A 4.9-Star Rating in One of Chicago's Most Demanding Markets
Lake Forest, Illinois is not a market where mediocrity survives. Situated on the affluent North Shore of Chicago — a corridor where residents routinely commute to major academic medical centers and hold strong opinions about the quality of their care — a practice that holds a 4.9-star rating across 1,732 patient reviews has earned that standing the hard way. Every one of those reviews represents a woman who chose to sit down after an appointment and document her experience.
For the practice formerly known as Ob-Gyne Associates of Lake Forest, Ltd. — now operating as Beyond Gyne Health — 1,732 reviews and a 4.9-star aggregate is not a fluke. It is the cumulative outcome of more than fifty years of caring for multiple generations of women in Lake County.
From Ob-Gyne Associates to Beyond Gyne Health
The practice has deep roots in the North Shore. Founded more than five decades ago, Ob-Gyne Associates of Lake Forest built a reputation as the anchor women's health provider for families across Lake County. In recent years, the practice rebranded as Beyond Gyne Health — a name that signals an intentional expansion beyond routine obstetrics and gynecology into a more comprehensive model of women's health, including pelvic floor physical therapy, menopause medicine, bone density evaluation, and dedicated infertility care.
The phone number has not changed: (847) 234-3250. The Lake Forest office remains at 959 S. Waukegan Road, Second Floor, Lake Forest, IL 60045. A second location operates in Gurnee, at 36100 N. Brookside Drive, Suite 204 — giving patients across northern Lake County a closer option. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM, with online appointment scheduling available through the practice website.
The Physicians
Beyond Gyne Health is built around a core of four board-certified OB/GYNs, all Fellows of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG). That credential isn't automatic — it requires demonstrated commitment to continuing education, ethical practice, and peer review standards.
Dr. Heather Heiberger, MD, FACOG is among the founding core of the practice. She and her colleagues Drs. Oh and Tart trained at the University of Chicago — one of the nation's premier academic medical centers — bringing to Lake Forest the depth of clinical training typically found at major urban institutions.
Dr. Elizabeth Oh, MD, FACOG shares the University of Chicago training background, bringing academic-level OB/GYN expertise to community-based care on the North Shore.
Dr. Maureen Tart, MD, FACOG rounds out the University of Chicago-trained trio. Patient reviews consistently highlight her approachable manner — she takes time to explain clinical details, does not rush appointments, and fosters patient confidence during what can be anxiety-producing visits.
Dr. Mary Faith Terkildsen, MD, FACOG, IF, CSC, MSCP is the practice's specialist in reproductive medicine and menopause. Her credentials reward a closer look: "IF" denotes certification in infertility; "CSC" designates a Certified Sexuality Counselor; and "MSCP" indicates a Menopause Society Certified Practitioner. This combination is unusual in a community OB/GYN setting and means patients with fertility concerns, sexual health questions, or perimenopause symptoms have access to a physician whose training goes considerably deeper than a generalist's.
The clinical team is rounded out by Elizabeth Bail, DNP, FNP-BC, an advanced practice family nurse practitioner; Catie Porter, PA-C, a certified physician assistant; and two pelvic floor physical therapists — Shannon Jaronik, PT, DPT, PRPC and Caroline Nelson, DPT — whose presence reflects a genuine commitment to treating the full spectrum of pelvic health.
Fertility and Infertility Services
Beyond Gyne Health offers a dedicated fertility and infertility service line. Dr. Terkildsen's IF credential makes her the clinical anchor for patients who have been trying to conceive without success or are exploring fertility preservation. Conditions like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, and irregular bleeding are often intertwined with fertility challenges, and having the same practice manage gynecologic care and fertility workup under one roof reduces the fragmentation that sends patients to multiple specialists.
The pelvic floor physical therapy program — staffed by Shannon Jaronik, PT, DPT, PRPC and Caroline Nelson, DPT — is also fertility-adjacent: pelvic floor dysfunction is a frequently overlooked contributor to painful intercourse and conception difficulties. Jaronik's PRPC (Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner Certification) signals post-graduate clinical depth uncommon in community practice settings.
Additional services include contraception counseling, ultrasound and breast ultrasound, bone density scanning, menopause care, weight management, adolescent gynecology, and in-office procedures. For patients requiring advanced reproductive technologies like IVF or egg freezing, the practice coordinates with Chicago-area reproductive endocrinologists. See our Illinois fertility clinic directory for further options across the state.
