http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732 I am wondering if anyone out there can recommend your pediatrician to us?&nbsp; We are currently taking our 4 month old daughter to my childhood pediatrician but I need to find another one.&nbsp; He is good but he is older, too difficult for my wife to understand, and has old-fashioned ideas on breastfeeding and what not. Dr. Shah was recommended and is a top pick by the community, but he does not take our insurance.&nbsp; We have Gemcare/Bluecross (which just changed to Anthem Blue Cross). We would like to find someone who is easy to talk to and up to date with with &quot;the latest&quot; on infant care. Please shre your knowledge! I am wondering if anyone out there can recommend your pediatrician to us?&nbsp; We are currently taking our 4 month old daughter to my childhood pediatrician but I need to find another one.&nbsp; He is good but he is older, too difficult for my wife to understand, and has old-fashioned ideas on breastfeeding and what not. Dr. Shah was recommended and is a top pick by the community, but he does not take our insurance.&nbsp; We have Gemcare/Bluecross (which just changed to Anthem Blue Cross). We would like to find someone who is easy to talk to and up to date with with &quot;the latest&quot; on infant care. Please shre your knowledge! en-us <p>Before we switched to Kaiser, we took our daughter to</p> <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Business/AnthonyThomasMd">Dr. Anthony Thomas</a> <p>(he calls his practice The Kid Shop), who's downtown.&nbsp; We have friends who still see him.&nbsp; We really liked him, very personable, knowledgeable and down to earth.</p> <br /> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280493 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280493 <p>Before we switched to Kaiser, we took our daughter to</p> <a href="http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Business/AnthonyThomasMd">Dr. Anthony Thomas</a> <p>(he calls his practice The Kid Shop), who's downtown.&nbsp; We have friends who still see him.&nbsp; We really liked him, very personable, knowledgeable and down to earth.</p> <br /> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Too bad your insurance won't cover Dr. Shah and Dr. Santiago.&nbsp; They are the best!&nbsp;&nbsp;We&nbsp;switched to their group&nbsp;a little over a&nbsp;year ago and I have been 100% satisfied.&nbsp; They are up on the latest&nbsp;with all of their patients needs (for&nbsp;example, my youngest has had&nbsp;asthma issues&nbsp;and Dr. Santiago has kept me up to date on&nbsp;the latest and best treatments.&nbsp; She has changed medications and played&nbsp;around with them in order&nbsp;to keep his asthma managed and in control -&nbsp;NOT&nbsp;just for emergency treatment, she believes in the&nbsp;best management&nbsp;to ensure the best&nbsp;quality of life for him.&nbsp; Most&nbsp;impressive to me....)&nbsp; I will go in with a list of questions and she will sit and answer everyone of them and tell me why she&nbsp;wants to do this, and what to do if he has&nbsp;problems.&nbsp; They are open on&nbsp;Saturday mornings, and during the holidays when you would sit in Urgent Care...they are there during limited hours.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Finding a pediatrician that will support breastfeeding can be a challenge.&nbsp; I breastfed both of my children to 12 months....nearly 13 with&nbsp;my second, he didn't want to give it up!&nbsp; The oldest was a&nbsp;lazy&nbsp;feeder, so I pumped and gave it to him in a bottle.&nbsp; Supplemented with rice cereal since&nbsp;he was a very hearty eater, and gave him solid (home made baby food) at an early age.&nbsp; I had a pediatrician that didn't agree&nbsp;with my philosphy, so...I read, researched and did what I&nbsp;thought was best.&nbsp; (plus, having family that was knowledgeable and&nbsp;suggested&nbsp;solutions to my problems helped too.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">I'm not sure if you are able to request physicians be added to&nbsp;your network;&nbsp;at one time, we did have that option to request&nbsp;certain doctors.&nbsp; If you have a limited list of&nbsp;physicians to choose from, put the names out there and see what parents say about their experiences.&nbsp; When I was searching, I asked every mom I met&nbsp;- asked every friend I had that was a mom, and I went on a few visits with them and&nbsp;their kids.&nbsp; Since most doctors are too&nbsp;busy to interview with new parents, this is&nbsp;a great way to see their patient/parent interaction&nbsp;skills and see what you like or dislike about the&nbsp;office,&nbsp;staff and&nbsp;bed side manners of the doctor.&nbsp; Good luck!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280503 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280503 <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Too bad your insurance won't cover Dr. Shah and Dr. Santiago.&nbsp; They are the best!&nbsp;&nbsp;We&nbsp;switched to their group&nbsp;a little over a&nbsp;year ago and I have been 100% satisfied.&nbsp; They are up on the latest&nbsp;with all of their patients needs (for&nbsp;example, my youngest has had&nbsp;asthma issues&nbsp;and Dr. Santiago has kept me up to date on&nbsp;the latest and best treatments.