Care Management Associates

Pros

• The doctors and staff are great.
• They respond quickly to questions and usually see children the same day.
• On-call doctors or nurses provide timely responses even overnight.
• The doctors are kind, attentive, and knowledgeable.
• The staff are friendly, warm, and patient with families.
• They provide detailed assessments, specific parent education, and well-established relationships with specialists, with informed vaccine consent.
• Children love visiting the office and feel welcomed and valued.
• The practice offers convenient features like virtual messaging to contact the office.

Cons

• The practice manager is hostile, sarcastic, and dismissive toward parents.
• The overall organization is described as abhorrent and concerning, needing investigation.
• Getting an appointment for a sick child is nearly impossible; concerns aren't taken seriously.
• Wait times in the exam rooms are long, often 30 minutes or more.
• Callback times and nurse responses are slow, requiring multiple follow-ups.
• Appointments can be canceled for lateness or weather, which frustrates parents.
• Several reviewers say they would not recommend the practice to others.
• The office is criticized as unprofessional and sometimes described as the worst experience.

Review

Families visiting Pediatric Associates of Bristol describe a landscape of experience that runs the gamut from deeply positive to sharply critical. On one end, parents repeatedly praise the doctors for being kind, attentive, thorough, and genuinely focused on their children's health. They note detailed assessments, clear patient education, and a willingness to discuss options - especially around vaccines. Several parents recount specific doctors by name (Dr. Schiff, Dr. Holland, Dr. Clark, Dr. Mastrocola, Dr. Loomis, Dr. Adams Mastrocola) as consistently patient with questions, never dismissive, and able to provide meaningful information that helps them feel confident in care decisions. In particular, reviewers appreciate when clinicians take time to explain advantages and drawbacks of vaccines or scheduling choices, and they value a sense of partnership rather than pressure.

Credit for smooth operations also appears in the form of responsiveness and accessibility. A number of reviewers describe quick or same-day availability when their child is sick, and after-hours care via on-call doctors or nurses who respond promptly. Some families report timely nurse callbacks - within a couple of hours or within a day - and the practice's evolving communication options, including a new patient portal and a virtual messaging feature, are cited as improvements that make it easier to reach the office without sacrificing quality of care. For families juggling multiple children, the office is described as capable of keeping care comprehensive and collaborative across providers and specialists.

Yet, beneath these strong endorsements lies a thread of frustration that centers on access, communication, and office culture. A recurring concern is difficulty obtaining timely appointments for sick children, with some parents feeling that calls to the office are not returned quickly enough and that the process of getting through to a nurse can be lengthy. Several reviews mention long led times to speak with someone and variable call-back speeds, sometimes requiring multiple nurse interactions before an appointment is offered. For some, this friction contrasts with the more positive experiences they've had with specific clinicians, creating a mixed impression of the overall practice.

The patient experience is also colored by wait times once a visit is underway. While many families emphasize that the doctors never rush and truly listen, others describe substantial waits in the exam rooms - reports of 30 minutes or more before being seen are not uncommon. For parents with young children or twins, those delays can be especially challenging, though some note that the extra time often translates into thorough evaluations and careful attention to each child's needs. The contrast between thoughtful care and the practical tedium of waiting contributes to a nuanced view of the clinic's efficiency.

One of the more pointed criticisms centers on the practice's leadership and administrative culture. A specific concern raised by several reviewers targets the practice manager, identified in one account as Sarah, whose manner is described as hostile, sarcastic, and dismissive toward parents. This portrayal of unprofessional behavior is presented as undermining trust in the overall quality of care, particularly in a pediatric setting where compassion and respect are expected as baseline standards. In addition to individual interpersonal critiques, some reviewers speak more broadly about the organization's setup and procedures as "abhorent" or concerning, suggesting systemic issues that go beyond the doctor-patient relationship.

