La Clínica Pediatric Services

April 2009

Re: Spanish-speaking pediatrician for new baby

All of the pediatricians through La Clinica de la Raza are bilingual -- some speak English/Spanish, some speak German, Vietnamese, Chinese, etc.

I have a private PPO and still opted to go through the San Antonio Neighborhood Clinic (which is part of La Clinica) because I found their system of doctors, OB/GYNs/Midwives to be really great and their pediatricians are equally good, IMO.

My daughter is now 17 months old and always gets walk-ins if she's sick without any problems, they have a whole team of people to field triage calls after hours for emergency and non-emergency questions (which I had a lot of after she was first born ''she's got gunk in her eye! is that normal?!'')

Our regular pediatrician there is Dr. Amy Feldmann and we've also seen Dr. Katzenberger on those urgent walk-in days and both have been great. I think Dr. Katz is on leave since she recently had twins. They work with Alta Bates Berkeley and Children's Hospital in Oakland, depending upon the situation. Haven't had a problem yet!

Oh yeah, and we're a bilingual household -- husband and nanny speak exclusively Spanish to our daughter and I speak English/Spanglish so it's nice to go to the doctor's and be able to have things discussed in either/both languages and they also have lots of freebie board books they give at most visits in both languages too. Bonus! Love my Spanglish peds

We have a great Pediatrician, Dr. Jim Eitel, who is bilingual and works at La Clinica de la Raza at the Fruitvale office. It's right there at the BART station, they take Medi-Cal and Health Families, and you can get all your bloodwork, prescriptions, etc, right there. He is very thoughtful, gentle and good with parent issues as well. I met with him before my son was born (I'm sure he'd be happy to do the same for you) and he has been following my son the whole time. My kid is now 13 months. Good luck! Carmen

Jan 2008

Re: Pediatrician in Alameda or Oakland that accepts Medi-Cal
Saw your post looking for pediatricians who take MediCal -- I can highly recommend La Clinica de la Raza. [Caveat: I worked for them for 10 years and may be slightly biased. On the other hand, I know the day-to-day inner workings of the organization and am still positively biased, which says a lot!]

All La Clinica sites gladly accept MediCal -- ''straight'' or managed MediCal, such as Alameda Alliance or Blue Cross. The pediatricians at all the Oakland sites are just excellent, as are the nurse practitioners, physician assistants and family practitioners, all of whom see children. All the providers speak at least medical Spanish, and many of them are bilingual and/or bicultural.

I would recommend going to the San Antonio Neighborhood Health Center site, at 1030 International Blvd, which is part of La Clinica. They are currently expanding and will have lots more room for pediatric patients. They are a great group of people. If you have any concerns or problems, the on-site coordinator, Lupe Elizondo, is just excellent, and she is a bilingual Latina. The main phone number there is 510-238-5400.

Please feel free to e-mail me with any further questions. Philippa

Congratulations on your baby! I never went to La Clinica de la Raza, but I went to their other branch, San Antonio Clinic (on International Blvd near 10th ave)for over 10 years, and my husband and kids went there too for several years. We all saw Dr. Kelly - she was wonderful with all of us! She saw me through my teenage years, then through two pregnancies and deliveries, and she got my kids through positive TB tests, elevated blood lead levels, heart murmers, and any number of earaches. Unfortunately I no longer have Medi-Cal, and am instead forced to deal with Kaiser. I sincerely miss my days at San Antonio clinic, where there is no nonsense to deal with, just easily accessible, very good medical care. They even have a pharmacy right inside the clinic so if your doctor prescribes anything, you can just get it right there without having to make another trip to Walgreens or whatever. Trust me, that is a sanity saver when your baby is sick. Also, they have a ton of t! ranslators on staff - most of the doctors and nurses speak spanish in addition to english, but they also have translators for many Asian languages that are there all the time too. Other things I LOVED about San Antonio clinic: they have a counselor on staff in case you get PPD or anything, there is a 24 phone number you can call to talk to a nurse about anything, they automatically give you the little paper you need in order to get WIC (their office is right down the street too), and they handle ALL of the medi-cal paperwork for you. If La Clinica de la Raza is anything like San Antonio clinic you and your baby will be very well cared for there. Good Luck!

I work at La Clinica de La Raza, so I might be a bit biased, but I'm also a parent of two young children. I know most of the pediatricians very well. They are all wonderful providers, and fully bilingual in Spanish, which will make your husband very comfortable. I ask the pediatricians questions regarding my kids' health all the time, and I feel 100% confident in their abilities to manage a wide variety of patients. It's hard to know who to recommend specifically, without knowing if you're looking for someone older or younger, what your philosophy is, what your child's specific health concerns may be, etc. but I think that you can not make a bad choice. There are always urgent care appointments available if something comes up, along with triage services and emergency phone service at night and on weekends. If your child is in the hospital, s/he will be lovingly cared for by La Clinica pediatricians.

When you call, you won't be able to make an appointment right away, you'll need to go through registration first. This is definitely worth doing!

Good luck with your search. I can't imagine that there is a better place for a child with MediCal and a Spanish speaking parent to get health care in the Fruitvale area. I often wish my kids could be seen at La Clinica! love La Clinica de La Raza

Aug 2001

Re: need pediatrician, no insurance

If you'd consider driving to Oakland, I know of a place that meets all your needs. We do have medical insurance, but when we moved to Oakland 2.5 years ago, we interviewed several pediatricians in order to select one for our children. Once we came to this place, we were strongly impressed with the quality and the attitude of doctors here. The clinic was created a while ago by a few doctors wanting to contribute to the community. Most of the patient families do not have an insurance or have Medi-Cal. I know they make every effort to accomodate families financially - this is the key part of their philosophy.

Our doctor is Dr. Margaret Payne - there is no better doctor: our children get so much attention, she has decades of experience and if you need a referral to a specialist, she knows the best specialists in the Oakland Children's Hospital by their first name (and they tell you they treat this clinic's patients with special care).

On occasion, we got to see other doctors in the clinic, and each one of them was just great. Some names of the great ones we dealt with: Jim Ethel, John Pescetti. The clinic has an on-site pharmacy.

Another great feature: the place is always open on Saturday morning for drop-in appointments.

The name of the place is La Clinica Pediatrics, and the phone number is (510)535-4000. It is located next to the former old Wards building on International Blvd a few blocks from Fruitvale Bart.

Maria