Ob/Gyn Reviews from 2010-2011

Seeking phenomenal Kaiser GP and specialists!

After years of sitting on the fence, I've switched from HealthNet to Kaiser. My reluctance stemmed from the fact that -- through years of trial and error -- I had found a primary care physician and team of specialists who I trusted and who took great care of me. My hope is that it won't take years at Kaiser before I feel I'm receiving the same level of care. Please tell me about doctors in Kaiser who you feel are exceptional. I have a science background and prefer doctors who treat me as an intellectual equal and who are willing/able to talk about the science behind the medicine. Caring/compassionate bedside manner is, of course, also preferred. I'm particularly looking for: 1) a female family doctor/general practitioner 2) a female OB-GYN 3) a pediatrician 4) endocrinologist for treatment of Hashimoto's thyroiditis -- I'm on combination therapy (levoxyl and levothrionine) and would like to maintain this 5) orthopedic surgeon (for knee surgery that I have long delayed but need to take care of) Thanks for recommendations. anon

Hi, my great gynecologist at Kaiser Oakland has moved on, and I'm looking for a recommendation for a new gynecologist. I'm NOT needing OB services, and notice that all the recommendations on BPN are all about pregnancy and birthing. On the KP website, the doctor's mostly rave about how much they LOVE seeing younger patients. Does anyone have a recommendation for a great gynecologist for those of us nearing menopause? I'd travel to Walnut Creek if it was worth it. Many Thanks!

Re: Kaiser OB who supports home birth?

I am early in my 3rd pregnancy and am most likely planning a home birth. Some of the BPN archives seem to say that an OB can ''drop'' you from their care if they know that you are getting concurrent (private paid) care from a midwife in preparation for home birth. I had planned to use Kaiser to get all of my labs and bloodwork and testing done since it would all be covered under my insurance, but I am worried my OB will refuse to write the orders for such things if she knows I am planning a home birth. Somehow this seems illegal to me in some way. If I'm covered by Kaiser insurance, don't they have to allow me to use my insurance for costs that are allowed under my plan, regardless of where I choose to deliver this baby? -Wish Kaiser covered home birth

Ob/Gyn Reviews from 2009

I have just changed my insurance to kaiser, a need a ob&gyn and a regular physician.any recomendation please.

My wife is new to Kaiser and we are newly pregnant (Yay!). We did some homework (mostly here) and had a list of doctors we had hoped to request. None were accepting new patients and so, in the end, we were assigned Joann Gras, a doctor whom I can dig up no info on. Does anyone here have any experience with her? Dan

Ob/Gyn Reviews from 2008

I am thinking of changing my OB/GYN at Kaiser Oakland, and wonder if anyone has had any experience with Dr. Dawn Ogawa? She's one of the few female docs available right now. Thanks.

Hello, My wife is looking for a new ob/gyn at the oakland kaiser facility. She doesn't like the one she got randomly assigned to (nothing bad or unprofessional; they just don't click personality wise). She's mostly just looking for someone compassionate and willing to take the time to explain things to her; age/sex/race not important. Anyone have a kaiser OB/GYN they like? Ben

Re: new to Kaiser, Ob/Gyn

I really like my OB, Dr. Renee Perry. I had a horrible time while pregnant until I finally found her. If she's still accepting new patients, she's great. Very sweet bedside manner and very knowledgeable.

I recently moved to Berkeley from the city and need to choose a OB who excels at cesarean delivery. Our insurance plan is under Kaiser. My first baby was delivered by elective c-section, and I have no interest in VBAC. I'm interested in finding a doctor who has a good track record delivering babies via c-section. Any recommendations, anecdotes would be highly appreciated. THANKS!