Despite the strong feelings on both sides, a number of families emphasize that the positive experiences with clinicians - particularly with doctors who are attentive, respectful, and informative - keep them returning. Parents of neurodivergent children, in particular, say their providers listen without judgment and advocate effectively for their kids, which matters a great deal when navigating ongoing healthcare needs. Anecdotes of care for twins or multiple children at once describe a clinic atmosphere where staff are welcoming, friendly, and committed to not making families feel like "just a number." Some reviewers even highlight the sense that the team will take extra time to address concerns, making people feel heard.

There are also notes that the practice has earned broad local recognition within the community. Reviewers who have long-standing relationships with doctors there describe fond memories of compassionate care, including occasions when clinicians practiced patience and thoroughness that stood in contrast to the stress often associated with pediatric healthcare. A few reviewers explicitly say they would recommend the office to friends and family and cite the office's reputation in local online groups as a reason to choose this practice. In some cases, parents attribute their willingness to remain with this clinic to the doctors' expertise and to the office's generally high level of patient education and communication.

In sum, the overall impression conveyed by these comments is a clinic with standout clinicians and a core patient-centered approach, balanced by real, lived frustrations about access, administrative conduct, and appointment logistics. Families who stay or return point to doctors who listen, explain, and treat children with care and respect, and they appreciate improvements in communication channels that make it easier to reach the office. Others, however, describe a practice environment where management style and organizational hurdles can undermine the patient experience, leading some to caution prospective families to weigh both the medical care and the administrative culture when considering this office. The mix of praise for medical prowess and critique of administrative dynamics paints a complex portrait of Pediatric Associates as a place of high clinical competence intertwined with ongoing challenges in access and office culture.

Physicians

• Dermatology Associates (1.1 miles)
• Oculus (2.6 miles)
• Bristol Hospital Lab (4.7 miles)
• Grove Hill Medical Center (6.4 miles)
• MyEyeDr (7 miles)
• Doctors of Central CT (7.3 miles)
• Umashanker Devika MD - Tallwood Men's Health (7.4 miles)

Pharmacies

• CVS Pharmacy (1.2 miles)
• Walgreens (2.7 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (2.8 miles)
• Walgreens (3.1 miles)
• CVS Pharmacy (3.2 miles)
• Beacon Prescriptions (3.2 miles)
• Med Stat Pharmacy (3.9 miles)

Restaurants

• Bell City Diner (1.4 miles)
• Cava Restaurant (1.5 miles)
• Jerzie Joe's Sports Bar & Grill (1.7 miles)
• Chick-Fil-A (2.1 miles)
• McDonald's (2.3 miles)
• Wood-n-Tap Bar & Grill-Southington (2.6 miles)
• McDonald's (2.7 miles)

Parks

• Norton Park (1.9 miles)
• Plymouth Green (6.9 miles)
• Bucks Hill Park (7.1 miles)
• Stanley Quarter Park (7.6 miles)
• Hubbard Park (8.2 miles)
• Sage Park (9.2 miles)
• Countryside Park (9.2 miles)

Cafes

• Starbucks (2.3 miles)
• Starbucks (2.7 miles)
• Aroma Joe's (3.2 miles)
• Provision State Coffee (7.6 miles)
• Riders Smokehouse Bar (8.2 miles)
• Starbucks (9.3 miles)

Hospitals

• Hospital Of Central Connecticut At Bradley Memorial (4.3 miles)
• The Hospital of Central Connecticut Cancer Center (4.8 miles)
• Saint Mary's Health System Affiliates (5.8 miles)
• Family Birthing Center (9.1 miles)
• MidState Medical Center (9.1 miles)
• Saint Mary's Hospital (9.5 miles)
• Newington Veterans Hospital (9.7 miles)

Places of Worship

• Church of Eternal Light (5.5 miles)

Theaters

• AMC Starplex Cinemas Southington 12 (6 miles)
• Picture Show at Berlin (8.8 miles)

Transportation

• Amtrak (7.6 miles)