Pediatrician Referral
Hello BPN!
I am new to the Piedmont area and am seeking a referral for a great pediatrician for my toddler, preferably a female doctor. Please let me know if you have any referrals to a good pediatric dentist as well. I'm willing to travel outside of my neighborhood, but closer is always preferable.
Thanks!
May 23, 2019
Parent Replies
Berkeley Pediatrics is an amazing practice. Annemary Franks is my son's doc and I cannot recommend her enough. The entire practice is amazing.
We LOVE Dr. Katya Gerwein at Stanford Children's (Bayside Medical Group) in Berkeley. She is very supportive, factual and talks directly to the child. She has been so helpful after having a chain of terrible experiences at different Berkeley practice. We will be moving in a couple of months and she is one of our health care providers that I will truly miss :(
East Bay Pediatrics! We love all the doctors there. They have offices in both Berkeley and Orinda.
We love Dr. Amy Maidenberg! It's very personalized care and her office is small and sweet. I've taken my kids to her for years. I really trust her judgment and my kids love her. She's out of network, but I find the added price worth it for the value. She is very reachable by phone and email, and super quick to respond. She's on Piedmont Ave. Good luck!
I see that you have a recommendation for East Bay Pediatrics. We had taken our baby daughter to Dr. Damon at East Bay Pediatrics based on some glowing reviews here on BPN. We were initially impressed with the practice - doctors seemed nice, had a lactation consultant in office, didn't have to wait long, etc. Unfortunately, at ten months, after I did a thorough review of our daughter's vaccine records, I discovered she had not been vaccinated according to the CDC/APA schedule. I asked the advice nurse and was informed that the practice policy is to use their own schedule, different than CDC/APA. This was also confirmed later by Dr. Damon. You can read about it on their web page although it is somewhat buried beneath a statement that they do recommend the CDC/APA schedule: https://www.eastbaypediatrics.com/vaccine-philosophy.html. The practice policy is to delay the 1st polio vaccine and 2nd Hep B vaccine for 6 months past the CDC/APA timing. We were never informed of this even after we told the doctor that we were traveling internationally at 9 months. By that time she should have been fully vaccinated against polio but had only received 1 of 3 shots.
East Bay Pediatrics also provides parents the option for an additionally delayed/alternative schedule for vaccinations i.e. delaying 1st measles vaccination until 24 months and 2nd until 6 years (see https://www.eastbaypediatrics.com/vaccinations.html). This increases the chance that your child is in their office with other children that are not vaccinated.
We have a new doctor - Dr. Nam at Walnut Creek Pediatrics - that follows the CDC/APA schedule. She was happy to do a phone interview with us and we were able to get an appointment with her the very next day to begin getting our daughter back on track with the recommended vaccination schedule. At our first appointment with Dr. Nam we found her to be very friendly, professional, and thorough and expect to have a long and happy relationship with her.
Yes- East Bay Pediatrics with offices in Orinda and Berkeley! We LOVE Dr. Sarah Handelsman and have had positive experiences with all the doctors there.