompetent, staff wrong. SGF staff offered NO help in resolving our issue. So disappointing and frustrating. I have honestly never been more angry with any company than I was with SGF... if your mission is to help people than employ people who want to help people! I will say the doctor was good and we have a very awesome little man to show for it but I think we worked harder for it than SGF who seemed to have worked against it at times. If we ever tried again it would NOT be here. I was so unhappy with their service I sometimes use SGF as a bad word. I would NEVER recommend them.
I’d like to share that I originally contacted SGF Fairfax after pursuing IUI’s at a clinic in North Carolina so I have prior experience with another fertility clinic. I also contacted SGF in hopes to start IVF two months later once we moved to Fairfax.SGF has been nothing short of incredible from my first call, until now during my 2 week wait. The communication leading up to our move was great and I’m particularly appreciative how much the staff worked with me to get all the prerequisites done while I was remote. Once I moved, we hit the ground running.The entire staff including the front desk staff, nurses, embryologists, financial team, and Dr. Levens himself have been completely attentive to my cycle. When we had one hiccup at the beginning of my cycle, my nurse waited an extra day for Dr. Levens to make a decision, which I appreciated. This was comply different than my first clinic where the nurse would consult any doctor that happened to be there that day. Anytime I wanted to know the opinion of my actual doctor, I had to make and pay for that five minute appointment. It’s not like that at SGF. You’re doctor knows your specific needs and it shows.The facility itself is beautiful. Monitoring appointments are quick and have a good rhythm. I was particularly impressed with the team that worked on my egg retrieval. That section of SGF is set up like a hospital and the staff was great at communication. They put me completely at ease.My nurse sent me an encouraging portal message the morning of transfer, which I will cherish. Communication has been great. I’ve never wondered or really had questions because the thorough communication from my nurse normally beat me to it.I’ve had friends pursue IVF at other clinics and their experience doesn’t compare. I’m so happy we chose SGF for IVF. IVF is tiring and an emotional rollercoaster thanks to the hormones. Fortunately the least of your worries is care and communication from your IVF team at SGF.
While my fertility treatment was coordinated out of the Fredericksburg office over the past 3 years (please see the review for that office), I went to the Fairfax office for specialized tests and procedures that required their xray machine, andrology and embryology labs, and procedure room and staff. The location was also impressively easy to get to, despite my aversion to driving in Northern Virginia. The Fairfax and Fredericksburg offices, together, offered excellent coordination across the many tests, treatments and facilities, which is impressive for any medical practice. Test results were given in real time (ultrasounds) or as soon as possible, usually same-day (bloodwork). They are very efficient and timely and staff were kind and compassionate through all of my tests and procedures. Also, Shady Grove really utilizes their patient portal and I received numerous supportive personal phone calls from the staff to answer my questions along the way. Excellent care. They were honest about success rates and up front about costs. I will add that I had 3 unsuccessful treatments and 2 successful treatments. Shady Grove staff were supportive across all scenarios.
Tutu and Myra were wonderful. Felt very comfortable during my HSG.
Thank you for turning me away when I asked for fertility meds. Because of you guys I am now almost 10 weeks pregnant. Well thanks to my doctors that heard me. Gave me what my body needed. I strongly feel you guys are money motivated. Not here to help women in devastating situations.
Wonderful, friendly, knowledgeable, patient, and helpful staff. They take the time to really explain and answer questions. Couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to help me with this journey. HIGHLY recommend.
The worst but you have no choice. It’s been…six months and counting. We thought we did all the tests but no, they love to string you along. Six months and now we need to do the genetic testing ($4000) and maybe, just maybe, we can proceed with the $19,000 IVF pushed by everyone there. I am the *most*patient human alive but these people pushed me to the brink. Terrible process, terrible experience. No one communicates. We saw the doctor twice and I’m pretty sure he didn’t know why the second time.