Re: Kaiser GYN?
Highly recommend Erika Brenaman, in Oakland, very happy with my surgery two years ago, follow ups, years before going through surgery helped me to understand my situation and make a decision, can not be happier. Change my life forever in a positive way and I owe it to her. Good Luck very happy person

Ob/Gyn Reviews from 2007

Re: Kaiser OB GYN Recommendations
I really like Dr. Erica Breneman (sp?). I've been going to her for almost three years. She is kind (I had two miscarriages), thorough, and does not rush. Hannah

Re: Kaiser PCP, OBGYN & Ped. recommendations
Laura Minikel is the best OB/GYN at Kaiser Oakland. She is personable, skilled and current in her medical knowledge. The only drawback is that the word about her is out, so she is always booked up. She cared for me during GYN illness, infertility and two pregnancies. I highly recommend her if she is taking new patients. Satisfied customer

Can anyone recommend an OB/GYN at Kaiser Oakland who is supportive of VBACs? I am new to Kaiser, and although currently not pregnant, I'd like to choose a Doctor I can stick with once the time comes. I had a planned C-section with my first child because she was breech, which was the hospital's policy. I'd like to try a VBAC next time and avoid the long recovery from a C-section. Thanks for your help! Joanna

As far as VBAC friendly goes, I've never met anyone who was antiVBAC at Kaiser. I was given the option with my second to go either way although the Ob wasn't sure that it was a great idea considering the complications from the first c-section. I ended up choosing a second c-section and was actually chastised by an NP at one of the prenatal visits because she thought that was ridiculous. Hope that helps

Can you recommend a Gyn. Oncologist with Kaiser? (Oakland, SF, Walnut Creek, other Bay Area location okay too.) I'm BRCA1+ and faced with needing to get my ovaries removed as a cancer prevention measure. I have many issues to decide on still, want some different opinions. So far I'm assigned to Dr. Ciaravino in Oakland. Any info. would be helpful. I'm also looking to meet other women who have had to deal with BRCA+ issues too. If you or anyone you know is dealing with this, maybe we could share info and support. Thank you. maxine

Does anyone have any experience with the following OB/GYNs at Kaiser Oakland? Eve Zaritsky, Renee Perry, Ivy Yu, Bindoo Rellan. They are the only ones who currently have open panels. Any comments appreciated. Thanks. Cynthia

I have been seeing Dr. Jaime Barraza since then who I have found acceptable... he is much kinder and responsive by comparison. However, I have had OB/GYN's in the past that I felt more compatible with.

Someone also mentioned NP Rebecca Avery, and my experience with her was good. Anon

Can anyone recommend an open, natural-birth supporting, female primary care physician, OB/GYN, or nurse at Kaiser Oakland? I have been told that having a good one at Kaiser makes all the difference. Thanks in advance for your advice! New and Bewildered Kaiser Patient

My experience at Kaiser is that they are cautious and have some pretty rigid protocols in place that they follow. This includes advice and hands on treatment. It might be that there is something in your medical history that calls for a sonogram... or it might be the earlier in the pregnancy a ''picture'' is taken of the fetus the more accurate they can be at estimating how far along you are and when your due date is. I found out I was nearly 12 weeks pregnant... not the 7 weeks I thought... after my first sonogram. Big difference!

To address your concerns about delivering at Kaiser-Oakland. I had a great experience there, considering how long my labor was (35 hours start to end). The docs are residents, so you get who you get, but the heavy lifting is done by the delivery nurses. I had a very experienced doula - Linda Jones Mixon, who I highly recommend!) My nurses were both trained as nurse- midwives, and also advocated for me with the resident doctors. However, the docs were the final arbiters and presented me with the hard choices (when to start pictocin, if I should get an epidural or use other pain meds, etc) The nurses (and the docs to a lesser degree) fully supported my desire for natural childbirth, but were pretty straightforward with their advice about when they thought I was getting tired and with explaining my options. I ended up getting pitocin, and using a single (but blessedly powerful) dose of an opiate derivative pain killer... it let me ''zone out'' from the pain for a while and get needed rest, but let me get back on my feet to labor while standing upright...I am convinced this was key to avoiding a c-section. Again, the nurses were totally awesome through this. The attending physician delivered my daughter. The residents watched and stitched me up. They were all women, and the ''repaired and rebuilt'' me to Lindsey Wager standards....better stronger...hehehe...you get the idea.

My experience on the ''new mama and baby'' at Kaiser-Oakland was also really good. My follow-up appointments with Cheryl Brown have been good too. She remembers who I am, I've had continuity of care, she is really great. IN many respects, Kaiser of Oakland is the ''pick of the best'' Kaiser has to offer... in the opinion of a friend of mine who is a Kiser OBGYN in a nameless city in a more easterly area of California.

