Union Avenue Pediatrics

We LOVE Dr Reid, he is our favorite! Our son is almost 3 and we have another on the way. While I must agree that not all of the providers are my favorite, this is a fantastic group practice. Any group practice you go to there will providers you may or may not like as much as other. Some commented about not all the information being consistent from doctor to doctor, well that is medicine. Go to any specialty clinic and you will hear what a provider feels in their clinical judgment/​opinion is correct. Each provider has the same standard of education but they are entitled to their own opinion, so I caution future readers to base their decision on that particular component of another patients opinion. Find the provider you click with and keep the relationship. I went to 3 pediatric clinics for meet and greet visits while I was pregnant with our son. Union Ave was the only clinic that hit all of my «wants». I wanted my son’s pediatrician to meet him in the hospital for his Initial visit, I wanted to have a Doctor to answer the phone at 2am, I wanted to be able to get in same day or Saturdays if needed, and I wanted a separate area for sick and well kids. Not one single other clinic provides these valuable services that are almost nonexistent these days in medicine. And the well child check classes are fantastic for new parents. My only disappointment is that Union Ave Peds is no longer a Private Practice, I work in medicine and value the private practice sector versus large organizations. With that being said, Union Ave Peds is still the place I will take my children as long as Dr Reid is there to treat them. Dr Reid listens and acknowledges your concerns as a parent without judgement. He is fantastic and I am hard to please when it comes to providers. I also like Dr Plonsky and his wealth of knowledge in parenting interactions. Dr Daniels seemed to have an old school approach to medicine. She may be a good fit for one looking for a more holistic approach. I highly recommend Union Ave Peds over any other peds clinic in the Tacoma area.

I have conflicting feelings about Union Ave Peds. Ultimately, we are looking around for another doc before our third is born in 6ish weeks just because I’ve felt the bad experiences have outweighed the good.
A little background: we tend to follow a more holistic approach to health. My husband and I see a naturopath as our primary care provider. We prefer to treat the root of issues rather than the symptoms. We tend to shy away from antibiotics unless ABSOLUTELY necessary (and certainly, there is a time and place for them), and we follow a different vaccination schedule than what is recommended by the state.
Here’s the good… The classes are great for first time parents. We attended them until the 1 year mark with our first and then life got busy, we had another baby, and it just didn’t work with our schedules anymore. But we learned a ton in those first ones! It was nice to know that my baby wasn’t crazy or I wasn’t the only one experiencing certain challenges. It was nice to meet other parents with kids the same age.
Dr. Charbonnel is our favorite doc by far. He has a sense of humor and tends to be a little more relaxed and not so close-​minded to various ways of parenting or views on health care. He’s always been great with my girls.
The nurses there are all great, especially the ones in the well-​child clinic. I really love those guys (both the women and the guy that works there). Great with kids, and they’ve gotten to know me and know that I don’t do the vaccinations as the state recommends, so they just ask me which ones or if I’ll be getting any that day and don’t make a big deal.
The bad…
I’ve had some unpleasant experiences with 2 of the doctors and 1 one of the ARNPs. Dr Moore is not my favorite. We had 2 really unpleasant experiences with her (too long to go into here). Dr Cain also left a sour taste in our mouths after he stuck his whole pinky finger up my 4 month old daughters rectum and insisted it didn’t hurt as she screamed and turned purple. And Patricia Hoppa has been on my «no see» list after she decided to correct my parenting without being asked when I was in the middle of disciplining/​correcting my own child. Not cool.
Also heard some circumcision horror stories from parents in our newborn classes who switched docs because of it, and we’re having a boy this time, so that’s affected our decision to switch.
All in all, I feel like the docs and ANRPs tend to take the approach that parents are idiots who need to be educated in the correct ways, and their opinions and views are fact and the only way. Most of them aren’t real open to other approaches, so as a mom who leans toward natural options and treatments, it’s not the right place for us.