My wife and I didn’t have a good experience at this clinic. We felt like we were treated as a number and our concerns weren’t regarded. We also felt like communication was bad between doctors. We weren’t given any reason after our first retrieval failed and our plan for the was exactly the same without any kind of modifications for the second.When my wife came in for her transfer day, they made her come in at 9 am without her even knowing if there would be anything to transfer. She got undressed and ready for the procedure, only for the doctor to come in and say there wasn’t anything viable to transfer, her progesterone was too high (this was never monitored between ER and transfer), and then that she had a choice between transferring something that likely wouldn’t work and freezing. She felt like she was being rushed into a difficult decision while in a vulnerable state which was really terrible. There was also a lot of confusion between doctors on if we were doing fresh or frozen transfer.We’re moving on to a new clinic now and they’ve told us we need to pay for any medical records we request, but they can’t even tell us which information is in before we pay.
The care I received during my IVF cycle was great. All of my clinical team including Dr.Garde was professional and attentive.After my failed IVF cycle in April I received a voicemail from the weekend nursing team telling me the pregnancy test was negative. I accepted that because there’s no guarantee.What really bothers me is I NEVER received one phone call from my Doctor or anyone from my clinical team to follow up on me-no “How are you?” Or anything. It would’ve been nice...
I had great first experience with Shady Grove that led to my beautiful daughter. However, my second experience has been awful. After consulting with another practice, I was explained lab results to me that SGF never shared & would have been beneficial in deciding how to move forward with treatment. Additionally, I paid upfront a large amount of money for a procedure that was never carried out. I have now been fighting to get a refund for almost 6 weeks. So disappointed and upset and I would NEVER recommend SGF to anyone.
Shady Grove Fertility is simply exceptional. While IVF is time-consuming, costly and complex, the staff at Shady Grove make it their mission to deliver outstanding healthcare, a true rarity. Besides the physicians, the place is entirely staffed by bright young women, which makes for a surprisingly pleasant and comfortable experience. Dr. Levens was my doctor and he was kind, understanding, and I always felt safe in his care.Communication is at the core of what makes this place so great. It consistently exceeded my expectations and quickly became my favorite thing about Shady Grove – a nurse from your team will call to relay results and next steps, while the patient portal messaging system is used to re-relay information and easily communicate with your team on a regular basis. Your doctor will likely communicate big news, but it is the nurses that really shine. I was truly impressed by their medical knowledge and ability to solidly answer pretty much any and all questions; thank you ladies.The patient portal and website houses many nicely crafted educational video modules that clearly explain the process, the science, and the probabilities, which all aid in providing the language you need to communicate, strengthen understanding, and set realistic expectations.Your team includes a financial coordinator who handles the hassle of insurance and financial planning. I worked with Grace who was lovely, smart, and always went out of her way to clearly communicate expected insurance coverage, anticipated challenges, and spent hours on the phone with my insurance company - something I was grateful I did not have to add to my plate.The facility itself is clean and polished; a haven compared to your typical doctors office. There are many appointments (~10 in a 3 week cycle) and they are always on time (>90% of wait times between 30 seconds and 5 minutes). I live over an hour away and was very appreciative of their punctuality. The IVF medications can seem daunting but they use a pharmacy home delivery system that simplifies the process, there’s a great back-up pharmacy in the building, and every medication has a video module to demonstrate administration.Other than finding the right fertility facility, the best thing you can do for yourself is ensure that you have good (perhaps great) insurance to ease the process.I intended to write this review the day of my first egg retrieval, prior to any potential embryos and free from the biases that come with a success story, but alas, life was a little busy. I write now, in great anticipation for my first frozen embryo transfer next week. It is a challenging journey, and if you are searching for the best place, this is it.