Hope that answers your questions. Oh BTW-- I do have a GP rec as well: I see an Internist/GP for other general medicine issues, who I started seeing while pregnant: his name is Dr. Arthur Bakel, He's also really good. anon

Ob/Gyn Reviews from 2006

I've checked the listings and there are some good recommendations but some of the staff are new and some (like Dr Tucker) aren't doing deliveries these days. Current recommendations are welcomed and highly appreciated. I most likely will have to have a c-section, have placenta previa, baby is breech at the moment, am an older mom and had a previous miscarriage. I am in my 6th month and am just transferring to Walnut Creek since I will be closer there when on maternity leave. Thank you!!!!!!! anon

Does anyone have a recommendation for a good Kaiser Oakland OB/Gyn? Kim

I had a high risk pregnancy. I'm 40 with a cervical abnormality from DES exposure and developed gestational diabetes, preterm labor, and depression. Dr. Ruth Olweny at Kaiser Oakland was wonderful. She is in the last year of her residency there. As of May 2006, she was accepting new patients. I started having post-partum depression, while still pregnant, due to the stress of the physical complications. She coordinated with my psychiatrist and managed my physical problems so I that I was able to carry to full term. During labor, my son went into fetal distress from his cord compressing, and we had to have an emergency c-section. She got him out in 2 minutes flat. He's perfectly normal now and worth everything I went through.

I'm not the easiest patient in the world, but she handled me and my conditions in an extremely reassuring manner. I would highly recommend her. I have selected her as my primary Ob/Gyn at Kaiser from now on anonymous

Ob/Gyn Reviews from 2005 and earlier

Any recommendations or advise/experience would be highly appreciated. I recently had a miscarriage 10 weeks and D & C (am still trying to cope with it) and wondered if anyone had a similar experience and was seeing Dr Bullick and how his care/expertise was concerning this issue.

I was diagnosded today by a Obgyn doctor at Kaiser having very big Fibroides and she recommended Hystrectomy. I was disgusted by her lack of sensitiveness and didn't care about how I feel. Her attitude toward Hysterectomy was she likes it because is clean and short. She thinks Hysterectomy is better choice than just removing Fibroides since 25% of it comes back. I am looking for a better doctor in Kaiser who I can trust and be able to engage, who has experiences in treating fibroides without Hysteroctomy. Please let me know if anyone knows a good doctor. Tae

I just found out that I am pregnant and my company recently switched to Kaiser. I've been assigned to NP, Dela Riva in Oakland. Anyone have any experience with her? I'm totally new to the system and have read the postings which make me a bit nervous. I've been having sleepless nights wondering if all is going to be ok, because my mom had a bad experience at Kaiser Oakland (burst appendix in the hospital and incorrect diagnosis beforehand). Any further advice and recent recommendations would be highly appreciated. Is it normal to have an appt scheduled a month after calling? I am 44 yrs old and had a c- section at Alta Bates for my first baby. Anon

If you want to see another Kaiser NP, though, just ask and they'll schedule you. Ditto, I think, if you have a specific reason for being seen earlier.

Kaiser can look more off-putting to outsiders than it is in practice. Depends on how you think about pregnancy and delivery. Any moment I needed things checked out, a test was scheduled quickly. I went through moments of feeling deprived about not having ''my'' doctor in the delivery room. But in the end, it didn't matter as much as I was building it up to. Nota bene, we had a doula (who did tell us Kaiser is one reason the Bay Area is the doula capital of America). Cathy

I think the key to working well within Kaiser is being proactive and being sure to ask questions and follow up on things if you have concerns. If you are willing to take this kind of initiative, the care is excellent. I lost my first pregnancy at 18 weeks and I cannot think of anything Kaiser or my doctors could have done to take better care of me. I'm now 8 months pregnant with my second and again, I have been very impressed and plan to give birth at Kaiser Oakland. Good luck with your pregnancy and remember, if for some reason Gabriella DelaRiva isn't a good fit for you, you can request a change, but I personally think you will be in very good hands. - Happy Kaiser Member

The labor and delivery ward at Kaiser Oakland is brand new having brought back these services from Alta Bates and the staff is wonderful. The two labor nurses I had were incredible beyond words to both my husband and me. I had about 20 hours of labor, before a c-section was needed (baby was too big), I felt so taken care of every step of the way, including my 3 days postpartum. I would try the NP you were assigned to and you can change later if you want. tamita

