Napoleon Pediatrics

We’d follow our pediatrician Dr. Senentz to Mississippi so when she was away from our usual branch for the day we piled into the car and drove to Metairie.
Let’s just be frank, here. You don’t go to the baby doctor for funsies. And the people in the waiting room aren’t there for a good time. The admins have work coming out of their ears and if we are honest, nobody wants to play phone tag with insurance companies.
If you are a parent you know you are walking into ground zero (aka the waiting room) and you are running the risk of trading your cold for ebola but HEY. What can you do?
All of that said. The doctors make it worth it. The nurses are kind. If I had it to do all over again, I would choose the same doctor in the same practice. There is nobody I’d rather be in debt to.

First things first I love my doctor at Napoleon Pediatrics but my lord the front desk staff at both locations are rude, slow and completely lacking in professionalism. For our first appointment at 1 month they had use waiting for an hour in a waiting room with sick coughing kids everywhere, which is a huge no no with a small baby that has had zero shots. Next time they were going to never call our name because I didn’t write my son’s name in correctly on the sign in sheet so we waited another hr. These are just two examples but I have never in all our visits had a positive or even neutral experience with the front desk staff. They didn’t input our new insurance info so I got a bill for $ 880 which I then had to spend hours fixing. I know they have been implementing a new computer system but that was over a year ago! At this point if they can’t get it together they need to be fired. If you are going to work in a pediatric office you should be polite, warm and competent at you job! Once again let me say I love my dr!

The doctors are great. The office, however, is another story. They’re very obviously short staffed, making receptionists edgy. I’ve gone in to pick up a prescription and had to wait behind the glass divider for close to fifteen min. because the receptionist was on the phone. The only acknowledgment I got was seeing her head turn my direction and a hand held up, all through the glass because she couldn’t even be bothered to open it for a face to face interaction.
Waiting time is downright torture. I’ve been in the office for hours on some visits, and have never had a quick visit. You’ll wait in the waiting room, than you’ll wait in the examining room. Be prepared to entertain your children, it get’s hard.
My boys are on monthly prescriptions that I have to call for each month. Even this is a hassle. The procedure is to call and leave a message letting them know who the prescription is for and what it is. I have to call three times, and than start complaining about not getting a response before I get a callback letting me know that I can go pick it up. I now begin calling for refills two weeks in advance just to insure that I get it taken care of before I run out of their medication.
I often think about switching doctors all together, but they are good and obviously busy for a reason. They just need to hire more people to work in the office.

This place has good doctors but be prepared to wait an hour or two for your appointment. They overbook constantly, so even if you have an 8:00 appointment you will be waiting until 9 or 10 to leave the office.

I recently switched my oldest here along with my newest addition. They have two very convenient locations, one Uptown and in Metairie. All of the doctors are friendly. Staff is also very helpful. Both my kids sees Dr Michael Heller and I always ask myself how did I not switch over sooner. It’s hard to find doctors or anyone who you would feel comfortable with your kids. Napoleon Pediatrics are also partnered with Children’s Hospital, which makes it even more available. If you are looking for a pediatrician, give this place a try.