Overlake OB/GYN

well, if you want to spend an hour on hold to ask a question about your health this is the place for you! I have been here for a year seeing DR. Paley, and I will no longer be coming back since I cannot even make an appointment without spending a hour on hold. My advice go to UW obgyn.

While it has been many years, I am SO glad I left Ann Kolwitz! She delivered my son and treated me for part of my second pregnancy. When I had a subchorionic hematoma with my daughter and thought I lost her, Ann told me to let my body pass her (heartbeat still strong) and that I could always have another baby. She told me to stop taking progesterone supplements and to not go on bed rest. I’m so glad I didn’t listen. My daughter is healthy, happy and almost 10! I went to another local OBGYN with my second pregnancy and was shocked to see my bp went down immediately… I was told that was common when Ann’s patients left her and came to their practice. She is cold, mean and doesn’t care. Don’t let her be part of such a sacred time in your life! I’m going through a medical scare right now and I’m so thankful I don’t have to rely on her for medical advice and reassurance.

I had my first baby delivered at UW hospital and the OB visits and procedures went very smooth. As we were moving to the eastside, I chose Overlake OBGYN. Dr Otto is nice and helpful. However, I have to say that the receptionist is not as professional as I thought and I had really bad experience talking to the billing manager Cathy Scheroeder.
As soon as I found out myself pregnant, I called the reception to schedule the first ultrasound. At that time, I knew exactly what the conceived day was, but the receptionist insisted that I will be at 6^th weeks on 10/​05/​2015, which I think I’ll only be at 4^th weeks. I thought they should be more experienced than me, and finally I settled down to go there on ¹⁰⁄₀₅. However, I was told my baby could have been dead because they couldn’t hear the heart beat, or it might be too early. I knew it’s too early before I went there, but telling a mom that her baby might have gone is something that could scare her. And I don’t know what to do. I emailed my OB doctor at UW to get a second opinion.
Luckily, when I went to Overlake OB again 3 weeks after, Dr. Otto found the heartbeat and told me the baby was fine. I don’t blame Dr. Otto because she didn’t schedule my first ultrasound.
Later I found I was charged twice for both ultrasounds visits, each for almost $ 200. I called the billing manager to discuss whether we could cancel or at least adjust the amount of the first claim, but got a very unfriendly response.
Cathy Schroeder, the billing manager of Overlake OBGYN, is not a reasonable person. She interrupted me most of the time, and told me that she is not going to adjust the payment amount, and she’ll let the nurse explain to me why I need to pay.
I have had one similar situation in the past, when my son had a fever and saw the pediatrician, she didn’t tell us what to expect in the next few days, which ended up we going to see the pediatrician once more. We were billed twice, but the clinic adjusted the first payment to less than half of the price. Compared to that, seems like Overlake OBGYN billing manager doesn’t want to listen or negotiate, and patients have to pay whatever amount on the claims even though they think it’s unfair.

I heard many negative reviews about Becca, Dr. Lawler’s nurse in review sites, so I was a bit hesitant to see Dr.Lawler. But Dr. Lawler had many good reviews, so I still went ahead.
Sure enough, Becca the nurse was one of the most unsympathetic and easily annoyed person. Pregnant women especially need nurses/​doctors who can care for them because they might already be afraid of this whole pregnancy thing. It could be their first time, etc.
I hope Dr. Lawler takes this kind of feedback seriously about his nurse Becca and take some action on this for long term relationship with his patients.

The 2* are for Dr OTTO she is amazing and always so sweet and personable. She delivered my first one and will deliver my second one. Front desk is a joke. New office is a joke. Absolutely no customer service unapologetic and very very rude. If it wasn’t for the wonderful Doctor Otto I would never step foot there. Usually wait time is at least 30 min sometimes an hour sometimes an hour and a half. No apologies not even from the manager there. Her response is there’s nothing we can do. They never call me back not even to tell me my test results. Ive gotten numerous blood tests and no call back I only find out about my lab work when I go in for my next appointment. Front desk/​nurses need a customer service reinforcement class or need to start being nice and not rude. You have a job because of patients like me and the rest who go there! Have some respect.0* for the front desk and 5* for Dr Otto. Wish she would open her own practice

This being my first pregnancy and baby I had no idea what to expect when it came to the amount of appointments you will actually go to when expecting. This office was recommended to me by a family member and I didn’t do any research regarding this particular office or any others (in hindsight I wish I had). My particular doctor (Dr. Graham) was wonderful! She was extremely knowledgeable and friendly and her nursing staff was awesome. The office staff on the other hand was a whole other experience. Every single appointment I waited anywhere from 15 – 45 mins after my appointment time (and 15 mins was a good day and maybe happened once or twice, it was usually the ladder). I once was waiting and it had been about a half hour and another women was also waiting. After about another 10 mins (40 mins for me) she got up and asked how much longer because she had been there for about an hour. The front desk receptionist informed her that her doctor had left for the day and they forgot she was there! The poor woman had to make another appointment for the next morning and was extremely upset. If I get pregnant again I probably won’t be coming to this office. Moral of the story if your time is important to you do not come here!