The nursing and mdeical staff were wonderful but I think I was completely blindsided and communication was not clear on the cost of the service provided. I was told to pay up front since it was not covered under my insurance so I paid in full the amount they provided me. I was soon to find out that a bill for the remaining portion (which I was not informed about) was mailed to my home. I called but the billing staff didnt seem to care much about my concerns. Very disappointing in an already scary and vulnerable position.
Kiana and everyone here is amazing!! They make the visit so quick and comfortable ❤️
Once you get in the door, you wont be able to get doctor appointments unless you schedule one month ahead. For fertility patients need to know their cycle and then schedule appointment so you would miss your treatment cycle here. Often time there is really no need for an appointment for the prescription but they requires such thus resulted in delays of the treatment.
Beautiful facility and I really liked Dr. Garde and the NP, Tutu was amazing and so comforting. The providers here really care. They are what prevent me from leaving one star.The rest of navigating this process is a nightmare. From the front desk who are not responsive and at time rude or dismissive to your questions, to financial authorization who is never clear about what your cost will be, to the nurses and case managers who provide confusing instructions, this has been a disappointing experience to what is already an overwhelming time.The follow up is confusing-- you have an inbox which is sent several messages from different nursing staff who never quite seem to be on the same page (for example, I get a phone call asking if Im going to start IUI even though a few weeks ago I messaged via the portal that I would like to start IUI). Lots of things have also been dropped to the point Im threatened to have my cycle canceled because THEY overlooked that I needed to get bloodwork done, and this was after they collected my deposit for a cycle. Youre left scrambling trying to find a place to draw your blood and when you work 12 hour shifts, its hard to find the time. The portal is worthless, theres labwork section but no labwork is ever uploaded nor are the treatment estimates. Ive had to follow up on insurance authorization on my own. They forget to send meds to the speciality pharmacy which again I have had to follow up with on my own. Ive had to ask financial authorization several times about whether theyve initiated the prior authorization only to get a reply days later. Ive had a nurse give me wrong interpretation of my husbands semen analysis. The list goes on and on. My GYN says he can never get them to fax records over, despite his staff calling.Im in healthcare and so am more forgiving than most because I understand the stress the staff can go through and how tiny things can slip through the cracks. This is why Ive let so many things go but when I find myself crying in a Walgreens because of the possibility of them cancelling a cycle due to their own oversight after Ive already paid a deposit, well, its time to move on. This is not good care and for the price and stress of going through infertility, not the place to be.
I am giving them 5 stars ✨ this is whyWe were trying to have a baby 👶 for the last 4 years and in 2017 we went to shady grove in Leesburg location with Dr. Khan, he is a great guy. He cares and he is really cool. Give you enough time. I really appreciate his service but the nursing and financial care team is the worst team ever. No, follow up at all, they dont answer the phone even you call them and leave them a voice mail you will not get the callback so we decided to quit the process. Dont get me wrong There were other contributing factors too but mainly the service was not good enough. I say service, not the care. The nursing team was not in the level of caregiving just service level. But in the process we were informed the option to try IVF by Dr khan.In April we want to try IVF. This time we didnt want to have the same experience by going back to Leesburg office. We checked the record and decided to go to Fairfax location with Dr. Grady, from day one video call until now, she is great and I cant thank her and the whole team enough. They are super. They care always follow up. We never called them. The team is always a step ahead of us. If she needs care or checks up they call and schedule an appointment. Whole processes were simple for us due to the team effort and commitment. The nurse coordinator is Lavona Williams. What a nurse she is, we cant ask more from her she was super. thank you very much indeed.My wife is now in 3rd weeks of pregnancy and we are happy everything is going very well and we 100% recommend this place and the team for IVF treatment or other fertility treatment case.Ones again thank you so much Dr. Grady, nursing coordinator Lavona plus whole team thank you thank you thank you