Illinois Fertility Insurance Mandate — What North Shore Patients Need to Know
Illinois has one of the country's most comprehensive fertility insurance mandates, and it expanded significantly as of January 1, 2026. Under the updated law (215 ILCS 5/356m), every group health insurance policy that provides pregnancy-related benefits — regardless of employer size, with the old 25-employee threshold now removed — must include coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of infertility.
Covered procedures include diagnostic workup for infertility, IUI, IVF and embryo transfer, pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT), and oocyte retrieval — generally up to four lifetime retrievals, with up to two additional after a live birth, for a lifetime maximum of six.
The mandate applies to fully insured group plans issued in Illinois and extends to non-ERISA self-funded plans sponsored by state and local governmental entities, including public schools. ERISA self-funded private employer plans remain exempt — a gap that affects a significant share of corporate workers.
For North Shore families, whose employer benefits packages often skew toward comprehensive group coverage, the practical effect is substantial: fertility evaluation and treatment at a practice like Beyond Gyne Health may be covered at the same cost-sharing level as any other specialist visit. Always request benefits verification before your first infertility appointment. See our fertility insurance guide by state and IVF cost by state resource for Illinois-specific benchmarks.
Why Patients Choose This Practice
The review record — 4.9 stars across 1,732 ratings — points to behavioral patterns patients notice and mention consistently: same-day nurse callbacks for clinical questions, appointments that do not feel rushed, and a physician team that has in many cases cared for multiple generations of the same family. On the North Shore, where patients have no shortage of well-credentialed alternatives, that kind of loyalty is built one appointment at a time.
For patients approaching a fertility evaluation, a practice combining an infertility-credentialed physician, in-house pelvic floor PT, menopause expertise, and fifty years of OB/GYN history offers something dedicated fertility clinics often cannot: the full context of a patient's gynecologic history, under one roof. Our guide on how to choose a fertility clinic explains why that continuity matters when building a care team.
Considering At-Home Insemination?
Not every fertility journey begins in a clinic. At-home intracervical insemination (ICI) is a lower-cost, private option that suits patients with no known fertility diagnosis — including single parents by choice, same-sex couples, and people who want to try a few cycles before committing to clinical treatment.
At-home insemination kits like those from MakeAMom come with step-by-step instructions designed for donor or partner sperm. Kits are a one-time purchase that can be reused until conception succeeds, require no clinic visit, and arrive in plain, discreet packaging. Many patients use them as a first step while working toward a fertility consultation — or alongside ovulation tracking while they wait for an appointment slot.
If you have a known fertility diagnosis, have been trying for 12 months without success (six months if you're over 35), or your physician has already recommended IUI or IVF, a board-certified reproductive endocrinologist is the right next step.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Beyond Gyne Health offer fertility treatment, or only infertility evaluation?
Both. Dr. Mary Faith Terkildsen, MD, FACOG, IF holds a dedicated infertility certification and manages diagnostic workups and treatment planning for patients experiencing difficulty conceiving. When advanced assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF or egg freezing are needed, the practice coordinates referrals to reproductive endocrinology specialists in the Chicago area. Call (847) 234-3250 to discuss your situation with the clinical team.
How does Illinois's fertility insurance mandate affect coverage at Beyond Gyne Health?
As of January 1, 2026, Illinois requires all group health insurance policies providing pregnancy-related benefits to cover infertility diagnosis and treatment — including IUI, IVF, and pre-implantation genetic testing — regardless of employer size. If you have fully insured group coverage through an Illinois-licensed plan, your infertility evaluation and many treatments should be covered subject to normal cost-sharing. Self-funded ERISA plans remain exempt. See our fertility insurance guide by state for a full breakdown, and our IVF cost by state resource for out-of-pocket benchmarks.
What is the difference between the Lake Forest and Gurnee locations?
Both locations operate under the same physician team and clinical standards. The Lake Forest office at 959 S. Waukegan Road, Second Floor is the practice's flagship, tracing its origins back more than fifty years as Ob-Gyne Associates of Lake Forest. The Gurnee office at 36100 N. Brookside Drive, Suite 204 serves patients in northern Lake County. Both are reached at (847) 234-3250.