Seeking a Pediatrician in the East Bay

Parent Q&A

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  • Hello-

    My family is relocating to East Bay from Brooklyn in May and will need a new pediatrician in the area. Hoping for a few recommendations that accept United Healthcare.

    Thank you,

    Kayla 

    I would start by looking on the UHS site. It’s common on the East Coast but NOT here. My husband recently took a job w UHS and it was just terrible. None of our doctors or dentists had even heard of it. Lots of stress and $s. We switched insurance.  

    Hello! We moved from Brooklyn too. Our six year old has been seeing Dr Nicole Learned at Berkeley Pediatrics since birth and we couldn’t be happier. When we’ve had to see other doctors in the practice covering for Dr Learned they’ve all been wonderful. 

    I have United Healthcare and have been going to East Bay Pediatrics with our three kids for over four years. We see Dr Pickering who is wonderful, but have liked all the doctors in the practice when we haven’t been able to get in to see her (which is usually only if we need a same day visit for illness). 

    We have been at East Bay Pediatrics since my son was born. We were behind the ball, and were asking the hospitalist pediatrician for recommendations on the day he was born. And he recommended us to East Bay Pediatrics and they were able to offer us one of the newborn slots they hold open. We have been happy there and the scheduling, online portal, nursing line, covid vaccinations have all worked well for us. They have two locations: Orinda and Berkeley and we can see our doctor at either. 

    Recommended:

    Bayside pediatrics is fantastic. Lovely care. Great staff. Quick to answer questions. 

    I love East Bay Pediatricians.  They have offices in Berkeley and Castro Valley, and have pediatricians specializing in all ages -- infancy through adolescence.  I took my infant daughter to Dr. Oceguera, and now that she is a teen, she sees Dr. Miller

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    We have been very happy with Kiwi Pediatrics. They are super responsive, sensible, and flexible. They have called us after hours to get back to us about issues, allowed us to send in pictures of rashes while on vacation to tell us if we needed to do anything, still do telehealth appointments for some issues, and when two of our kids had serious health issues, they were on top of them and helped us coordinate with their specialists.

    We particularly like Dr. Salsburg and Dr. Winokur but pretty much everyone we’ve seen there has been great. 510-652-1720

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  • Hi parents,

    We are looking for a pediatrician for our baby due in January. Anyone have recommendations for someone in east bay (e.g. El Cerrito, Berkeley, Pinole areas are ideal).  We live in Richmond, and go to UCSF for prenatal care.

    Thanks!

    We go to Dr Jennifer Dovicki in Orinda; she’s part of John Muir/UCSF.

    We like their clinic. It’s organized and efficient 

    Hi! We started with East Bay Pediatrics recently. We love the in-office experience. They are a bit slow responding to questions in the portal, but they are very nice. Two offices—one in Berkeley and one in Orinda. Overall good experience. 

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    Where are you delivering?  We went with east bay pediatrics, it's right near Alta Bates in berkeley plus we live close by and it was super convenient.  Dr. Vo takes care of both our 4 year old as well as our 8 week old.  I highly recommend the practice.

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    Kiwi Pediatrics is amazing. We love our pediatrician Dr. Salsberg, but the entire practice is great. 
    https://www.kiwipediatrics.com

    Recommended:

    We were very happy with East Bay Pediatrics (2999 Regent St, Berkeley). We saw Dr. Miller but other Drs in the pratice were also reco'd to us by friends. The staff is kind and helpful. Great first vaccines experiences for our little one.

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  • I have been a Kaiser or Sutter patient my entire life and therefore only have experience with large health care providers.

    My 11-month old is now under my husband's PPO, so for the first time I have a choice between a smaller practice or Sutter/John Muir.

    I hear people recommending Berkeley Pediatrics, East Bay Pediatrics and other smaller practices.

    My questions are:

    1. For those of you who have experience with both big conglomerates and smaller practices, which do you prefer? Is it hard to get appointments, school forms, etc. with the smaller practices?

    2. Do smaller practices places charge for emails? I want to be able to email the pediatrician basic questions without being charged.