We have entrusted Union Ave Peds, Dr. Carl Plonsky, and his team of practitioners with the care of our two children for almost 9 years. When pregnant with our son who is now 8 years old, we «interviewed» pediatricians looking for the right providers. Dr. Plonsky is amazing with his holistic approach treating medical and behavioral issues. As new parents, we benefitted greatly from the parenting classes, which also provided the opportunity to hear other parent’s questions and experiences. Our son has seen Dr. Plonsky for both his well child check-​ups and behavioral issues. The providers guided us through asthma for both our kids. The practice has three offices, the well child center for routine check-​ups, the acute care clinic when your child is sick, and then the behavioral office. We wholeheartedly recommend Union Ave Peds to parents and kids.

A year later and we have continued to have very positive experiences at Union Ave. Their classes are helpful and offer time for kids to play together. It’s easy to get an appointment, even same day. My son has asthma and we have spent a considerable amount of time at the pediatrician!
I did knock a star off because some doctors are friendlier than others and they can give conflicting advice. Dr. Moore is WONDERFUL to work with, as are several others. As a newer parent, I would appreciate more consistent advice on things like weight gain. One doctor was concerned and had me cut back on formula at three months. Another told me that weight isn’t even discussed until they are mobile? With a kid that went from 70^th percentile to 19^th percentile I don’t know that the extra worry was worth it.

We’ve entrusted these kind folks with the care of our four children for 18 years. Wouldn’t have it any other way!

So glad they are open on Saturday mornings for those not-​quite-​emergencies-​but-​gotta-​fix-​my-​baby visits! Just discovered my 11month old has an ear infection :(Excellent care. Thank you Dr. Matthys!

Amazing doctors but very shrewd business people. Years ago, family emergencies caused me to miss two or three appointments. We were dismissed as patients.

I love this place. They’re wonderful. I’m actually surprised there aren’t more reviews on here except for Dr C. (Who’s a funny guy and taught our 2 month class)
Before our son was born, we hadn’t really looked into a Pediatrician. While in the hospital after his birth, we saw 2 different doctors from Union Ave and really liked both so we went back for his initial follow up.
That’s when we found out about the classes. They offer classes for parents at 2 weeks, 2 months, 6 months and so on. I cannot even begin to tell you how beneficial they’ve been for us. That first 2 week appt where we’re so blurry eyed and confused and anxious… It was good to hear some tips about some of the current issues, like the diaper tip we learned which saved us quite a few diapers! They also talk about what will happen in the next few months, what to expect and do.
I attended the 1 year class about a month ago. It’s a parent only class that’s held at night — which makes sense because if the other kiddos are anything like mine, we’d spend more time chasing them down then being able to listen!
The classes are about an hour and a half long with plenty of time to ask questions. The actual appt is held after the class. The only down side is that you can expect to spend half the day at the doctors office because whoever arrived first for the class will be seen first for their appt. If you’re late, then you’re last. It’s not too bad though, we’ve actually gotten to know a few people from our class from talking to them before our appt.
The classes are held in their Well Child Center which is upstairs from the other office. This is also really a nice thing because you don’t have to be in the same office with the kids who are sick.
Honestly, I could go on for quite a while about these guys, both my husband and I have been completely impressed by the office and their staff. Every doctor we’ve seen has been wonderful. They all truly seem to care about their patients and really enjoy working with them. They’ve always been quick to get back to me when any of those new parent worry pop up and I need to call. I’ve never once had a problem getting in to see a doctor.

Been taking my son here since birth, also been planning on switching peds since he was 3 months. This practice has gotten too large to properly care for their patients. It is nearly impossible to see the same doctor twice, my son has seen EVERY doctor there, even though we would rather stick with 1 or 2. They cannot keep their billing straight and sent me a «past due, you have 5 days to pay or else can’t come back and are going to collections» notice… after I called twice and asked them about the balance and they said they would put a note in my account and call me after they talked to insurance. The call never came but the past due bill sure did! They didn’t even seem to care when I told them the situation and asked to have my records to switch.