See also: Reviews of La Clinica de La Raza

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

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

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

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