Shady Grove is very definitely shady. I called them for my out of state doc who wanted two ultra sounds done for Day 3-5 of my cycle. The staff took my info and told me it should be no problem. I drove 35 mins and made my appt but was treated unprofessionally. I gave both orders to the front office staff. Later the nurse came and told me they couldnt perform them because the order wasnt signed. I tried to show her emails from the nurse to me but I understood it needed to be signed, and I even mentioned thanks for trying. She gave me back 1 order - I asked where is the other order, the nurse insisted there was only one. I specifically told here there are two orders and they are very similar ultrasounds, but different. Upon leaving the nurse and front office staff members told me no there is no other order. I needed the other order to get the ultrasounds done else where. I asked where the 2nd one was, the nurse said they were the same (they werent, they were two different types of ultrasounds). I talked to staff and wanted the 2nd one back and they said I only gave them 1 order. I know I gave them 2 orders! I was already upset I couldnt get the order done on the specific day I needed it, and now Im being lied to that I only gave them 1 order. When I left, I felt like they were staring at me and I heard at least one of the staff laughing as I left. I talked to my hubby in the car and he was mad since he knew I had 2 orders when I went in. He called them to ask again and they said they shredded it! He asked why would they do that when they knew I was searching for it, she had the nerve to say I did not ask for it! He asked to please go retrieve the order from the shredding room and she told him she cant because it would be privacy violation! He went up there and had the nurse get access to the room and the 2nd order was found in the bin. I cant believe they would lie about this situation.
I had an amazing experience with Shady Grove Fertility Fairfax! Dr. Eric Levens, M.D. and his nursing team offered superior customer service skills and were always willing to answers questions throughout my egg freezing process! I personally had a wonderful experience with Alice RN and Sarah RN (on Dr. Levens team)- as they were with me every step of the way and explained all of my ultrasounds, bloodwork, and answered all of my questions in great detail. I would highly recommend Dr. Levens, as he went out of his way to fit me into his busy schedule for my 2nd round of egg freezing. Dr. Levens and Alice- truly care about their patients and love what they do! Dr. Levens has a very customer-centric team- with a great response rate to all questions/appointments/and fertility results. I would highly recommend him and Shady Grove Fertility Fairfax!Courtney
I, unfortunately, have been a patient here for longer than desired. We had a successful round of treatment that I lost due to premature labor. But Dr. Saffan and his staff were amazingly kind and encouraging as I was pondering trying again. Had it not been for his concern and kind words just after losing my daughter, I probably wouldn’t have gone back. But I did! The entire staff was welcoming and very positive as I returned to start all over! They have become my family and I wouldn’t trust my care to anyone else!
Charmaine is warm and excellent at what she does. Thank you!
I have undergone multiple rounds of IVF here. While Dr. Levens and the OR and ultrasound team at Fairfax are wonderful, communication with the staff is awful. Different staff members tell me different things and seem annoyed by my questions even when they pertain to medical procedures. I had a painful experience at the Rockville location when they sent me there for my transfer last round. I did not have my usual doctor and the new one was very rough during the procedure and then told me it was because my bladder was too full, which is a requirement for the transfer. No apologies for the pain I experienced or follow up. There is also a new group of staff taking blood and they never get blood on the first try. The woman taking my blood today was frustrated when i asked her not to draw blood from the same arm where i had an IV line inserted yesterday for a procedure and when she couldn’t get blood on the first try, she went to the arm where I had the IV and put the needle in so forcefully that I bled through the bandaid immediately. When I asked for a new bandaid they gave me one and then told me to move out of the way. There is no empathy for the patient experience and this stress is certainly not helping this process. While I understand everyone is stressed from COVID, this is not the way to treat people.
We have been very very happy with Shady Grove Fertility. When another fertility clinic failed to perform an embryo transfer for us, we thought all hope was lost. We decided to go to Shady Grove, and they were able to perform the transfer with no problems. We owe our deepest thanks to them (Dr. Brown especially) for giving us the possibility of having our son who we are so happy to have in our lives today.