&nbsp; She has changed medications and played&nbsp;around with them in order&nbsp;to keep his asthma managed and in control -&nbsp;NOT&nbsp;just for emergency treatment, she believes in the&nbsp;best management&nbsp;to ensure the best&nbsp;quality of life for him.&nbsp; Most&nbsp;impressive to me....)&nbsp; I will go in with a list of questions and she will sit and answer everyone of them and tell me why she&nbsp;wants to do this, and what to do if he has&nbsp;problems.&nbsp; They are open on&nbsp;Saturday mornings, and during the holidays when you would sit in Urgent Care...they are there during limited hours.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Finding a pediatrician that will support breastfeeding can be a challenge.&nbsp; I breastfed both of my children to 12 months....nearly 13 with&nbsp;my second, he didn't want to give it up!&nbsp; The oldest was a&nbsp;lazy&nbsp;feeder, so I pumped and gave it to him in a bottle.&nbsp; Supplemented with rice cereal since&nbsp;he was a very hearty eater, and gave him solid (home made baby food) at an early age.&nbsp; I had a pediatrician that didn't agree&nbsp;with my philosphy, so...I read, researched and did what I&nbsp;thought was best.&nbsp; (plus, having family that was knowledgeable and&nbsp;suggested&nbsp;solutions to my problems helped too.)</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">I'm not sure if you are able to request physicians be added to&nbsp;your network;&nbsp;at one time, we did have that option to request&nbsp;certain doctors.&nbsp; If you have a limited list of&nbsp;physicians to choose from, put the names out there and see what parents say about their experiences.&nbsp; When I was searching, I asked every mom I met&nbsp;- asked every friend I had that was a mom, and I went on a few visits with them and&nbsp;their kids.&nbsp; Since most doctors are too&nbsp;busy to interview with new parents, this is&nbsp;a great way to see their patient/parent interaction&nbsp;skills and see what you like or dislike about the&nbsp;office,&nbsp;staff and&nbsp;bed side manners of the doctor.&nbsp; Good luck!&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p> <p>Dr Shah and Dr Santigo at Southwest Pediatrics on Truxton are wonderful. I went there when I was preganet for a prebirth interview and my son has gone there ever since. Shaw is usually really busy but santigo shares the office and is always good about getting anyone in even on a last minute basis. There is occasionally a wait so i Suggest making early morning appointments if it works with your schedule.</p> <p>OOPS sorry didn't see the part about not taking your insurance. I would ask shah's office if they could recommend anyone who may take your insurance. the medical community is a close knit one in Bakersfield and I am sure they could point you in the right direction. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280505 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280505 <p>Dr Shah and Dr Santigo at Southwest Pediatrics on Truxton are wonderful. I went there when I was preganet for a prebirth interview and my son has gone there ever since. Shaw is usually really busy but santigo shares the office and is always good about getting anyone in even on a last minute basis. There is occasionally a wait so i Suggest making early morning appointments if it works with your schedule.</p> <p>OOPS sorry didn't see the part about not taking your insurance. I would ask shah's office if they could recommend anyone who may take your insurance. the medical community is a close knit one in Bakersfield and I am sure they could point you in the right direction. </p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I did call Dr. Shah's office directly earlier this year and they said they did not accept our insurance.&nbsp; I assume it is by choice on the office's part...&nbsp; Not sure I'd feel comfortable asking if they could recommend someone who does take our insurance.</p> <p>Thanks for the replies and keep them coming!&nbsp; We might have to check out Dr. Thomas...</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280523 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280523 <p>I did call Dr. Shah's office directly earlier this year and they said they did not accept our insurance.&nbsp; I assume it is by choice on the office's part...&nbsp; Not sure I'd feel comfortable asking if they could recommend someone who does take our insurance.</p> <p>Thanks for the replies and keep them coming!&nbsp; We might have to check out Dr. Thomas...</p> <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: larger"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">That is too bad. We see Dr. Shah and Dr. Santiago for our son and I have to say that I have never been more impressed with a doctor's office in my life (although I had to receive medical treatment from an emergency center in Sacramento and they are highly impressive). They are very kind, very helpful, great bedside manner, and they explain everything crystal clear. If you have the ability to change insurance carriers it would be worth it!