Dr. Laurie A Cohen, DO

I recently came across a certified letter I received "a while back" from Children's HealthCare (CHC). They "fired" me for violating the patient/doctor relationship for "refusing to use the highly recommended nebulizer machine" for my two, young children at the time. My kids are both teens now, but what happened with Dr. Cohen at CHC has bothered me all these years. I never want to unduly cast negativity on any health care professional, but I believe this story bears telling. It started when I took my 4 y.o. daughter to CHC for earache symptoms. After the exam, Dr. Cohen said she needed a nebulizer with steroids 3x/per day. I was taken aback, since I hadn't sensed any respiratory issues. Naturally, I became concerned my 2 y.o. son might also have whatever "hidden" respiratory issue my daughter had. (He was with us in the exam room.) I kindly asked Dr. Cohen if she'd take a quick listen to my son. She did NOT want to do it! She said I needed to make a whole other appointment. I asked… how much trouble it could be to just listen to his chest for a few seconds? (Dr. Cohen was already more than 45 minutes late for my daughter's appointment- it would have been the least she could do.) After going back and forth with Dr. Cohen, she reluctantly listened to my son. I was floored when she said he, too, needed a nebulizer with steroids 3x/day! My mommy alarms began to go off. Something wasn't right. Neither of my kids were exhibiting respiratory symptoms as far as I could tell. Right after the visit, I called my friend- a certified respiratory therapist. I took both kids to her house that same day, and with her stethoscope, she listened to their lungs. She even made them run around for five minutes and then listened again. She said they both sounded completely clear. I asked why Dr. Cohen would prescribe nebulizers with steroids? She couldn't explain it. The nebulizer rental guy arrived at my door that day, and I declined the rental. I knew he'd report back to CHC, so I wanted to officially "cover my butt". The next day I made "physical exam" appointments for both kids at MY doctor's office. They were examined by the pediatrician on staff (an M.D.). To ensure objectivity, I did not tell the doctor what had transpired at CHC. After the exams, which included listening to heartbeat and breathing, she said they were both fine. I asked her to listen to their breathing again, explaining the recent diagnoses at CHC. Again, the doctor said their lungs were clear, they were perfectly fine, and had no need of a nebulizer. I now had formal records of all this and so did my insurance company. My mommy alarms were vindicated! I hung on to all the records, just in case CHC ever tried to make trouble for me. I resolved to NEVER go back to CHC.

Awful, rude, and and disingenuous!!! This woman should not be dealing with new parents let alone children!!! She has no filter and does not even pretend to care. Her goal is to clearly get through her work day as quickly as possible. Do not take your child here and put yourself or them through what I went through. Retire already lady! You're awful.

Dr. Cohen is terrible! She is extremely rude and cold as a person. She appears very close minded and ignorant and is very "old school" in her medical understanding. I highly dislike her and don't trust her medical judgement. She is not a nice person, not she why she choose a career dealing with children. Perhaps it's time to retire? Clearly not passionate about what she does..

Dr. Cohen is an incompetent moron. Not only should she not be a doctor, she should NOT deal with children. Not only was she rude to my son, who was concerned about his sick sister, she was incapable of answering basic questions about what was ailing my child. Furthermore, after speaking with several other pediatricians, they were all floored at how she treated my daughter's symptoms - or rather, her lack of treatment. She is a wretched doctor and even worse as a person!