Pediatric Associates of the Northwest, PC

My wife and I have been taking our son who is 16 months old to Dr. Birk. The entire staff from the front desk to the security is friendly and welcoming. We recently moved further from the office and have no plans on changing doctors. The nurses do a quick job of delivering our son’s shots. He is not the biggest fan of shots so the quick delivery makes a world of difference. Dr. Birk and others we have worked with have always been straight to the point and honest. My wife and I recommend this office to our friends and family. Check them out!

We are new to this practice, but it already beats our old practice by leaps and bounds.
It’s a haul from our home in SE, but it’s fairly easy to get to, and parking is easy (park by the fountain in the front). My girls think the building itself is «so cool!» so it’s easy to get them inside (the office is on the right side of the second escalator). The office is bright & clean and the staff was very friendly and helpful. Our doctor was very thorough and went through everything with us, both of my girls felt very at ease. The nursing staff is amazing and kind. They just helped me figure out which vaccines my younger daughter needed after getting a not so great response from our last provider. They have a nutritionist on staff who I think may be a wizard, because after one visit my picky eater has been trying many new things. They have flexible hours, urgent care, and a 24 hour help line. I’m very satisfied so far.

To be clear: I have not been treated by a physician at this practice.
I made an appointment and attempted to meet with a pediatrician, but found the offices completely inaccessible. First of all, the website does not prepare you, does not give you any information at all, as to what to expect from the location. The website, as well as the receptionist who booked my appointment, said simply «in the Montgomery Park building.»
Having not lived in Portland my entire life and having never been to this building before, I hoped for more information. Maybe a suite number? The best entrance to use to get to the practice? Perhaps a bit of information about what parking is like/​where visitors should park in a busy section of town riddled with permit-​only parking? Nope. No indication. I did figure it out, of course, but by then I was super late for the appointment.
Then there’s the inside of the building, where I got to imagine wrangling a sick child (and possibly a stroller) up an escalator, through a busy cafeteria on the mezzanine, to a confusingly-​placed elevator bank. At which point, I had to wait among a throng of office workers through *three cycles* of full elevators in an attempt to get to the practice on the third floor. At this point I had overshot my appointment by more than 30 minutes and just gave up. Screw that noise. I just can’t see myself, frustrated and sleep-​deprived, dragging a miserable, sick kid through a mazelike, mall-​sized, indoor office park.

The Dr. was nice but the staff was just not friendly. Everyone was preoccupied and seemed to not want to be there. A lot of personal conversations taking place and little attention being paid to patients. Office was clean but If I can’t feel comfortable at my doctors office, I will not go back.

We took our twins to see Dr Schunk here and he was nothing short of great. It took me a little while to get used to his style, but you can tell that he really knows his stuff and has been doing this a long time and can quickly evaluate the situation and give you the right advice without having to run through all the other possibilities. He is gentle and reassuring but efficient with the kids, and always listened to us (the always-​important parents!), taking the time to talk to us if there were any concerns.
About the office in general: the new space is really great. Spacious visit rooms, warm and clean reception, little to no waiting, though I wish they divided into sick and well sides of the waiting room. I could always get my sick kid into to see someone same-​day (usually with a pick of times) and messages to the nurses and doctors were returned promptly. Also, the online portal is pretty great: I only used to to email Dr Schunk (no skype visits yet!) but he was amazingly quick to respond.
Sadly, we moved away from the area, but I wish we could still go here!

What I liked: new office is clean, updated and spacious. I could get a sick child visit on the day of, though not with my own doctor.
I picked my doc based on his bio, he was ok. Seemed rushed during some of his visits as if he needed to get to another patient after me. When I asked about a new change in my child’s behavior, he didn’t elaborate much but just said we would watch it. When we told him we were moving out of the city, he didn’t even say goodbye. If you call the office, be prepared to be put on hold for some time.
Thankfully, my child didn’t have major medical issues but hoping my next pediatrician is better.

I can’t say enough good things about this practice. This is our third pediatrician in three different cities, and I am nothing but impressed and satisfied. It is obvious that these people truly care about kids, and they give great advice.