I see the midwives here. I have had two babies with them. One complicated pregnancy and a VBAC. I love that they are so quick to return calls. If they’re in delivery their nurse always gets back to me in less than an hour. I love that their practice is small, so one of them will be at my delivery and I really know them! I have had both Lori and Peggy (retired last year) delivery my babies. Great experiences with both– I guess as great as childbirth gets. Can’t say enough positive things about these ladies. My husband and I think here great.

The OB GYN I went to for years retired, so I had to find a new one. I had some bad luck with a couple other clinics, then found Dr. Jonathan Paley. I like him very much, very nice guy.
Not sure how many Docs they have here. this is one jumpin, jammin place! Tons of people in the waiting room, very very busy. An appointment was harder to get than some other places when I first called. I am «older» and came for an annual check up. Wow, I felt like a freak, as every other person in the waiting room was a pregnant woman and her significant other.
I am disabled and the parking for their building is not great… hard to find a close in space, no handicapped. Again, they were sooooo busy!
I was just there one year ago, and did not like that I had to fill out FOUR PAGES of medical forms and personal info all over again! My middle name, birthdate, sons, previous pregnancies, etc. did not change in the interim. Why have to fill all that out again? And then, after filling it all out— complaints, meds I am taking, etc. — - first the nurse, then the Dr. asked me those same questions that I had written on the forms for them. Then why fill out the forms, if you are going to ask me???
Otherwise, staff was pleasant, office was pleasant, and I did like the Doctor, although this does not feel like «home» to me as some of my other Drs. do. At least not yet. But I like them better than a couple others I tried, so guess I will stay!

Bottom line… after a routine appt, I received a message to call the office regarding my lab results. I was transferred to Nancy, an MA, who proceeded to give me the wrong lab results — and unable to answer any questions, she referred me to the internet as my source for information. The results I received were devastating and caused a huge amount of stress in my life and my husbands. Fortunately, despite her insistence that I did not need to follow up with the office for at least a year, I called UW and scheduled a consultation and second opinion visit. The UW physician notified me that my results were in fact normal… now with a hard copy in hand, I can breathe a sigh of relief! Very scary that a popular doctors office assigns MA’s to give lab results to their patients and as a health care professional, I am shocked that delegation of this type of task takes place. It should be the responsibility of an RN who would have clinical knowledge and be able to exercise correct judgement.
In general the office itself is extremely busy, not personal at all. In an environment that handles woman with ob-​gyn needs, my hope is that it would be warm and you would feel that someone might remember your name. Not the place I want to feel like a number. Upon check out, when originally asking about routine follow up, I was told by the staff member that I may or may not get a reminder, she was unsure of how the reminder would come if it came at all (she mentioned perhaps a text, email or phone call) but that I should write in my calendar to make my own phone call to schedule follow up in the next year as I’d likely hear nothing.
Each to his own, or her own, but I’d recommend going to another ob/​gyn!

First of all, I want to say I think Dr. Otto seems like a very nice person. I liked her a lot, and if the overall experience of going to Overlake OB/​GYN had been better, I might still be a patient. But… no. Here’s the story.
I called to make my first appointment, and was told the soonest I could see any of the doctors was in two weeks. I understand that happens, so while I wasn’t thrilled I did understand. Meanwhile, the symptoms I was experiencing got worse, and I went to a walk-​in clinic where tests were run, medication was prescribed, etc. I kept my appointment because I still needed a well woman visit.
The day before my Friday appointment, I got a phone call that they needed to reschedule. Okay, Monday it is. Come in Monday, and waited an hour before Dr. Otto finally arrived. She took some tests to send to a lab, didn’t know when the results would be but probably soon. Thursday rolls around, and a nurse calls me and starts off with,
«I have some bad news…»
After my heart started beating again, I heard her say they didn’t bother to send the tests to the lab. So I needed to come in the next day to retake them.
I came in the next day, took the tests, asked when my results would be ready – next Tuesday. Cool. On Tuesday I called during my lunch break to ask about them – the receptionist said a nurse would call me back. When I hadn’t heard anything by 5:30pm, I called again – a different receptionist told me everyone had left for the day.
So of course I called the NEXT day, and was told a nurse would call me back. This time she did, and she said the results hadn’t been in the day before but they were now… unfortunately, Dr. Otto was out of the office so no one could tell me what they were. I told the nurse she needed to come up with a solution because I deserved my results. She promised to email Dr. Otto and try to get back to me. To her credit, she did – and it turns out that for the nearly *two weeks* I’d been dealing with Overlake OB/​GYN, I’d required treatment that I hadn’t been getting.
The nurse told me my two treatment options, one of which I immediately ruled out because the medication was one I was allergic to – which they would’ve known if they’d ever asked me to fill out any paperwork about my medical history. Yeah, no, I want to get better… not have my throat close up.
I rarely write reviews and I don’t like to share negative ones… but I really wish I’d known ahead of time how much of a hassle it would be to go here. I definitely would’ve avoided this practice, and I won’t be going back now.

