Dr. Alice Vivian Merkrebs, MD

Dr. Alice has been amazing with my boys over the years. I switched to her practice back in 2015 after my son got very sick(his previous dr at another practice ignored my concerns and my son ended up hospitalized) after that I switched to Alice and she has been great. She actually sits down and listens to us and I don't feel rushed during a visit either. She's very caring and non judgemental and has been very informative giving advice on certain things . Love her!

Though we had positive interactions previously, our experience with this practice is defined by one incident. After pulling a deer tick off of our daughter and hearing TONS of first-hand horror stories (literally, when we mentioned Lyme disease EVERYONE had a story) about the (permanent, mind you) neurological and joint issues associated with undiagnosed Lyme disease, not to mention the notorious ambiguity in Lyme disease tests, we preferred to err on the side of caution. Dr. Merkrebs subscribes to (I believe it was) the CDC playbook which advocates not testing and withholding treatment if no symptoms are present. My wife asked the nurse practitioner about this CDC protocol and if there was any flexibility as time seemed to be of the essence with Lyme disease and we preferred to treat immediately (which the majority of doctors agree with in our experience) if there has been tick exposure. Apparently the NP took this personally and began to rudely explain the importance of the… protocol: not helping her argument or our confidence in the practice was the fact that she needed to consult Google multiple times during the conversation. My wife asked the NP to please have Merkrebs call her back to discuss further. Merkrebs never called. Instead, she took it upon herself to call our previous pediatrician and berate him for prescribing antibiotics sight unseen! Which he had not done! It was hard for us to decide which was more unprofessional: letting a questionable protocol delay treatment of a potentially devastating ailment, not calling my wife back, an NP consulting Google for medical advice or Merkrebs berating a colleague. We have since switched to a more open-minded, capable and Lyme-fluent family practice. I will also be writing a letter to whatever regulatory board governs private practices. UPDATE: Unfortunately I have to continue the review as the office has, due to either spite or gross incompetence, taken over two months to transfer my children's medical files to our new doctor. Now, this may seem trivial but my children are attending summer camps and with the medical records in limbo we can't provide the proper documentation required by the camps. Only with the threat of legal action and significant intervention by our new doctor did the records arrive (one day before camp begins). Keep in mind the request was made over two months ago and the required payment was provided at that time. My opinion is that folks should look elsewhere for a family practice unless they are interested in care being subordinate to dogmatic adherence to rigid and questionable protocols. FURTHER UPDATE: One of my children has tested positive for Lyme using the Western Blot. Had we followed the CDC protocol, and more importantly, the advice of Dr. Merkrebs, we would never have known as she was the only one of our three children for whom symptoms NEVER presented...the CDC suggests no tests be conducted until symptoms present. My fear is that this protocol is largely penned by insurance companies and most doctors lack the courage to do the right thing and adhere to their Hippocratic oaths. EVEN FURTHER UPDATE: Initially, my review was the only one available. It seems somewhat likely this was noticed and a little encouragement was given to prod some patients into providing reviews. Not saying their experiences were not genuine, but the reviews (except for the ear issue) are puffy and lack substance. Our experience was a real-world example of this practice in action, we weren't interested in rainbows, unicorns and the hollow compliments found here, only performance in a potentially serious situation, and by this measure Dr. Merkrebs and her office failed miserably.

All female staff with very long nails Which pose a high risk for injuries to patients (babies especially!) harboring bacteria.We couldn't believe this was a real doctors office but we will never take our children here again. They do things without asking first, which made us very uncomfortable as parents. The waiting room reeked of cigarettes and was over crowded with toys meant for outside.

Doctor Merkrebs is a knowledgeable pediatrician who I trust to care for my children. Unlike some doctors I have dealt with in the last, Dr. Merkrebs is never intimidating or condescending. Her approach is informative yet friendly and nurturing - the type of doctor you want as a first time parent, and the type of doctor you want your children to grow with so that they receive care from someone they trust, feel comfortable confiding in, and maintain their health with. I have never had a bad experience (even her wait times are speedy! And if my kids ever get sick last minute, her staff always finds a way to accommodate a last minute visit - I have never seen this before and will continue to be a loyal patient). Thanks so much Dr. Merkrebs!

The office staff are very pleasant and I found the doctor down to earth and caring.

Not compassionate. Not thorough. Condescending and most important missed very important clues to my child's disability and therefore received late and damaging diagnosis.

Dr Alice is the best and both my husband and I feel completely comfortable having her care for our children!!