I had to have an HSG test as Im going through the testing phase of my journey. I couldnt get an appointment to have it done near my home so I opted to go to the Fairfax office. The office is clean and bright. The desk staff were friendly. The ladies who conducted my test were amazing. They explained everything to me, made sure I was ok. Shady Grove is absolutely wonderful!
Max, Angie, Dr. Durst were amazing for our surgery. Thanks!
I would give 0 star if I can. This Clinic is the worst of all DC areas fertility clinics (yes, I have visited them all). SGF is interested purely in money. They push you to do rounds and rounds of IVF if they can, dont even try to make the best of earlier rounds or IUIs. They may have nice offices, or well-spoken staffs, but they have no interest in giving you a quick result or keeping your health in mind. During my first round of IVF, even I noticed that the follicles were getting too large, yet they increased the dosage for stimulation for another 3-4 days. In addition, when one ultrasound technician measured the follicle sizes to be smaller than the sizes from two days ago (follicles grow at 1.4mm per day, and it was already on the 12th-ish day of the stimulation), neither the doctor nor the technician found it strange, doubted the measurement and bothered to re-measure. Instead the doctor simply decided to increase the dosage again for another 3 days when at that point the largest was already at 20mm. In the end, of course, the follicles were beyond mature and there was nearly no egg retrieved out of more than 12 follicles. Whats more, due to the abnormally long stimulation, fresh transfer was impossible to be done, and the egg quality was too low to survive in the lab for a frozen embryo transfer. After this complete failure of the IVF, instead of reflecting on the mistake, or advising the patient to take a break, the doctor and the clinical team immediately pushed to start another round, and suggested that the failure last time was due to empty egg syndrome, so they would need to use even more aggressive stimulation drugs and procedures in the next round. For a female under 35 with no obvious reason for infertility, this is purely greed for money. I switched to GWU fertility after this round. The doctor at GWU advised me to take a break for about 3 months before another round, and we were successful immediately with very standard dosages and a normal stimulation procedure. In addition, I was lucky that my insurance covered almost 100% of my IVF costs -- even so, SGF managed to come up with a policy to charge me more for co-pays. They claim that for the same monitoring (blood work and ultrasound) visit, if on one visit, the doctor is free and manages to review (without you knowing about it or talking to you afterwards about it) your ultrasound when you are still in the clinic (say, getting dressed after the ultrasound), then you will get charged for an office visit even if there is no conversation between you and the doctor specifically about the ultrasound; however, if you leave the office soon enough that the doctor doesnt get to review your results (and review it after you have left), then you will not get charged for the office visit. Therefore, for the same type of ultrasound visits, for some of them they get to charge you more for the office visit without you even knowing about it or being able to verify it. When I questioned them about where this policy was written and where I could find it, they (a representative named Leslie on the phone) told me it was not their responsibility to inform the patients about their billing policy (?!). All in all, avoid this fertility clinic!!! They may have nice offices and equipments, but they certainly dont have your best interest at heart, and they charge way more than some other clinics. Doctors at GWU and Dominion are so much more meticulous in finding out the best treating plan, and way more responsible for your health.
Stay away from this clinic, they are just running their business and trying to steal your money.
An utter nightmare. So far this whole thing has cost more than twice what I was originally quoted, bordering on $40k, and has been a complete failure. Yes, I contacted the owners who respond on here as if they have no idea of the horrors that go on, but they didnt return my emails once I had paid up front. I am still owed another cycle that I have prepaid for but my doctor is too busy and Im not allowed to switch to another doctor. Im having to find another fertility practice to get to speak to a doctor.Also, the medical staff left me covered in bruises from the many failed attempts to draw blood (which is a near daily requirement at some points) and ignored my requests for sensitivity during the egg retrieval - they explicitly went against my request not to be completely unconscious despite agreeing to it.Its also impossible to get ahold of anyone in the office, you just leave endless voicemails and nameless people eventually call you back but not if its after 3pm or the weekend. The instructions for all the injections were a complete nightmare, you are on your own with youtube trying to work out what med has been swopped out for the other meds - and the kickback arrangements they have with the pharmacies mean you are paying twice as much ($6-7k per cycle) as you would with goodrx or other providers.Ive gone through some traumatic and invasive things in my life but this is a living hell. Go ANYWHERE else if you can. They shuffle so many women through here the office wait times can be long, the staff are impatient and unfriendly, with a few exceptions, and you just feel like cattle being herded. Once you have paid them they couldnt be less interested in you.
