Northern Valley Indian Health Children's Health Center - Chico, California

Audra H.

Had a visit Monday for my daughter who was determined to have a viral ear infection. Amoxacillan was prescribed but never sent to the pharmacy. I called twice over 4 hours after the appointment to get the prescription sent, a nurse said they were really busy and will send it when they can.

Waited at the pharmacy the 4 hours after the appointment to still not have it sent.
Called the pharmacy yesterday-still no prescription sent.
Called the pharmacy again today and still no prescription sent.
Called NVIH after hours, spoke with someone regarding the prescription and she was able to send it right away from her file.

I hope this never happens to someone else. My daughter has been in pain and I've been doing the best I can to keep it managed for her.
I don't understand why the medication is on her chart but was never sent as a prescription. Do better.

Casey A.

Always a great experience for us. We take our 2 year old and now our newborn here. We love Bill, NP and highly recommend him. He answers every question no matter how small and makes sure we feel prepared for the next developmental stage. Every time I call with a concern, it is either answered or returned the same day. I’ve never had a problem getting in same day for urgent concerns.
Highly recommend going here. The new facility is impressive, clean and welcoming. All the staff has been great too.

Jane W.

I have had a positive experience with NVIH and feel my child receives quality care here. I think they have been thorough, knowledgeable, and responsive. A majority of the nurses and staff we have encountered have been professional and courteous. I am surprised and sorry to see some of the negative reviews.

Lisa C.

This review is about the children's mobile dental clinic. Our daughter had the most terrifying incident happen to her yesterday. Besides the fact the dentist didn't let us know we couldn't be next to her for her first filing, besides the fact that they said she was difficult because she kept crying, saying it hurt. The numbed her using septocaine, which for most children is fine. My daughter has anxiety when she is not with us, and she also had a reaction to the septocaine. She was in the chair for maybe 5 minutes, and then they called me back to talk to me. My daughter was crying and gagging, and they wouldn't let her get up. The chair was slanted so bad she said she was feeling like she was falling off. I brought my daughter back up to the front after they said they couldn't work on her. My daughter started to vomit, and they said they didn't have any sick bags and we had to go outside. So I took her down the steps, and she started vomiting and got shakey and really pail. I immediately took her back inside and asked the nurse to call an ambulance because my daughter was crashing. The dentist told her not to call and just go grab my things from outside. The dentist then noticed how pail my daughter was and about to pass out so we laid her down on the seat they had in front and while my daughter is laying flat on her back after vomiting she starts pouring gatorade into her mouth. I tried to stop her so I could raise my daughter's head, but she wouldn't move and kept talking over me. Luckily, my daughter didn't choke while she did this. As my daughter slowly got color back to her face, the dentist was trying to reassure me this wasn't a reaction to the septocaine and was giving my daughter all kinds of stickers and toys. I'm going to be filling a complaint with everyone I can. When a parent asks the nurse to call an ambulance, but the dentist tells her not to is beyond dangerous. As a concerned parent dealing with her child in a medical situation, I trusted that the nurse would listen to me and call the ambulance, but she failed my daughter and me. I did since research when I got home, and low blood pressure is an allergic reaction to septocaine. I even asked if the numbing stuff had epinephrine in it because that has a tendency to make the heart race and trigger anxiety. She assured me that septocaine didn't have epinephrine in it. She blatantly lied because that's one of the main chemical compounds in septocaine. So lied to me about the medicine she injected into my daughter and neglected to get her medical help when requested. Two really big medical no no's right there.

ginerationx2

Dr. Tedford is our daughters Dr. And he is very nice. But we have been rescheduled 3 times for her 2nd birthday visit. Today we showed up for it with no phone call to reschedule and was told we have to reschedule. What's the point of having a good dr if you can't ever see him. Switching providers and highly DO NOT recommend this provider!

Ali N.

2023 Edit: After rescheduling us many times, I had to take my kids elsewhere so they could have care. After over a decade of going to them, they notified me that I was kicked off their patient list and they aren't accepting any more patients when I tried schedule an appointment. Its so nice to know they value long time clients. This place used to be wonderful.

