Kaiser Oakland pediatrician for new baby

Hi,
We use Dr. Tatapudy and have been happy with her. We've been with her for about 1.5 years (daughter is 2.5). 
Jen

We have experienced both Susan Goddard (our regular pediatrician) and Lisa Turman when Goddard isn't available. We absolutely love both. I love the fact that Dr.Goddard actually remembers my kids and if one is in she always asks about the other. She even knows their nicknames when we come in which makes me feel that we're not just another patient. She is mostly available sometimes even last minute and if not she responds quick thru Kp emails. We have been with her now for almost 7 years and would be very sad the day she would decide to leave. I highly recommend her! 

First of all, don't worry about choosing a "wrong" doctor at Kaiser.  If you don't like him/her after a visit or two, you can always make an appointment with someone else, even if they aren't "your" physician, and see if you like that doc better.  That's the great thing about Kaiser:  there are always doctors on duty, and you can make a same day appointment if you have to, which is pretty much what happens when kids get sick.  

Regarding your list of docs. My both kids saw Dr. Tatapudy many times, and I've always been very satisfied with how attentive, common sensical and knowledgeable she is.  She didn't act in a condescending way towards me like some other docs do, e.g. she felt comfortable putting in a prescription for an antibiotic and giving me a choice to either fill it out or not, while other docs would make me come in again to be sure the prescription was necessary.  By the way, I ended up NOT filling out that prescription as my daughters ears got better within the time Dr. Tatapudy and I agreed would be a reasonable time to wait and see.

The only thing that you might want to ask her is if she's planning to retire in the near future, in which case you'd have to look again.  Although, it doesn't matter so much, given that you can make an appointment with pretty much any pediatrician available, even if you are assigned to someone else.

I also really like Dr. Katrina Saba, but I don't know if her panel is open for new patients.

We were originally assigned Meera Tatapudy while we were waiting to be added to Dr. Molly Kyle's list. I have to say... it was the worst Kaiser experience I've ever had. She was really cavalier about my daughter's low body temperature at our 1-week appt (was 5 lbs. 13 oz. at birth and had some trouble regulating her temp), but then called back later saying she talked to a colleague and now she was concerned? She basically just seemed like she didn't know what she was doing. It was very strange.

If you know ANYONE who is a pediatrician at Kaiser or connected to one, see who they would recommend. You can often get the Dr. you want, even if they're unavailable, if you have an inside connection. That's what we did!

My daughter and I both LOVE Susan Goddard. She's been my daughters doctor sine she was a toddler and has helped us through a number of challenging situations.  She never rushes us and is always available through email.  She is very respectful to both me and my daughter.  I highly recommend her - 

Hi,

My 4 month old son is a patient of Dr. Turman's and we are very happy with her. She is friendly, down to earth, is gentle with our little guy, and answers all of our questions no matter how "silly" they may be- I'm a new parent and am a little overprotective. She also makes it very clear to us from her answers to our questions that there isn't one right way to parent and often isn't just one right answer. She gives you advice and recommendations based on her knowledge as a medical professional, but also takes into account your specific situation, child and preferences. I also like that she sees patients at the small Alameda clinic as well as the large Oakland office. 

Hope this helps you make a decision!

My daughter had Dr. Bolden as an infant and we ended up switching. No concrete objections; we just didn't warm up to her.

I agree with the earlier response, though. that changing doctors at Kaiser is not a big deal at all. Pick someone now so that you have someone in place when you transition from hospital to home. Once you've had an appointment or two, if you don't like him/her, I highly recommend asking the nurses for their opinions of the doctors who are taking new patients. They can tell you is warm and personable, who runs chronically late (and whether that is because they spend extra time with their patients--sometimes it's a trade-off). If they can't say something good, they won't say anything at all--so if they go all tight-lipped on you, it's a bad sign. When my daughter switched pediatricians a second time (from a male to female pediatrician when she was approaching puberty), we took this approach and ended up with a doc we've been very happy with.

We've been seeing Lisa Turman since August and we love her (my daughter is now 17 months).  Like PP said, she is laid back but very knowledgeable, and has two young children herself. FWIW, I wish I had Dr. Turman from the start; our original pediatrician (in SF, not at Kaiser) was more old school and made me feel anxious about whether my daughter was gaining enough weight. (She was born 6% weight, now she is 60%) Just be ready for looong weights on the 11th floor for shots.