    3. What happens when you need Xrays, blood work, etc? Do I have to go somewhere else? Where? What if there is an emergency/after hours issue? The "all-in-one" of a Kaiser/Sutter is convenient.

    Lastly, if you love your (non-Kaiser) pediatrician, I would appreciate recommendations!

    Thanks for your help!

    I LOVE E. Bay Pediatrics.  My now 15yo's baby doctor has recently joined, and she is GREAT!  They also have the BEST doctor for adolescents.  They do not charge extra for emails etc.  Labs are ordered, and can be done anywhere.  I found it easier, not harder, to work with them.  And better care.

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    We go to east bay pediatrics for both our kids and love it.  Generally haven't had an issue getting appointments and our doctor is amazing.

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    I feel like Berkeley Pediatrics is the perfect happy medium.  We started at UCSF with a family practice doctor -- in hindsight we should have chosen a pediatrician, because he seemed more comfortable treating adults than babies.  However, it was not easy to get in touch with him, which definitely seems like the downside of a big practice.  Our pharmacy gave us the wrong medication formulation for thrush and when we called UCSF, the first person we spoke to said it was fine to give our baby the powder, when actually we should have received an oral suspension.  This was just incorrect and caused us unnecessary stress.  Next, we went to GetzWell, which was very small and personalized but extremely expensive.  Finally, we switched to Berkeley Pediatrics.  We've been able to get appointments and school forms as needed and have not been charged for emails.  In addition, Dr. Franks is super amazing and actually responds quickly to emails!

    Our kids have been patients at Berkeley Pediatrics for the last 21 years, and we love them! Our pediatrician is Dr. Olivia Lang, but all the doctors there are excellent. There is nothing like a smaller practice for pediatric care. We've had excellent, personalized care and continuity, and the place is much cozier and less threatening than large medical settings. Well check appts. need to be scheduled far in advance, but for urgent care, they've always been able to fit us in quickly. We've emailed with follow-up questions without being charged. Fast turnaround for school forms. Yes, you do need to go elsewhere for xrays and labs - where to go depends on your particular insurance. There is an answering service if you have problems after hours.

    We absolutely adore our pediatrician at East Bay Pediatrics - Dr. Courtney Pickering. Although every pediatrician we’ve seen there has been amazing and I’d happily see any of them again. We email questions and receive a timely email response (no charge!) and have been fortunate to get same-day virtual visits when we’ve been traveling and needed quick advice. Couldn’t recommend them more!

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  • Our family is switching from Kaiser to blue cross in January. We're in Berkeley and would love a rec for a good pediatrician for our 2 year old and primary care physician for the adult members of the household. Word of mouth seems a good way to find good doctors so any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance. 

    We love Dr. Nicole Learned ("Dr. Nikki") at Berkeley Pediatrics. My son loves going there, and I always find her care knowledgeable and her input helpful. https://www.berkeleypediatrics.com/physicians 

    East Bay Pediatrics in Berkeley is excellent. We have Dr. Vo as our primary pediatrician at the practice, but honestly, any one of the doctors will be great, including Dr. Evans-Ramsey, Dr. Damon, and Dr. Miller (whom our 2.5 year old has seen since birth). https://www.eastbaypediatrics.com/our-doctors.html

    For my adult primary care, I have Dr. Nebenzahl,, also in Berkeley: https://www.sutterhealth.org/find-doctor/dr-samara-nebenzahl. I've only seen her once for a physical as a new patient, but she comes highly recommended and has great reviews. Good luck!

    Recommended:

    We love the doctors and staff at Berkeley Pediatrics. Lisa Kalar is our primary pediatrician. My kids always felt comfortable with her and she took great care of them for going on 14 years! 
    https://www.berkeleypediatrics.com/

  • My husband and I are expecting our first baby in June and are looking for recommendations for pediatricians who are in private practice in the East Bay or even SF. Also hoping to switch my OB care from Sutter at some point as well so if anyone has any good OB recommendations, I would welcome those. We are in Albany, but are willing to travel for good doctors. We are really looking for providers who take time to answer questions and who we can contact if needed with questions between appointments. Thanks for any leads!