</span></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280551 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280551 <p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: larger"><span style="font-family: Times New Roman">That is too bad. We see Dr. Shah and Dr. Santiago for our son and I have to say that I have never been more impressed with a doctor's office in my life (although I had to receive medical treatment from an emergency center in Sacramento and they are highly impressive). They are very kind, very helpful, great bedside manner, and they explain everything crystal clear. If you have the ability to change insurance carriers it would be worth it!</span></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Yes, I have to agree with NoahJ.&nbsp; We had been considering changing insurance to save some money...and&nbsp;when I&nbsp;found that the&nbsp;insurance carrier we were considering didn't cover Shah and Santiago - we&nbsp;stayed with the current carrier at a higher premium.&nbsp; They are well worth the&nbsp;extra cost in&nbsp;insurance to make sure our&nbsp;sons&nbsp;asthma is under control and we understand exactly&nbsp;what to do and when.&nbsp; Although, there are other amazing pediatricians in Bakersfield and I'm sure&nbsp;there is one on your insurance provider list of the same calliber.&nbsp; As I suggested,&nbsp;you may contact your insurance carrier directly and&nbsp;ask if you are not able to find someone on the list, what&nbsp;process do you follow to&nbsp;express your desire to have a different doctor, what&nbsp;recourse do you have&nbsp;and&nbsp;how&nbsp;might you get&nbsp;a doctor added to the list?&nbsp; Sometimes there are&nbsp;ways to get new doctors onboard.....just a thought!&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">When we were visiting my brother in&nbsp;MT., my then 18 month old&nbsp;needed stitches (my brothers dalmation snipped as soon as we arrived and he had&nbsp;a nice gash&nbsp;that needed medical attention...)&nbsp; Anyway,&nbsp;I&nbsp;had never seen such pleasant service,&nbsp;quick triage and&nbsp;down to earth doctors.&nbsp;&nbsp;(I was a mess the entire time!)&nbsp; I actually wrote the administators&nbsp;of the hospital once we got home and my son's wound healed without further complications to&nbsp;thank them for their wonderful service.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280654 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_280654 <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">Yes, I have to agree with NoahJ.&nbsp; We had been considering changing insurance to save some money...and&nbsp;when I&nbsp;found that the&nbsp;insurance carrier we were considering didn't cover Shah and Santiago - we&nbsp;stayed with the current carrier at a higher premium.&nbsp; They are well worth the&nbsp;extra cost in&nbsp;insurance to make sure our&nbsp;sons&nbsp;asthma is under control and we understand exactly&nbsp;what to do and when.&nbsp; Although, there are other amazing pediatricians in Bakersfield and I'm sure&nbsp;there is one on your insurance provider list of the same calliber.&nbsp; As I suggested,&nbsp;you may contact your insurance carrier directly and&nbsp;ask if you are not able to find someone on the list, what&nbsp;process do you follow to&nbsp;express your desire to have a different doctor, what&nbsp;recourse do you have&nbsp;and&nbsp;how&nbsp;might you get&nbsp;a doctor added to the list?&nbsp; Sometimes there are&nbsp;ways to get new doctors onboard.....just a thought!&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p> <p><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS">When we were visiting my brother in&nbsp;MT., my then 18 month old&nbsp;needed stitches (my brothers dalmation snipped as soon as we arrived and he had&nbsp;a nice gash&nbsp;that needed medical attention...)&nbsp; Anyway,&nbsp;I&nbsp;had never seen such pleasant service,&nbsp;quick triage and&nbsp;down to earth doctors.&nbsp;&nbsp;(I was a mess the entire time!)&nbsp; I actually wrote the administators&nbsp;of the hospital once we got home and my son's wound healed without further complications to&nbsp;thank them for their wonderful service.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</span>&nbsp;</p> <p>Dr. Sykes is great too.&nbsp; She is the one on&nbsp;the channel 17 news weekdays at noon.&nbsp; She&nbsp;does a daily segment on&nbsp;children's issues &amp; health.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_281291 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_281291 <p>Dr. Sykes is great too.&nbsp; She is the one on&nbsp;the channel 17 news weekdays at noon.&nbsp; She&nbsp;does a daily segment on&nbsp;children's issues &amp; health.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>I have taken my son to Dr. Shafic since birth, in fact he did his circumcision, and we love him.&nbsp; He's very knowledgeable and accomidating.&nbsp; I have yet to have a problem getting in to see him whereas other offices take weeks in advance.&nbsp; His office staff is very friendly as well and they do Saturday appts.&nbsp; I love Dr. Shafic!</p> http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_283619 http://www.raisingbakersfield.com/home/Blog/mysoulishome/30732/#c_283619 <p>I have taken my son to Dr. Shafic since birth, in fact he did his circumcision, and we love him.&nbsp; He's very knowledgeable and accomidating.&nbsp; I have yet to have a problem getting in to see him whereas other offices take weeks in advance.&nbsp; His office staff is very friendly as well and they do Saturday appts.&nbsp; I love Dr. Shafic!</p>