Berkeley Pediatrics

There are a lot of good reviews here, so why add one more? Because Amy Famini, NP is the best. That’s why. When our daughter was born three weeks early and developed a bright orange case of jaundice, Amy was with us every step of the way to get the jaundice cleared, develop a plan for weight gain, and calm our new-​parent jitters. Now that our baby is about to turn one, we can honestly say that we don’t consider Amy to be just our daughter’s medical provider; we feel like she’s there for all three of us. She fawns over our little girl, like a member of the family. She responds quickly when we have questions. She even called me at home once at 8:00 pm because she knew I’d sleep better if I spoke with her. We’re excited that our kiddo gets to grow up with Amy on our team!

As it turned out, Berkeley Pediatrics’ own business staff worked hard and well to fix the cascading billing problems that were apparently spawned upstream by the Alta Bates medical group. I’m very grateful for BP’s help, but still dismayed that Alta Bates, speaking through a pediatric practice, would send such incorrect and intimidating bills to a teenager. Seems to me Alta Bates would want to encourage teens to get preventative care, rather than scaring them away.

We were thrilled to find Dr. Grace So after having a negative experience with a Sutter pediatrician. Dr. So was kind, patient, down to earth, and really had a way with our infant son. It was with heavy hearts that we had to leave after only three appointments because of our move to the South Bay. We considered making the drive, but not knowing when a crying fit could strike, decided now wasn’t the time. I can only hope the one referral Dr. So gave us who is currently accepting new patients is equally good.

I really love this practice. I moved to Oakland when my son was a few months old after delivering him in San Francisco and in a pediatric practice that was highly regarded. I had a chilly experience at the SF practice but thought that was pretty standard for doctors’ practices.
Not so at Berkeley Pediatrics, and particularly with Amy Famini. We love the entire group. We see Amy exclusively for our son’s care and she is so invested: remembers our son’s details without prompting, and is a great balance of conservative (when it comes to medication) and proactive (when it come to tracking down answers). Plus, I am a first-​time, nervous mom, where some degree of eye rolling is probably warranted. But it never happens here. In fact, the response when I apologize for all the questions is: always call. Don’t worry at all.
Great after hours advice line, too. Just a wonderful practice.

We are relatively new to the practice, but so far we have had nothing but a positive experience. The facilities are warm and welcoming (they even separate the sick and the well children, something I hadn’t seen done before but certainly appreciate!), the staff nice and helpful, and the care great. My son sees Dr. Katrina Michel, and she is wonderful. My son loves her and he is normally pretty wary of doctors. I highly recommend this practice to anyone.

Across my daughter’s 22 months, I have met with 3 doctors and 1 nurse practicioner here. Every one of them have generally been fantastic.
On my first visit there in search of my daughter’s future pediatric clinic just before she was born, I discovered that Berkeley Pediatrics fulfilled every criteria I had — including the ones I hadn’t yet realized SHOULD have.
* They have a separate entrance, waiting area, and examination rooms for sick children to reduce the likelihood of newborns and those coming for routine well visits catching a bug. (Though I wish the examination rooms were less cramped and had a brighter interior and kid-​friendly décor to cheer up the already miserable sick kids.)
* They allow you to store your credit card information so you never have to keep your potentially agitated child waiting as you linger at the clinic and check-​out after shots or visits.
* They provide an after hours number to speak to a registered nurse who will help determine if your child’s symptoms requires a visit to an urgent care clinic, a conversation with the on-​call pediatrician, or can wait until the next day.
* They have aquariums, toys, and plenty of books.
* They use a highly efficient online patient portal that allows you to do various things including email your child’s pediatrician, check/​schedule appointments, and pull up your child’s immunization records, which includes a date, location of the shot, and the name of the person who administered it.
* Many of the pediatricians there have attended or been a resident at top medical schools and teaching hospitals.
* Their team members have cute scrubs, including a Mickey print one!
* Moises is very gentle when he administers shots and is super sensitive to your little one’s discomfort.
* A pediatrician calls you back the same day if you have medical questions.
* They rarely make me wait more than 15mins between the time of arrival and actually meeting a medical professional.
when I arrive on time for appointments.
… and more.
Berkeley Pediatrics has set the bar pretty high for my daughter’s future pediatrician if we do end up moving out of the country for a little while. I sure do hope I find a place that at least somewhat compares.
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I have only had one awful experience with someone there. I can’t remember her name (but I recognize her face and would avoid her with a ten foot pole) who attempted to catheterize my daughter and failed repeatedly, making an already stressful experience for our then 1 year old significantly worse than it needed to be. When my Mom stopped the process and asked for our (AMAZING) pediatrician Dr. Olivia Lang, Dr. Lang decided to do it herself, which took less than 30 seconds from start to finish.
We had to get another urine test by way of catheter on another visit and the MA (?) was just as accurate and quick as Dr. Lang was.
My Mom is a sensitive lady who cried that night that the first attempt to catheterize my daughter at the clinic went terribly wrong and STILL talks about that how scarring it was, but in my opinion, it was a very unfortunate but isolated incident and I have had enough positive interactions with other team members that I could still comfortably recommend Berkeley Pediatrics to other parents.