    We have a 2 month old and are loving Kiwi Pediatrics in Albany! Congratulations to you and best of luck finding the right care!

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    Hi! Congratulations on your forthcoming little one! I cannot recommend Lizellen LaFollette highly enough. She delivered all three of my children, as well as performed a major myomectomy prior to my pregnancies. She has always taken my concerns and questions seriously, and closely follows all of the new literature on advancements in gynecological health. She is a powerhouse of a person! Her office is in Greenbrae (Marin), but she is worth the drive. If I moved out of state, I'd consider flying back for appointments. She is that competent.

    Good luck!

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    My OB is Dr. Suman Veeragandham in Castro Valley. She has delivered both my babies at Eden. She is gentile and intelligent and experienced. I cant recommend her enough if you want down to earth care.
    In the same office as her is my son's pediatrician, Dr. Melinda Ragins. She is great too.

    I can't say enough good things about Dr. Lisa Kalar at Berkeley Pediatrics.   She is patient, empathetic, and communicative.  One of my children has serious long-term medical issues and Dr. Kalar has been a godsend in helping us navigate the world of specialists and ever-evolving treatment protocols.  She always takes the time to make sure we understand what's happening, and helps us think through the options.  Both of my children love her and continue to see her even though they're over 18 now.  

    We have had a good experience with all of the pediatricians at Sutter on Milvia. We have never felt rushed in any of our pediatrician appointments, and when I've had to email outside of office hours I have gotten a response pretty quickly. I also want to offer the advice to find someone close to home - there are a lot of good pediatricians in the East Bay, so there is no reason to go to SF or really more than a couple of miles from home. When you have an urgent situation with your kid, you do not want to have to go far. And even for well visits, there are so many in that first year, and life with a newborn is really hard, no need to add the stress of a long car trip with a baby who may or may not scream every time you put them in a car seat. We picked a pediatrician we can walk to and it is SO valuable. One time our kid hit his head at the playground and spent the whole drive to urgent care asking if he was going to die, and I was so thankful that it was a very short drive (he was fine, heads just bleed a lot so he was scared).

  • Hi Moms! My family and I relocated to the area from Cambridge, MA just before the holidays. We have a 19 month and 3 yr old. Because of COVID we’ve been doing tele-visits with our pediatrician in Cambridge but really need to transition to a new local pediatrician. I’d be very grateful for any referrals. Our insurance is Blue Cross/Blue Shield Carefirst PPO but we’re not filtering our options based on insurance. So happy to be out here!! Tremendous thanks!

    We love Dr. Katya Gerwein and the Stanford Children's practice (located at Telegraph and Ashby). Others seem similarly enthusiastic :).

    I highly recommend Dr. Lisa Kalar at Berkeley Pediatrics on Walnut Street.  We've been with this practice for 25 years, through multiple children and multiple complicated medical issues, and I've always felt listened to and supported.  Probably the most convincing testimony is that as my kids have gotten older they have formed their own independent connections with Dr. Kalar, and now that they are over 18, they still want to keep seeing her as long as they can.   We've seen most of the other doctors in the office over the years as well, for urgent visits, and they've all been lovely.  Also the practice recently affiliated with UCSF, which is super helpful if you have a child who needs to see specialists -- the pediatricians and the specialists can all easily communicate and see each other's reports and results online (which has made my life as Mom/Medical-Coordinator so much easier!).  The Berkeley Pediatrics office number is (510) 848-2566.

    We love Berkeley Pediatrics and Olivia Lang in particular. They have a great practice and a 24/7 advice line. 

    Hi:
    My daughter pediatrician is Dr. Salsburg fron Kiwi Pediatric. I think she is wonderful.
    I made my research 2 years ago when I was pregnant and Kiwi Pediatric and Berkeley Pediatric where the most recommended
    My stepson (11 years) goes to the Bayside Medical Group from Stanford Children Health and they are nice to
    We have Anthem Blue Cross insurance

    Recommended:

    We've very happy with Dr. Nicole Learned at https://www.berkeleypediatrics.com/. We take our 6-year-old there. Another bonus: Dr. Learned is affiliated with UCSF, so if there is ever something more serious, she can refer to the UCSF docs, including the UCSF Children's Hospital in Oakland, and they're both using the same integrated medical record system, MyChart, such that you don't have to carry paper from one office to another.