I have gone here for 22 years — ever since I was pregnant with my first child. Always a gracious staff and Dr. Graham can’t be beat for all stages of a woman’s life. I feel so fortunate to this day she delivered all 3 of my children. Highly recommend Overlake OB/​GYN.

I moved to Washington in April and was pregnant so was very nervous about finding a new ob and hospital, etc. I’ve had 2 previous c-​sections and was going to go back to CA and have the same dr deliver my 3^rd.
A friend referred me to Dr Judy Lacy and she has been great! She is very friendly and answers all my questions. I never feel rushed or treated like just another patient. Dr Lacy’s medical assistant is also very friendly and the receptionist (I think her name is Christina) is also very nice and answered a lot of my questions about the hospital and the delivery process.
I saw Dr Lacy at the Issaquah location a few times but they are no longer there so I ended up seeing her at the Bellevue location my last visit. I was a little scared of the Bellevue office given the bad reviews but everything seemed to go ok.
Since I havent been at the Bellevue location long, this review is strictly for the dr and not the office itself. I can’t say enough good things about Dr Lacy and how comfortable I feel with her. I am now staying here to deliver baby #3.

Dr. Lawler delivered both of my children and I could not have asked for a better OBGYN! I enjoyed getting to know Dr. Lawler and his amazing nurse Becca! They made every visit as comfortable as possible and I truly felt that they had great individualized care. my second pregnancy was a little bumpy and Dr. Lawler gave me great advice and care. I actually miss seeing them every month!

I was looking for a midwife for the delivery of my second child, and I am SO GLAD I endet up with midwifes Lori and Peggy (you can choose which to see for your appt, but for the delivery you will just end up with which of them is on call that day). They listened, took their time to answer all my questions, discuss options, explained without me having to ask and made sure that both the Baby and I are fine. I felt so comfortable with both of them, they are absolutely amazing midwives.
Midwive Lori was on call when I went into labor and she came to the hospital right away and was with me until about an hour after the Baby was born. Not only did she take care of every medical need that arose, but she was comforting and encouraging throughout the whole process. I don’t think I could have done it without her! She was the calm in the storm for my husband and me and I can not thank her enough for her help.
Their nurse Anna is hilarious and sweet. Never did she make an inappropriate comment, she really knows what to say and what not to say to pregnant women. She took good care of me and I really felt that all three of them really cared for me. I usually had to bring my 2.5 year old daughter with me and they where absolutly sweet with her and took their time answering her questions as well!
The staff at the office is always super nice, all phone calls where answered promptly and friendly and I never had an issue with anyone there.
Truly a wonderful experience. I almost want to have another child, just so I can see them again :)

Dr. Otto/​VanKessel took care of me during my pregnancy. They were both so easygoing and kind during the whole process. I loved them as my doctors. I would highly suggest them to anyone.
My only complaint was the wait time on some occasions and the smell of the waiting room. I know those are things that can’t completely be controlled but it is something to consider.

I heard many many great things about Dr. Haines. So I decided to call to make my first appointment.
They missed my first two calls. So I just thought they are having some kind of emergency. I called 2 hours later. Nobody answers.
I call again about 40 mins later. Somebody answered and she was actually nice. So I thought to myself that it is okay since they are nice.
I found out that appointment time was not going to be good for my husband. so I called 2 days later to change my appointment. They don’t pick up. so I left a voicemail to call me back.
Two days later, no one calls back, so i tried to call again.
AGAIN!!! THEY DO NOT PICK UP MY PHONE CALL!!!
What kind of medical office don’t pick up a phone call?
I work at a dental office and i can’t even imagine us not picking up a phone call!!!
Now, I am mad. I just do not want to deal with these people anymore.
But i did not want to be the person with no show. so tried calling to cancel the appointment. She picked up after 4^th try.
This is ridiculous.
If you are a person who doesn’t care calling 10 times to ask a question or to make an appointment, this might be an office for you to go since I heard many great things about Dr. Haines.

