Dang, DD's ortho closed up shop!

[StephMK]

I know there are far bigger issues in the world and wish all the best to those in the hurricane path and dealing with far more serious issues.

We went to DD's appt today and found the office closed with a sign saying the doc has a "medical condition" and can no longer see patients, office closed immediately (not dated). As we are driving up, so are 4-5 other families, all as confused and we eventually wandered back to our cars.

First, I mostly and sincerely hope he is going to be ok. He's a big family guy, has lots of school age kids-at least 6, super nice & seems to be good person. He moved his office in Jan to an even nicer one than he had before, very kid friendly.

However, DD will have had her braces on for one year in Jan and is supposed to get them off after 1-1.5 yrs. THankfully we have been making payments but I know we have made more than 1/2 the payments. UGH.

I feel bad for everyone involved but dang, this is not the financial news we need plus now we need to scramble to set up someone else. Another woman said her automatic payments did not come out last month or this month. No word on if the records will be available, etc. I don't even know how to handle this.

This comes the same day that DH admits his car is "acting up" and then admits it has been making a scraping noise for 3-5 days now and just took it in before we left for the appt.

Last week, DD left a fork in the built in microhood and burned to metal spots in the coating. Still not sure if it's safe to use or needs to be replaced.

[Leajess99]

I would seriously contact your insurance company on the now former orthodontist to make sure they stop paying them so you do not lose your benefits. I would also ask them what other orthodontists are in your area. So sorry you are going to hae to find someone new as I know that is not always easy.

[SaraJayne]

We are a family that paid in full, out of pocket for DS's braces when he started (insurance does not cover ortho work). I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to have to find a new ortho.

I'd also be pretty irritated by finding out by a sign on the door. The least his assistants could have done was call his patients and let them know they needed to find a new ortho.

I hope you're able to find a new ortho soon!

[bearloch]

did u try calling to see if a answering service gave more info! thats crazy I would think he would hve to give up records and refund unused insurance etc. Good Luck!

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I would leave a message with the answering service or on the answering machine asking if it's possible to get her records.

I had to do that with my dentist when he closed and was able to get my records because there was someone checking the messages.

Hopefully you'll be able to find a new orthodontist soon.

[scrapquitler]

Originally Posted by StephMK

I know there are far bigger issues in the world and wish all the best to those in the hurricane path and dealing with far more serious issues.

We went to DD's appt today and found the office closed with a sign saying the doc has a "medical condition" and can no longer see patients, office closed immediately (not dated). As we are driving up, so are 4-5 other families, all as confused and we eventually wandered back to our cars.

First, I mostly and sincerely hope he is going to be ok. He's a big family guy, has lots of school age kids-at least 6, super nice & seems to be good person. He moved his office in Jan to an even nicer one than he had before, very kid friendly.

However, DD will have had her braces on for one year in Jan and is supposed to get them off after 1-1.5 yrs. THankfully we have been making payments but I know we have made more than 1/2 the payments. UGH.

I feel bad for everyone involved but dang, this is not the financial news we need plus now we need to scramble to set up someone else. Another woman said her automatic payments did not come out last month or this month. No word on if the records will be available, etc. I don't even know how to handle this.

This comes the same day that DH admits his car is "acting up" and then admits it has been making a scraping noise for 3-5 days now and just took it in before we left for the appt.

Last week, DD left a fork in the built in microhood and burned to metal spots in the coating. Still not sure if it's safe to use or needs to be replaced.

Hopefully this is sudden and recent, and maybe if you get hold of the answering service or wait a week or two you'll get a letter in the mail that he has made an agreement with someone else to take over his practice. My DD's ortho just sent a letter last week that he is retiring, and he has sold his practice to someone else, who will acquire all his patients without any change in treatment plan or payments. So with any luck, you'll have the same thing happen and you won't have to worry about this.

[DisneyBill]

Does he have a website or Facebook that may contain more information?

[StephMK]

The answering machine gives the exact same message as the door. I felt really bad for those who did make full payment up front. I know when we were in last month, the doc was out for an emergency. DH took DD in 2 weeks ago, they said it was food poisoning. I don't know, I hope we get more info.

They have our email because they encourage online payments, appts, etc. so it's slightly annoying someone couldn't send a mass email. The cynical part of me wonders what made them close with such short notice and no contingency plan or mention of future contact once they know what's going to happen.

Still hoping he is going to be ok. His office is in a shopping center I'm at frequently so I will keep checking.

[PigletsPal2]

You have my deepest sympathy! Our PCP did the same thing in August, and we STILL haven't been able to contact him in any way. We've been seeing him for nine years, through diabetes, a heart attack and stroke (DH) and a brain tumor and neurological disease (me) in addition to the usual old age aches and pains (arthritis, bursitis and a couple of broken bones),

His office is closed, his phones are disconnected, his web page has been taken down, his home phone is unlisted and we've exhausted every avenue we can think of, including contacting the Florida equivalent of the AMA and the Department of Health and the two hospitals where he had privileges, to contact him to obtain nine years' worth of vital medical records. My neurologist at George Washington University Hospital gave me two months' worth of all my prescriptions (nine, only two of which he personally prescribed), but it's imperative that we find a new PCP here in Florida. I've contacted four so far, but none of them are accepting new patients.

I didn't mean to hijack your thread; just reading it caused all this frustration to bubble up. If anyone has any suggestions on how to solve this problem (for both OP and us), I'm all ears! And OP, I wish you the best of luck in finding a new ortho.