    Dr Abbott and his colleagues at East Bay Pediatrics are great — the office staff is efficient, they are responsive to acute issues and it’s an independent practice, so the care is very personal. 

    Recommended:

    berkeleypediatrics.com  1650 Walnut Street.  Agreeing with the posters above.  They have been there 45+ years, and they have good billing, front desk, procedures etc.  If you want a pediatrician who is male, they have a young doctor, Dr. Sam (don't know his last name).  We've seen Dr Franks for years and love her.  On-call we have seen Dr Kalar and Dr Learned and thought they were patient, explained things well, and had a warm bedside manner.

  • Hi- In search of a east bay pediatrician recommendation. 

    [Moderator reminder: reviews of 40+ East Bay pediatricians are here: https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/advice/pediatrics . If yours hasn't been reviewed recently, please do post a review! ]

    Hi we go to Kiwi Pediatric with Dr. Elizabeth Salsburg and we love her

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  • Hi, I am sadly losing my Kaiser insurance and have to switch to a PPO. I have a baby who is under 1 and I'm looking for a fantastic pediatrician. My ideal doctor would be female, with a strong educational background, and someone who is truly interested and keeps up to date with the latest medical research. Obviously they gotta love kids and be able to connect with them. I also would appreciate if this doctor had some holistic/integrative leanings. Although I hads some quibbles with Kaiser, overall it was so much easier than having to navigate a PPO. In particular their software portal works incredibly well -- doctors are super responsive, it's easy to upload and access all medical records, it's easy to get my billing info. I find with smaller independent offices, this type of very basic administrative stuff becomes a HUGE pain. (Don't even get my started on filing insurance claims or figuring out what specialist to see and whether they are in-network etc). I'm currently considering going to East Bay Pediatrics... thoughts? Other recommendations? 

    Berkeley Pediatric Medical Group (BPMG) on Walnut St.has a portal and good billing/organization.  But they do require the standard immunization schedule, I believe, not sure if that is part of what you are looking for.

    East bay pediatrics, yes!

    Our Dr. is Dr. Sarah Handelsman, but we have dealt with many of them as our kid has grown up (from age 1 to college age now).  Absolutely recommend.  Wish I could find a doctor as good for myself!  We also like Dr. Damon, because we like to ask lots of questions and get detailed answers, but everyone has a different style. 

    Recommended:

    I've been really happy with Berkeley Pediatrics so far. They are part of the UCSF system, so use MyChart for billing, contacting your pediatrician, etc. My baby has been healthy, so we haven't had any experience getting referrals for specialists, but am a huge fan of Dr. Michel. She is very engaging with my daughter, clearly loves children, and seems pretty up to date on the latest research (based on my googling of things, lol). 

    My husband generally is skeptical of people, and even he likes Dr. Michel, so maybe that's helpful?

    My 5 mo sees Dr. Kalar at Berkeley Pediatrics. We are thrilled with the care she has provided our son and have had excellent experiences with other doctors at the practice as well.

    Our whole family has used One Medical for years, and my three-year-old has had pediatricians there his whole life. They do a great job with virtual care and I’ve been really happy with the pediatricians as well.

    Recommended:

    My two daughters (now 20 and 24) highly recommend Dr Petra Landman, Pediatric Medical Group, (510) 204-5600, at 2500 Milvia St, Berkeley. She’s fantastic. 

    My three kids have been cared for wonderfully by Dr. Julia Damon at East Bay Pediatrics for over 10 years. Their portal is easy and convenient to obtain records; easy to get to their two locations in Berkeley and Orinda. Never had issues with billing or lack of responsiveness. 

    Recommended:

    We are with Berkeley Pediatrics and really like them! They are connected with UCSF, and the my chart portal is easy to use. They have been very responsive with our health questions and convey between regular appointments.