I wouldn’t suggest any other place, or better midwives or doctors than these. I really enjoyed talking with the front desk staff. They were never rude or short with me, and I was there a LOT. My appointments were typically on Fridays, but everyone seemed to be happy all the time. I was recommended by a friend to use Lori Loghin, a midwife to see me through my births. At first, I thought, YEAH RIGHT, I’m so not hippie, or into going natural, what could a midwife possibly do for me. Well, let me tell you… Best decision ever. Lori listens to you, advocates for you, checks up on you regularly, spends extra time with you answering your questions. I personally feel that she has the same knowledge and skills with delivery as any doctor I’ve ever met or heard about, but she spends more time with you, and cares about how you want your pregnancies to go. Two pregnancies later, and now I’ve recommended her to many, many of my friends, who have now also had her deliver for them. She is knowledgeable, kind, comforting, and has a sense of humor. It’s almost worth having another baby just to visit her a ton! …kidding…
I ended up having two early deliveries. My first baby was breech the whole pregnancy. This was scary as a new parent, and even more scary when he came out with clubfoot and had to be in leg casts for 8 weeks at Children’s Hospital. Lori was there through it all. When you have a midwife and a c-​section, you also get a doctor. I had her, plus Dr. Haines deliver my first little guy. I can’t tell you how awesome it was to have Lori there, PLUS get a knowledgeable, great doctor who does a clean perfect job, and was also so kind. My second c-​section was by Lori and Dr. Lawler. He also did an excellent job and I couldn’t be happier with the whole process. Without Lori as my guide through it all, I would not have been as happy.
I rarely ever had to wait more than 5 – 10 minutes in the waiting room, and she spent a great amount of time with me. I never felt rushed. I always had my questions answered. I was 100% comfortable and confident with her ability to deliver under any circumstances. I couldn’t highly recommend anyone more. If you have doubts about a midwife, like I did… meet Lori. You’ll LOVE her.

I love Dr Otto/​Van Kessel! This is my 2^nd pregnancy and she delivered my son and will be delivering baby #2 (if not, dr van Kessel). She is kind of quiet, but she is one of those quiet but funny types. I haven’t seen dr van Kessel yet this pregnancy but I saw her during my last pregnancy and she is very outgoing and funny, I like her a lot too. I have never really waited too long for my appointment, luckily. And when I do have to wait I just think to myself «well, when its my turn to have my baby, I want my doctor to be 100% there for me, not bouncing back between other people’s appointments and me».
Also, I LOVE that they send you text message reminders AND call you reminding you about your appointment. For me that is so helpful, they didn’t do that in 2013 when I was here last, but Im loving this change.
I drive to Bellevue even though Evergreen hospital is literally across the street from me, because I love it here, so much. Would definitely recommend!

I would have given this 5 stars since Dr. Haines is amazing! BUT The nurse, Becka gave me a serious headache and is very rude.
I wanted to know some information about my upcoming appointment for my 18 weeks pregnancy but did not get any clear answers.
That nurse is not pleasant to talk to at all. She looked through my file and noticed I didn’t do a test which I didn’t want to do because I know for a fact I don’t need it, and she was being so pushy and opulent about it. Plus, did not appreciate her calling me «girly.» That’s unprofessional.
She should know how to communicate with patients more pleasantly, especially the pregnant ones.

The waiting room was crowded. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
The first stage of my visit was to make sure that I wasn’t pregnant. The nurse whose job it was to confirm this went through multiple pregnancy tests because the first n were defective /​reading inconclusive — this put me ill at ease and did not give me confidence in the quality of the care I was about to receive.
Dr. Abel then saw me. While she was kind, I did not appreciate that she asked me to make a decision about my body (‘should I do this operation or not? It’s recommended I do nothing but you know, if you really want me to, I will”) when the speculum was in my body. [For male-​bodied readers: the speculum is both uncomfortable and intrusive. Think colonoscopy.]
Decisions are hard enough without them being made under duress. I’m sure Dr. Abel is a competent physician, but this detail made me leave the practice extremely upset, not relieved, as you’d expect someone to be when she hears that nothing’s really wrong, and the best practice is to wait and see.
[Mind you, I’m not pleased that I had to have a $ 128 appointment to find out that the current best practice is to wait and see, but this is a fault of the healthcare system and its broken incentives and independent of this particular practice.]