Dr. Rickey J Viator

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Dr. Viator is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable pediatricians around. We love him!

Now, I'm one of the children under the care of Dr. Viator. He is extremely nice and offers toys in the strangest way possible. He is accurate when it comes to diagnosing and he is a great doctor and person.

My family and I absolutely love this office with Dr. Viator and Staff very professional and caring. My children have been patients for years, one has since aged out and the other is still a patient. They are now 20 and 12 and they love Dr. Viator.

I have been under the care of Dr. Viator since I was born. He is a great friendly doctor who as been extremely accurate when he diagnoses me.

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This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

Dr. Viator is a great pediatrician! Office staff could be more friendly.

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All 3 of my kids saw Dr Viator for well over 10 years. They absolutely loved him & we were sorry to see him leave the Tampa Bay area. He never over prescribed antibiotics and was always a very kind caring professional with my children. I will say he is very straight forward and matter of fact. So if this is not what you are looking for in a doctor, then "Dr V." would not be for you. I truly appreciated that quality in him as a pediatrician and never doubted his abilities as my childrens doctor. Glad to see he is still helping children. All 3 of my kids saw Dr Viator for well over 10 years. They absolutely loved him & we were sorry to see him leave the Tampa Bay area. He never over prescribed antibiotics and was always a very kind caring professional with my children. I … More

????????????????????????Horrible and unpleasant was the behavior of the staff.

So, we all know the flu is an epidemic and not the usual flu this year, so all symptoms are not going to be like the USUAL flu symptoms......but apparently Dr Viator feels everyone is the exact same and will have the exact same symptoms as the normal flu. He was not going to swab my daughter to check for the flu and was going to send her home without meds and back to school tomorrow since she was running a very low grade fever. He does not feel a 99-100° temp is a fever. After leaving the office and getting to car with yellow snot coming from her nose, I marched her back into the office for him to check her for a possible sinus infection and to swab for the flu. She ended up being POSITIVE for the flu and he walks up to me and says " Huh, she is positive for the flu, thats unusual." So I wonder how many other kids have gone back to school having the flu and keep spreading it around. I would avoid this pediatrician to keep your kids safe. I will be changing. He better be glad I was proactive in my daughters care so she did not end up like those other kids who have died from this, because he would have been as well. Avoid Viator as your childs pediatrician. So, we all know the flu is an epidemic and not the usual flu this year, so all symptoms are not going to be like the USUAL flu symptoms......but apparently Dr Viator feels everyone is the exact same and will have the exact same symptoms as … More

"I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgement, and I will do no harm or injustice to them." by The Hippocratic Oath (Ορκος) We are Dr Bolduc patients since our 15 months daughter was born. Starting last night, she has fever from 99.5 to 101.5. Today we went to see our pediatrician, Dr Bolduc but he will be out of office until Friday we were told and got directed to Walk-in Sacred Heart located down towards Destin, but they also cant see her because the only see children 18 months and up. On our way home we called the office of Viator Rickey and Crystal Tidwell, but we have been told specifically that they wont take or see Drs Bolduc patients categorically, I have explained them that my 15 months daughter has fever for almost 24 hours now and we need a pediatrician to see and listen to her. But we have told to wait until Dr Bolduc comes back and go to see him in 2 days and that they wont take a Dr Bolduc patient. Dr Bolduc, Viator, Crystal and other used to practice under one roof and working as one pediatric center at this location, an year or so ago the have split to two different pediatric centers, but still working under Sacred Heart Logo, meaning that they have common patients in spite of The Hippocratic Oath they all took when the starting being so called doctors. They would rather reject sick children and let them stay home rather then to see and treat each others patients. I hope that you, Dr Viator could see a pediatrician when you child was sick if you have any. "I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgement, and I will do no harm or injustice to them." by The Hippocratic Oath (Ορκος) … More

See the other Dr.’s if you can. Dr. Victor needs to retire! He is a decent Dr for routine visits, but when you actually need advice, professional input, or a bedside manner, he is arrogant, interrupting, and flippant. On some days he acts like he couldn’t care less and other days he belittles your parenting ability and demands you do “this, this, and this”. I love the staff, nurses, and Dr.Tidwell and Dr. Vroon. We only see Dr Viator if nessecary during clinic hours. See the other Dr.’s if you can. Dr. Victor needs to retire! He is a decent Dr for routine visits, but when you actually need advice, professional input, or a bedside manner, he is arrogant, interrupting, and flippant. On some days he acts … More

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"I will use those dietary regimens which will benefit my patients according to my greatest ability and judgment, and I will do no harm or injustice to them." The Hippocratic Oath We are Dr Bolduc patients since our 15 months daughter was born. Starting last night, she has a fever from 99.5 to 101.5. He was out of the office, and we called Viators office and we were rejected to be seeing because we are Dr Bolducs patients. in spite of the fact that Sacred Heart Medical Group says on both doors

We've gone to Dr. Viator for more than 10 years and have been very pleased with every aspect of his care and the service of his staff.