    I really like Geri Landman at Sutter Health. I’m not sure about holistic/integrative leanings, but she fits the rest of your description. Our 3-month old son has seen her since birth, and she answers all our questions very quickly and thoroughly, both in person and on the online platform.

    We see Sarah Handelsman at East Bay Pediatrics and love her. Our daughter is almost 8 months old and although she wasn’t following her growth curve quite as expected from birth to about 5 months, Dr. Handelsman was always calming and rational, never intervening unless absolutely necessary. Turns out our daughter wasn’t too patient with nursing and her weight turned around with bottle feeding after I went back to work. East Bay Peds is not technologically advanced and their offices are not fancy, but they have been easy to work with and the care is great so far. 

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    I can't speak highly enough of Juliana Damon at East Bay Pediatrics. Our daughter has been in her care for seven years and we have been greatly relieved to have a physician and practice that we trust and find easily accessible. 

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    I have experience with both EB Peds and Kaiser, and I think you will probably be disappointed with EB Peds' online portal, relative to Kaiser. But it does exist, and they have improved a lot over the years. They are definitely the easiest PPO practice I've ever had to deal with (I'm 46 and have been self-insured my entire adult life, so I understand your concerns).

    What EB Peds does have is terrific doctors. My kids see Tracy Evans-Ramsey, who is wonderful, caring, and takes her time with the kids. We've also had good experience on sick visits with Dr. Handelsman and Dr. Miller. I think they generally follow the AAP guidelines, so... not sure how into holistic/integrative medicine they are. But call the receptionist and ask if any of the docs are into that... it's a big practice. Good luck!

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    We have been very happy with Sutter on Milvia

    I second the recommendation for Berkeley Pediatrics.  Lisa Kalar has been wonderful with my kids (both now young adults still in her care), and we've seen most of the other doctors over the years (inevitably the day a child has an urgent issue and needs to be seen right away, it's on Dr. Kalar's day out of the office) and they were all lovely too.  No one there is ever rushing us through an appointment or pushing unwanted antibiotics on us -- quite the opposite.  When we were agonizing about putting a child on the intense medication a specialist recommended, Dr. Kalar helped us think it through and supported our decision to try a strict diet regiment first.  I really can't recommend her highly enough.

    For the administrative side of things, the office has joined the UCSF network so they now use UCSF's online interface through MyChart, which works similarly to what you're describing at Kaiser.  Everything is there and accessible, and if you're seeing specialists through UCSF (as we do for one of our children) it all shows up in the same place which is convenient.  But even before this change, the office was always responsive and in twenty four years I've never had trouble with records or billing or anything like that, and they only refer us to specialists in our insurance network.  

    Thank you all so much for all these recs! I got some good leads here and am all set. Thanks to whoever noted about the immunization issue... absolutely DO want immunizations to be required and made sure of that.

  • 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!

    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. 

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    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! 

    Recommended:

    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.
     

    Recommended:

    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.

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  • Hi everyone,

    My husband and I just moved to Marina bay from SF, and expecting our first baby in June. Does anyone have a recommendation for a pediatrician in the area, in the Sutter Health network? Also interested if anyone has an Ob/Gyn they like?

    Thanks in advance!

    Shehla

    BPMG Berkeley Pediatric Medical Group next the corner of Virginia and Shattuck in Berkeley.  They have a website.  We like Dr. Franks and Dr. Kalar but almost any of the docs are fine zi would guess.

    Thanks for the info! We ended up selecting Dr. Petra Landman at the Milvia practice for now, recommended by someone in yoga. I will keep the names below in mind too - just in case. 

    I very much enjoyed my OB on kid #2, Dr. Attia Kadri. She was particularly good in two respects: in handling follow up testing, when one prenatal test indicated serious issues, and in communicating efficiently with me when I needed to travel abroad for work. She is part of a large practice, so I ended up meeting many of the female OBs in the Sutter team, and was generally pleased. I love our pediatrician, Dr. Grace So from Berkeley Pediatrics, but do not believe she is taking new patients.