CNY Fertility Center is my third fertility clinic in my endeavor to have a baby.
1. I initially started at Columbia Fertility in Fairfax, VA-- the staff was cold, unresponsive to telephone and email, and very unprofessional, and super clinical. They rushed through procedures w/o explanation, then talked financial costs afterwards.
2. Switched over to Shady Grove Fertility Anandale, VA-- great corporate culture (educational tools, etc.). I had Dr. Levin based on my OB/Gyn's recommendation, loved him, but did not care for my nurse who was cold and clinical. Only provided answers when prompted. Didn't bat an eye when I told her I was switching to another clinic. Was sad about leaving SGF, but they were too expensive.
3. CNY Fertility-- I found this place by accident while perusing IVF Facebook pages. Read that it was super cost effective and high success rate with great doctors.
a. Initial Consult: because they are so great, their initial consult takes a while. There's a very long waitlist. I called in May and for an over-the-phone consultation I got a September 14 appointment with Dr. K at Syracuse. I decided to fly in for my appointment instead and got a July 25 appointment in Albany with Dr. Ditkoff.
b. Out-of-Town Patients: CNY has quite a few of out of towners (like I was), and even international patients. Explains the long wait list.
c. Cost: SGF was asking approx. $28K for three rounds of IVF and not including meds which one can add anywhere between $2.5K-$5K; CF was asking for around the same amount; CNY on the other hand asked for $3,900/cycle (not incl. meds), and also offers veteran/military discount.
d. Ambiance: CNY does not look clinical AT ALL. Not from the outside, and definitely not from the inside. I walked into a spa-looking and spelling building with soft music playing from invisible speakers. There was a board on my left that listed all the classes and services available at CNY (massage, yoga, acupuncture, dietary counseling, support circles and more...!), and the door leading to the reception was akin to a door into a spa more than a clinic. When I entered the reception I was taken aback by the comfy sofas, scattered pillows, low lighting, fireplace, reading books, music in the background, and the happy banter amongst the staff! It was delicious. My check-in was very smooth and quick and I thought I'd be able to avail of the soft comfy sofas since I had just flown into Albany and would have loved a coffee from their coffee machine-- but I was led to Dr. Ditkoff's office almost immediately.
e. Dr. Ditkoff: what a sweet, happy, caring, sensitive, thorough doctor! I was nervous that we might not sync, I had prepared by reading his bio on the CNY website, but I was nervous about having him as my doctor over Dr. Kiltz (who is the founder and main honcho). But I'm glad I stayed with Dr. D. He explained the next steps very concisely, wrote out my plan to step 3, and I felt like I had got my money's worth for flying out there. I wasn't rushed, nor did I feel I was leaving with more questions. Best of all, he listened to me rather then telling me. I was sent down to proceed with blood work and an u/s.
f. Staff: super friendly, very efficient, and every time I have called their hotline-- they have answered right away. Since my appointment I have had to call them at least twice daily (excluding the weekend). In fact, the staff called with my blood results the day after my appointment and followed up with me the following week. Today is Wednesday, Aug 01 and I have been able to reach both the nurses and the travel team right away (after navigating the VM system).
I would absolutely recommend CNY Fertility to anyone who is trying to become pregnant. This place caters to EVERYONE and does not exclude based on sexual orientation (another reason I was happy with this place), age (i'm an "older" patient), or medical conditions (some patients have talked about having endometriosis, etc. and CNY has been patient with them and walked them through alternate medical procedures to help them have healthy pregnancies. I was initially drawn to CNY for their pricing, but I'm so happy I switched over. I wish I'd known about this place in 2016 when I started my IVF journey with other fertility clinics in my DMV area. If one can afford the flights, not need too much babysitting, is proactive with doing their own research in order to ask the proper questions, has the money, doesn't mind being an out-of-town patient (which comes with its own headaches), and really wants a baby but doesn't want to have to remortgage their home-- go to CNY! read more