Ventre Medical - Oakland Park, Florida

Yami O.

I had my first appointment on 8/2 at 3 PM with Marlon Vazquez. Unfortunately, due to technical issues, I could not complete the appointment. When I returned to the telehealth video call, I noticed that Marlon seemed frustrated, so I decided to reschedule with someone else for 8/6. This time, I was scheduled with a different nurse practitioner named Leonardo La Silva. I waited for 15 minutes for him to join the call but he never did, so I logged out and texted Jhon, who has been communicating with me about my appointments.

After logging out, I received a text message stating that I would be charged $25 for not showing up to my appointment, which I find unreasonable since I waited for Silva Deleon for 15 minutes. I called the call center to address this issue and spoke with a representative who was understanding. I requested a refund because I no longer want to do business with them due to this poor experience.

Additionally, I was told someone would call me an hour before the appointment to check me in, but I was working and informed the person who rescheduled my appointment of this. I never received any voicemail regarding check-in, and I feel that I’ve been treated unfairly.

I am very disappointed with this whole process. I sought help but ended up with more stress. Thank you for nothing.

Leyka B.

For the two years that I received treatment from Veronica Magloire, I could not have wished for a finer mental health provider. Veronica helped me manage my prescriptions and diagnoses that my previous doctor had overlooked, and she was able to better comprehend my condition. I was devastated and disheartened to learn that state laws and regulations prevented me from seeing her after I relocated to Texas. I must admit that having Veronica as my doctor has made me feel happier, more at ease, focused, and at ease than before. She embodies all that a superb mental health practitioner ought to be.

Bob S.

My APRN is wonderful, 5 star rating for him. The billing department is another story. You can not even get through to anyone, always goes right into voice mail. I was billed $45 on two different occasions for a co-pay, which I have no co- pay for telev visits. I have spoken to the office manager(?) and sent several emails trying to get my money refunded. This has been going on since March 2023. I see by reading other reviews that I am not the only person they have done this to. What will it take to get my refund? Very bad business practice!

shequonnia C.

Very nice facility but Horrible experience. I've visited here 3 THREE TIMES STILL NO HELP.
Dr. ( BLANK) is not helpful nor understanding. I feel he's very judgmental. The staff is lazy. I was doing their job in finding a pharmacy who has my medication in stock. They're not good about returning calls or following up, but shol' know how to COLLECT A CO PAYMENT! I don't recommend this place ijs. ZERO STARS FOR MY EXPERIENCE!!!!! 🙁

Rachel M.

Rude call center representatives refuse to forward messages to my practitioner, state they will not assist in any way, and hung up on me (several times). I would like to contact my dr regarding a problem with my prescription, but the call center representatives refuse to do so or to help me in any way.

David E.

When you come to a doctor, especially psychiatrist, you must trust one totally. For a few years, my experience with the facility was satisfactory I trusted them. Until, Dr. Shekar, a resident, proved me wrong. Entrapment of a patient for an appointment, by indicating things that already been decided against must be contrary to medical ethics and common decency. Anyone who engages in those behaviors will surely be unable to rise to the level of trust expected from a psychiatrist. Ironically, look up what 'sheker' means in Hebrew. For the sake of fairness, I will write a follow up, let's see whether they made a good medical decision.

Amanda M.

A provider at this practice ruined my life. Maybe not permanently, but still, I don’t know how long this will last.

I started off seeing a different provider - who was a doctor - who left the practice. When they left, I was randomly placed with a different provider - Ilona Moroz. She is a nurse practitioner and highly unqualified to deal with severe co-occurring mental health diagnoses.

Before seeing her, I wasn’t 100% mentally well by any means, but I was stable. Even after going through highly stressful, traumatic experiences for several months prior. At the time of seeing her, I was on an antidepressant. She immediately decided to take me off the antidepressant - citing the possibility of a future manic episode due to the notes of a previous provider (not the one mentioned above) saying I have bipolar disorder. I have never had a manic episode in my life. I have, however, struggled with depression for over a decade. Why would she think it fit to take me off a medication I needed to function to prevent the risk of something I’ve never even come close to experiencing?

Of course, taking me off the antidepressants, as someone with major depression, was a horrible idea. I began declining rapidly. So she decided to try Vraylar - a non-generic name brand $700/month drug (thankfully my insurance covered it). I wonder why she’d be so excited to push a $700 prescription on me when I have taken it’s cousin - abilify (generic version) - unsuccessfully in the past?

Anyway, this medication caused SEVERE nausea. To the point where I couldn’t - and still can’t - function. Nauseous all day every day with no remedy. She prescribed me yet another medication to counteract the horrible side effects and hide the mistakes she caused in the first place. When that didn’t work, she took me off the vraylar. By that point, I was on only 125 mg of Lamotrigine. A very low dose, especially by itself. Mind you, at the time, I was diagnosed (according to my records with this practice) with 9 different various psychiatric disorders - ranging from bipolar disorder to BPD to anxiety to MDD. It was simply not enough, and my mental health declined more.

She decided to try Caplyta, yet another $700/month medication, again, wonder why - this time my insurance didn’t cover it, so I had to wait another week to see her again to be treated. In the meantime, I was still dealing with nausea, suicidal thoughts, severe depression, anger, irritability, mood swings, etc. only being treated with a very low dose of a mood stabilizer.

Finally, we landed on Lithium. We started with a low dose which did nothing. Then we moved to 1200 mg a day which is an enormous jump, in my opinion, which has left my body and mind a wreck. I feel sick all the time, I have tons of side effects - I won’t get into details, but they’re very unpleasant - and my mental health is at an all time low.

I made the decision to seek out my previous provider who left this horrible, godforsaken practice, and hopefully with their help I can fix the mess Ilona and Ventre medical made of my mind and body. It will take time. She spent 3 months treating me like a guinea pig. Hopefully it’ll get better soon.

I can’t warn anyone reading this enough. This practice is horrible. They push unnecessary and outrageously expensive treatments on their patients for the sole purpose of profit. I’m nearly broke, in debt, sick all the time mentally and physically, because I can’t work, because I’m so sick, because of the irresponsible actions of this unqualified woman who would rather collect a paycheck from the drug companies than actually treat her suffering, sick patients.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope it helps shed light on the quality of this practice. Please, take your insurance and money somewhere else where they’re actually going to help you.

Christian D.

I’ve had several interactions with psychiatrists, but none better than Dr. Katerina. She’s diligent, intelligent, intentional, and really cares about my well being. She’s as sweet as can be and is remarkably easy to work with. 10/10.