Original review:
This is a long review, but there's so much to unpack here...none of it good. I've been going here for my kids nearly a decade...before the new location and even before they were NVIH. They've always been great until now. Apparently they're under a new company which could explain their decline.

Dr. Valdez was always wonderful with my kids and had seen them since birth. She always made sure our questions were answered at the end of our visit. Unfortunately, she has now left. I have a feeling she knew it was declining after her being with them for so many years & suddenly leaving.

I show up and despite there being 4 people hanging around the front desk, everyone acted as if they were too busy to help us. I stood there for a while waiting while the receptionist finished on her computer. Eventually, another person offered to help us. Immediately after this, the one who was just too busy to help us starts a very loud conversation with the others about a vacation.

The employees were nearly yelling back and forth about vacationing...I couldn't hear a word being said to me about our appointment. My son said he could also hear them very loudly from across the room. I found it annoying the receptionist couldn't help us and had us standing around awkwardly, yet had time to stop and talk directly after someone else offered to helped us.

Dr. Marcus was unattentive and left us with questions. One of the first things she said to us was they are "divorcing" clients after 3 no show visits. She explained how impossible it is to get in anywhere else in chico. I assume this is why they think they can give subpar service. My daughter was in pain so I could care less about their policies or other facilities in chico.

There was miscommunication and inconsistencies between the nurse and doctor. They appeared to not communicate at all. They gave conflicting advice throughout the appointment.

We waited for a while to conclude the visit but nobody came back in to check on us. Our nurse had her child visiting and made sure to keep up with that visit but never came back to see us. We had to search the building for someone to help us. Our doctor went into her office and never came back to speak with us either. It was closing time and she was more concerned about going home than patient care.

I came back the next day and had another bad experience. To save time, I am not including all of it. I wanted another appointment and the front desk told me I had to call to make one. When I called right after, the line went to voicemail. I'm not understanding why I couldn't make another appointment while I was there but I assume the receptionist once again didn't want to deal with helping people.

Results take 2 days (plus another appointment) and my daughter is in severe pain until then. I received little advice on what to do aside from wait and no pain relief for my daughter besides a cream that isn't working. I am considering the e.r. instead.

If you can avoid the hassle of this place, save yourself the trouble and go elsewhere. I will be searching for my children's former doctor...or anyone else really.

Jenny P.

Our experience with Northern Valley Indian Health Center has been great. Everyone there is very nice and efficient. They see many many people throughout a day and despite that fact, I think they run a tight ship. We are fortunate to have Dr. Tedford. When I call the nurse for re-fills, they either answer or return my call the same day. Refills always go to the pharmacy right away. I have not had that experience with literally any other doctors’ office other than this one. The kids haven’t been here for ‘same day’ appointments, we will usually go to Enloe Prompt Care or the ER for any kind of urgent situation, so I can’t comment on that experience. We’ve been going to the Children’s Center for many years and the only issues we had were with the scheduler back when they were on Cohasset, but she is no longer with NVIH thank God! The scheduler they have now, on Springfield, is lovely, as are the front desk ladies, the nurses and Dr. Tedford (and Dr. Bill, Dr. Valdez and other doctors and NP’s we’ve had in the past).

Sarah G. (.

If I could give zero I would ! This place is absolutely not a place you want to take your child , they will belittle you as a parent and make false Lies about your child . Was seeing this office for my son who is now two years old he was born Premature 4lbs the pediatrician he was seeing was absolutely Rude told me on multiple occasions I was starving him because he was not gaining the weight they wanted fast enough for them. I was told I was unknowledgeable on being a parent despite me having two others who were healthy and happy. Then my MIL who tried taking my kids reached out to our pediatrician who agreed with her that my youngest was malnuristed and neglected. All based because he wasn't putting on the weight they wanted and fast enough despite eating constantly. Do NOT take your kids here plus the staff is rude and inconsiderate and treats you like a inconvenience.