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As a first time mother, we had our first time appointment with Dr. Gorman (works w/ Dr. Viator). She informed us that our son has a frenulum (oversized gap). All babies lose weight after they leave the hospital. Instead of seeing how my son is latching, she immediately wanted to schedule surgery to have it removed because she was convinced that was why he wasn't gaining weight. We had a dentist look at it, and he was appalled that it would be surgically removed. We no longer trusted her advice.

Dr. Viator has been my children's primary doctor for 7+ years and we have received excellent care thus far. He identified a rare non-maligent tumor on my then 6 month old son's eyebrow. He's experience trumps all. He's my go-to - so fortunate to have him in our community! The walk in sick clinic M-F from 8-9am has been a lifesaver.

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This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

After driving 30 minutes with a feverish baby for a 4pm appt., I was told my BCBS insurance wasn't accepted and could not see the dr. The insurance was given over the phone and no mention of a problem then. I said I would pay for the visit out of pocket. Dr Viator came out and said he could not take money if we have insurance. He literally sent us away with a crying baby, knowing we were out of towners w no other options at this late hour besides an emergency room. He should be ashamed.

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

We finally found a professional, caring, informed pediatrician and staff. Dr Viator's wisdom and knowledge are comforting and encouraging. He doesn't over-write for antibiotics or over-diagnose ADHD and you don't leave his office with a prescription every time (like so many other drs). In fact, he told me that our child didn't need an antibiotic that he had been prescribed in the ER. Dr Viator's ethics and integrity are rare these days. His staff is efficient and goes above and beyond for the patients and parents. A receptionist who lives nearby actually brought paperwork I needed to my home to save me the trip from Ft Walton. I am licensed and have worked several years in child care and I can truly say that it's worth the long drive for my child to see Dr. Viator! We finally found a professional, caring, informed pediatrician and staff. Dr Viator's wisdom and knowledge are comforting and encouraging. He doesn't over-write for antibiotics or over-diagnose ADHD and you don't leave his office with a … More

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This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

This user rated the provider, but did not write a review

We are switching practices. I have been seeing both Dr. Viator and his female partner (Smith-Sowell) for about 6 months now with my 2 small children. We have had approximately 8 visits and I could kick myself for not leaving sooner. First of all, the front office staff is beyond rude. From my very first phone call (which some would call a clue) right down to my very last visit today. They are short and snide when I call for an appointment and do not greet people when they arrive, not even a hello in 6 months! They required me to physically go into the practice to get new patient paperwork and bring it back-then told me to wait for them to call me before I could make my childrens first appointments. They never did call me back (the whole process took nearly 2 weeks) and I then couldn't get an appointment for nearly a month. It was extremely frustrating process that again, should have been a clue. Why couldn't they email the paperwork to me and I bring it in at my first visit? I can tell you why, they are not concerned with what is convenient for the patient but rather conveniencing themselves, even if it means having otherwise well patients come into the practice and risk getting sick and waste time and money to do so. I also had to demand to speak to the nurse on a couple of occasions because they were insisting on sick-call instead of making appointments and /or making the suggestion I talk to a nurse-new Moms be weary of this! I'm not sure of the angle or why this is the case though I suspect they can move more people through sick call than a morning of appointments. Now onto the Dr. he is a nice enough guy, but I always leave feeling like he was totally dismissive of me. He is older in age and perhaps comes from a time when young, uneducated mothers would concede to this type of interaction with their Doctors. I also feel like he is too quick to give antibiotics and down plays the dangers of them, another old school way of thinking. As for Dr Sowell-Smith, she is o.k., I would choose her between the two but she is very matter of fact and barely engaging. Either way, I would never recommend this practice to a first time Mom. Perhaps their ONLY saving grace are the nursing staff. I have had nothing but pleasant, great interactions with each nurse I have encountered. We are switching practices. I have been seeing both Dr. Viator and his female partner (Smith-Sowell) for about 6 months now with my 2 small children. We have had approximately 8 visits and I could kick myself for not leaving sooner. … More

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