The first couple appointments were fine, but as I got bigger and had more questions, her patience with me seemed to run out. I should say that I was very well informed (reading about pregnancy all the time) and very healthy. At one appointment, the first in my second trimester, she was concerned with my weight gain which was totally normal for the 4th month. I had spent the first three months constantly nauseous and unable to eat at all - of course I was going to gain more than I had in the previous months if I could suddenly eat again! Since she could find nothing unhealthy in my diet, she told me to ''lay off the juice,'' of which I drank one glass each morning as I desperately craved OJ. I found that advice terribly offensive because it meant that not only was she unfamiliar with how well I'd been treating my body (despite my reporting it to her), she was also telling me to ignore my natural craving for healthy food. It also kind of felt like she thought I was being dishonest about my diet, which I find insulting. She told another friend of mine the same thing under the same circumstances. At our next appointment she flat out told me that she couldn't ''answer any more of my questions because our ten minutes was up'' as she walked out of the room.

I can understand frustration on a practioner's part under the Kaiser system which does not allow for much one on one time with patients. I cannot understand a practioner's failure to be more tactful. I was in customer service for years. I am very sensitive to pushiness on the part of a person receiving service; and I can honestly say that I was not asking silly questions or demanding too much attention. Even if I had been, wouldn't that have been my right as a paying Kaiser patient who was pregnant for the first time?

Overall, de la Riva seemed totally insensitive to the kind of pregnancy I hoped to have (natural, informed) and too busy for anything resembling personal attention. Gabriela de la Riva might be ok for a pap smear, but I would never choose for her to be my NP during a pregnancy.

I switched to Lenore Arnoux, NP at Kaiser Oakland. I found her totally personable with a wonderful bedside manner. She was reassuring, responsive and sensitive to my wishes and she always knew who I was! anonymous

She was born at 4 lbs 2 oz, just as the OB predicted, and I never had anyone at Kaiser give me an explanation for the discrepancy between Dela Riva's ''normal'' measurements and the OB's immediate assessment that something was wrong. In addition, when I saw my chart, I realized that my blood pressure had been intermittently abnormal starting at my 10 week visit - I was never told this.

I consider myself lucky that I was okay and that my baby was healthy, after a NICU stay. Kaiser's perinatologists were very frank about what could have gone wrong for both of us, but as I said, never had an explanation for the fact that their NP did not diagnose either pregnancy induced hypertension or an IUGR baby.

I know the Kaiser NPs are under significant time pressures when seeing patients, but I don't think that excuses what happened to me. Signed, Lucky Mama

This was not what I was hoping for from a health care professional. I was so taken aback that I didn't have the presence of mind to refute her assumptions, and her manner was such that I did not feel comfortable discussing the matter further. She did end up performing the test, but let me know that my appointment was only supposed to be 10 minutes long, and that I was taking up too much of her time. (I had only enquired about the test - I hadn't demanded she do it then and there!) By the end of the appointment, I felt just awful. I have not been back to see her since.

However, I DID see Lenore Arnoux, whom I found to be warm, competent, and kind. Good luck!

Alameda Mama

Does anyone have experience with Dr. Barbara Jung, OB/GYN at Kaiser Oakland? She's sounds great on paper! need new doctor

I would like to find a new ob/gyn provider at either Kaiser Oakland or Kaiser WC. I am a long-time Kaiser member, and love most everything about the system, but am still not connecting, personally, with any of the ob/gyns that I've met so far, at either facility. I hope to become pregnant soon with baby #2. I have some chronic health issues that require regular gynecological care, as well as other health issues that can be troublesome in pregnancy, and for those reasons, I don't qualify to have my care followed by a Nurse Practioner (too bad, b/c I've seen some great ones there). So, I am not looking for NP recommendations right now. I'm definitely into low-tech births, and had a terrific one for baby #1. It's not crucial to me that the doctor is also supportive of this (b/c I know that residents deliver at oakland anyway), but mostly I would like someone who is personable, knowledgeable and treats pregnancy as a natural process, rather than a medical one, per se. Can I find that in a Kaiser doctor? I would love to hear that I can!