Love the all staff and the service here. Highly recommend this Shady Grove facility.
Though my primary experience has been with the Woodbridge office, I went to this Fairfax office for an HSG. During the procedure, I passed out (I have an oversensitive Vagus nerve) and the team went above and beyond to make sure I was okay afterwards and able to drive myself home. In addition to that, I have an 18 month old son that was conceived through IVF with SGF. I am very satisfied with the care I have received up until now and we are continuing to use their services for our upcoming frozen embryo transfer.
We just switched to Leesburger clinic which is much closer to us. I just want to acknowledge my nurse at fairfax -Danielle who is an absolute star. She goes an extra mile as a nurse and truely cares for the patients she works with. For her outstanding service, I will give it a 5 star rating.,
I would give zero stars if I could. Unfortunately, SGF lacks the emotional sensitivity, attention and care to interact with people going through fertility challenges. There is no follow up, minimal communication with no sharing of important or helpful information, robotic and cold communication with the staff when it occured, no ability to speak directly with the physician and no efforts to work with insurance in any capacity. The lack of customer service and human touch, in this kind of field, is astounding.
Everyone was kind and welcoming. I was explained very well the procedure and what was the expectation. The NP and nurse were very attentive and made every effort to ensure I was comfortable. I would return any time to this location and any other location I have used in the past.
At SGF, Fairfax Dr. Shruti Malik and all staff were really nice, kind and caring. They explained the procedure very well and made sure at all times Im very much comfortable. Overall, the whole team went above and beyond! I’m very much satisfied and I highly recommend her! Thanks.
Every encounter was wonderful. Staff (including Dr. Garde) are caring, empathetic, and have gone out of their way for us. They made an overwhelming, worrisome journey so much easier.
On the front desk people employee (silvia)horrible behavior. This kind Of condition patient already Has lots of stress and behavior of Front desk people need more nice and gentle ... after My comments and decision Is your .
If you are thinking to come here you get caring Doctor and staff you are WRONGThe whole shady grove it’s a factory and business , it’s like a dealershipThe financial department throw at you wrong info and only charges you without even checking your coverage the doctors do not even spend time for you not even one hour for the whole treatmentThe nurses are not education and knowledgeable at all I have few cases that the nurse even gave wrong solution and answer !!It’s unbelievable how much they charge poor women and n return no service it’s a factory of business men and women that cannot act like humansIt’s unbelievable and since there are many women out there with fertility issue and higher range of ages in need of iVF literally they don’t care to lose patients cos they know there are hundreds in line for shady !!!
I wish there were more companies on the field, so these guys will have to close their business. It’s insane how they don’t want to answer calls and treat people with disrespect because they are new patients.
Changed my mind about this place. Had some struggles with the admin staff in the past but all is forgotten after my beautiful twins Ave-Marie and Noah.
Very rude tech and the physician I had didn’t thoroughly review my options and just proceeded to end the virtual visit.
Its a relief to take steps towards starting a family. I am grateful for Shady Groves help in my journey!
The first consultation visit costs $230. Nobody would tell you beforehand.
Refused to give me results of a test that I paid for out or pocket - very unprofessional facility
Staff was very rude!! Pick another location if you consider Shady Grove.
The best thing, it gave me the greatest happiness, thanks to all the professionals who work there, we are parents of a beautiful child. They have the best doctors and the best professions... thank you very much