Dr. Lori Sayers Smetana, MD

Dr. Smetanta is amazing! She helped me through a difficult pregnancy. She listened to me and made me feel like I was top priority. I feel very lucky to have her as my doctor. She has great bedside manner. She throughly explains everything and answers all questions. She never once made me feel like I was over reacting. I call feel that she cares about me and my health.

A fabulous Doctor that really cares about her patients.

I chose Dr. Smetana based on her stellar reviews. When I met her, I liked her immediately. I did have some bleeding in my first trimester and I was disappointed when she told me I was probably having a miscarriage because she also found my dates to be different than my ultrasound. But I kept my baby and was able to understand she wanted to prepare me for the worse.I had some serious issues maintaining my Tricare insurance through my pregnancy- a complicated thing to explain, and one I hadn't expected. The office was unable to tell me how much my appts would cost and unable to let my pay as I went. Out of fear of not being able to afford maternity leave with my son, I did miss some appts in the middle of my pregnancy. I did of course make one for his anatomy scan to make sure he was ok. The medical assistant said to me, it's amazing your baby is ok considering you haven't gotten prenatal care for him. This stung but I understood that if something had been anatomically wrong with him and… shown up on his scan, there wouldn't have been a way to prevent that early on. All my bloodwork had come back normal.Toward the end of my pregnancy, my insurance issues weren't totally resolved but I knew this was a time when making my appts was paramount even if I couldn't know how much I would eventually owe them. I took a glucose tolerance test and failed it by a little, and took a second and failed it by more. The tests made me feel very sick and I had to fight myself from throwing up. I told them I couldn't take the solution that was twice as strong and fast before hand and then the several hours of the test. I just didn't think I could tolerate it. This is where everything changed between me and Dr. Smetana's office. They told me I would need to check my blood sugar 4 x a day and see a diabetic nurse to talk about meal planning and how to check my sugar. I told them I am a nurse and I teach those things myself and did not feel I needed the appot, but agreed to check my sugar 4 times a day, after a quick question of whether I could start with twice a day at first. They told me I would have to find a new doctor if I didn't agree right away to these things so of course I did. I went to the nurse and checked my sugar four times a day starting right after that phone call. They had told me they would get the information for me to make an appt with her and then called me back, told me they had scheduled my appt (for a time I couldn't make it) and said and they WILL tell us if you don't go. I said it wasn't necessary to talk to me like that bc I had shown up for any appt I had been able to make and never been dishonest with them, I just needed to change the time. I asked to speak with my doctor and I did not get the chance. I had seen her the week prior and had an appt for the following week. I felt hurt and confused about the way I was being spoken to and wanted to discuss it w her. She never contacted me. Her assistant Jill also told me in these phone calls that I was a liability for them and that she felt bad for the safety of my son, in a tone that implied that his wellbeing is not important to me. The following week I got a phone call form Deaconess to confirm an ultrasound appt. I said I didn't know about an appt and it was sched for a time I would be just getting off work. I called Dr. Smetana's office and asked to speak with my doctor in the morning. I stayed up that day to hear from her although I work nights and was working the following night as well. Toward the end of the day, I got a call back from a different coworker. She said Dr. Smetana had told them to make all my appts for me as I was not reliable and they were concerned about my baby. I told them I was concerned about my baby too but they couldn't make appts without even telling me they had made them. I was told I should find another doctor and that they had run out of patience with me, but if I agreed to not question any of the Dr's actions or recommendations maybe we could all start over. I said I would like to speak w her and was told no. I felt very humiliated by the way I was being treated and comments that implied I did not care for the safety of my child, and that the Dr. would have different people tell me to find a new Dr. at 36 weeks when she knew how vulnerable I had been feeling per my last appt. I wished she would tell me herself. I cried after this phone call and made arrangements to have my husband come with me to my next appt bc I just did not feel emotionally secure or safe the way I was being treated. When I called Deaconess to move my ultrasound up a few hours, they told me that would interfere with another appt they had made without telling me with the diabetic nurse again. I only found this out by accident. After a very stressful day I decided I just could not feel comfortable being treated in such a manner and not informed of these things. I called around and finally found someone who would consider taking me at this late stage of my pregnancy, as the Dr's office had made it clear they wanted me to leave anyway. I asked if I should still see the diabetic nurse and ultrasound because I wouldn't see my new MD until the following day. I was told yes. Today I went to those appointments but they had cancelled them without telling me. I hope nobody else has to go through this, I have never seen a pt treated like that and hope to never again. The times before Dr. Smetana decided she did not want to deal with me I found her to be caring with a nice bedside manner and I am sure if people take every test they are told to take and don't miss making appts at any stage in their pregnancy they would have a good experience there. Unfortunately it just wasn't mine. I am very glad I won't be attended to in labor by someone that has other people make it clear for them they don't have respect for me as a patient or a mother. It makes m

When I met Dr. Smetana, I liked her. I did have some bleeding in my first trimester and I was disappointed when she told me I was probably having a mi ...