Queen Colleen

[trip]

We must live in the same town. I just saw something on the tv about an orthodontist closing with no notice.

[mom2alix]

Originally Posted by StephMK

I know there are far bigger issues in the world and wish all the best to those in the hurricane path and dealing with far more serious issues.

We went to DD's appt today and found the office closed with a sign saying the doc has a "medical condition" and can no longer see patients, office closed immediately (not dated). As we are driving up, so are 4-5 other families, all as confused and we eventually wandered back to our cars.

First, I mostly and sincerely hope he is going to be ok. He's a big family guy, has lots of school age kids-at least 6, super nice & seems to be good person. He moved his office in Jan to an even nicer one than he had before, very kid friendly.

However, DD will have had her braces on for one year in Jan and is supposed to get them off after 1-1.5 yrs. THankfully we have been making payments but I know we have made more than 1/2 the payments. UGH.

I feel bad for everyone involved but dang, this is not the financial news we need plus now we need to scramble to set up someone else. Another woman said her automatic payments did not come out last month or this month. No word on if the records will be available, etc. I don't even know how to handle this.

This comes the same day that DH admits his car is "acting up" and then admits it has been making a scraping noise for 3-5 days now and just took it in before we left for the appt.

Last week, DD left a fork in the built in microhood and burned to metal spots in the coating. Still not sure if it's safe to use or needs to be replaced.

Steph,

Sorry to hear about your ortho. I just saw this story. We use Dr. Weber and I really like him and his staff. He's not too far away from your old ortho - just north of Center on 180th, behind the SuperTarget. http://weberorthodontics.com/

Hope that helps!

[disykat]

I guess we were fortunate. When the orthodontist that my son had just started seeing had a stroke his practice was taken over first by an interim (a retired ortho) and then by a young orthdodontist just starting out who bought the practice. Care continued pretty much as paid for with only slight differences and we were pretty happy with the new guy.

Maybe your situation will work out as happily as soon as they react to whatever the emergency was.

[nefritz]

Originally Posted by trip

We must live in the same town. I just saw something on the tv about an orthodontist closing with no notice.

Must be a Nebraska night for DISboards saw on news tonight also. I have a few friends that know him personally, after all his commotion last year in his subdivision, I wouldn't be surprised if he lost a lot of business I know there are two sides to every story, but hear say on him is horrible. I do have a good friend that is a dentist in town and he turned him into the board for some "unethical" practices.

[StephMK]

Thanks, I hope it has a happy ending but not expecting it.

Originally Posted by PigletsPal2

You have my deepest sympathy! Our PCP did the same thing in August, and we STILL haven't been able to contact him in any way. We've been seeing him for nine years, through diabetes, a heart attack and stroke (DH) and a brain tumor and neurological disease (me) in addition to the usual old age aches and pains (arthritis, bursitis and a couple of broken bones),

His office is closed, his phones are disconnected, his web page has been taken down, his home phone is unlisted and we've exhausted every avenue we can think of, including contacting the Florida equivalent of the AMA and the Department of Health and the two hospitals where he had privileges, to contact him to obtain nine years' worth of vital medical records. My neurologist at George Washington University Hospital gave me two months' worth of all my prescriptions (nine, only two of which he personally prescribed), but it's imperative that we find a new PCP here in Florida. I've contacted four so far, but none of them are accepting new patients.

I didn't mean to hijack your thread; just reading it caused all this frustration to bubble up. If anyone has any suggestions on how to solve this problem (for both OP and us), I'm all ears! And OP, I wish you the best of luck in finding a new ortho.

Queen Colleen

I'm so sorry! That sounds hugely stressful and much more serious than our ortho due to the amount of records and issues involved. I hope you are able to find a positive resolution.

Originally Posted by mom2alix

Steph,

Sorry to hear about your ortho. I just saw this story. We use Dr. Weber and I really like him and his staff. He's not too far away from your old ortho - just north of Center on 180th, behind the SuperTarget. http://weberorthodontics.com/

Hope that helps!

Thanks! We're looking for a new one since DD is due for an adjustment.

Originally Posted by nefritz

Must be a Nebraska night for DISboards saw on news tonight also. I have a few friends that know him personally, after all his commotion last year in his subdivision, I wouldn't be surprised if he lost a lot of business I know there are two sides to every story, but hear say on him is horrible. I do have a good friend that is a dentist in town and he turned him into the board for some "unethical" practices.

I hate to hear that but not surprised at this point. Yeah, I remember the whole solar panel episode, he was very vocal! I wondered if he still lives there. I would be curious to hear the hearsay - is it all financially based ethics? I hate to think that DD was under the care of someone unethical for other reasons.

When we told our dentist (we love him!) who we went with, he was pretty non-committal about his comments. I wonder if he knows more than he could share.

On a positive note, nice to see some fellow locals!

[StephMK]

Originally Posted by disykat

I guess we were fortunate. When the orthodontist that my son had just started seeing had a stroke his practice was taken over first by an interim (a retired ortho) and then by a young orthdodontist just starting out who bought the practice. Care continued pretty much as paid for with only slight differences and we were pretty happy with the new guy.

Maybe your situation will work out as happily as soon as they react to whatever the emergency was.

That would definitely be ideal!! It will be curious to see how this plays out. The news had no answers tonight about why they closed. DH is going to see what he can find out tomorrow.