We’ve been going here for over a year since our son was born. Our pediatrician is Dr. Katrina Michel, and she is fabulous! She has a daughter only a few months older than our son so she has been through the trenches and gives great advice. She’s also really wonderful with our son. She’s so great at entertaining him and putting him at ease that he doesn’t seem to mind his checkups. She’s also very responsive by phone or email. Dr. Michel is also really great with us. Being first time parents, my husband and I can sometimes be a little nuts, but she is always kind and patient with us, too.

My son has been seeing Grace So since he was born, and a few others while she was on maternity leave. Dr. So is very patient and has a strong knowledge domain. Being a first time mom, I have never-​ending questions and she was so patient/​thorough in all her answers. I really felt that they cared about my son, from the front office staff, to the nurses and doctors. I highly recommend Dr. So to all moms who are looking for a loving and caring pediatrician.

I highly recommend Dr. Katrina Michel and her pediatric services! Our newborn son has been seeing her for almost 2 months, and even as young as he is, he enjoys the visits. He likes Dr. Michel’s face, and she is very warm and comfortable with the little guy. She makes the physical exams and check-​in seem like no big deal, our son doesn’t even make a fuss. She is also thorough in answering questions both during the visit and over the online messaging system. She helps put parents and baby at ease. If you’re expecting, or in the process of choosing a new pediatrician for your newborn or child, go see Dr. Michel!

The staff here is prompt, great with my daughter and dependable. I don’t have a lot of experience with pediatricians and almost didn’t post this review because I don’t want them to get too busy. They treat me with respect and patience. Even if we have to see another doctor, we are pleased with whomever we get. Everyone knows how to handle kids and over reactive parents.

Both my daughter and son used to go to Kiwi Pediatrics (you can read my review on them) but had to change office’s due to our insurance and I am sooo glad that, that pushed me to we to go to Berkeley Pediatrics.
My children both see Dr. Katrina Michel’s here and she is a really great pediatrician. She is very patient, kind, funny with the kids, and doesn’t overstep her boundaries which a lot of nurses and doctor’s would do at Kiwi.
The office itself is two floors and there is a person in charge of each station (shots room, front desk etc) so you’re not constantly waiting on one person to do everything. The people here are also all very friendly and seem to enjoy what they do.
I think my kids will go here until they are no longer able to!

Our family loves Dr. Annemary Franks!!! My 13-​year-​old daughter has been seeing Dr. Franks since she was born. Dr. Franks has been excellent with her every stage of her development. My daughter has been completely at ease with her.
We have also had experience with other doctors in the practice who seemed very competent as well when my daughter was ill and Dr. Franks was not on duty. And despite that Dr. Franks was not there when she had an appointment for her illness, Dr. Franks always made a follow up call to check on her.
They are also geniuses to have the nurses do the immunizations so as to not negatively impact the doctor patient relationship. I have found that most of the nurses are very good at administering immunizations as my daughter is a complete shot-​phobe and can make the biggest scene when it comes to getting shots.

I have been extremely happy with this practice, and Dr. Franks in particular. She has the magic touch with children — relates to them very well — and is also very down to earth and good at communicating with parents. They keep slots open so you can get a quick appointment for a sick kid, and have a good online system for messages, appointments, refills, and so forth.
My kids were 1 and 6 when I moved to the area; they are 3.5 and 8 now.

Love Berkeley Pediatrics!
After a very bad experience trying to make an appointment for my 8 week old elsewhere Berkeley Pediatrics got my son, a totally new patient, in within 2 hours.
Dr. Katrina Michel has been very patient with both my husband and me — and that is saying something as we run our child’s doctors appointments a bit like an old Columbo episode. Just as poor Dr. Michel’s thinks that she will finally escape, sometimes even after she has left the room, we’ll pull out the ol’, «Oh, I almost forgot. Just one more thing, Dr. Michel. One more thing has been troubling me…»
Can’t wait for little man’s 6 month appointment in a few weeks!

Choosing a pediatrician office in Berkeley, Berkeley Pediatrics is a no brainer. I have been taking my son to Amy since he was born. Amy is so good with him and she is always there to answer any questions I have. We recently moved out of the area and I can honestly say that we will miss her so much! She was a really good resource to have regarding being a new parent and was kind and compassionate.

My children, now young adults, were patients at Berkeley Ped from birth to kinder age. We trusted our doctors and staff and put great faith that they knew better than I did. As a new mother, I simply did not know better. Looking back at the records, I see that my child received over fifteen vaccinations in the first two years of his life!
1/​Vaccinations – children who are vaccinated have a higher risk of allergies and auto immune issues. I was urged to have my children vaccinated and so I did. Today, I would reconsider that decision and believe that not ALL the vaccinations were necessary.
2/​Soy formula was recommended. I now know that the majority of soy products are genetically modified and, as such, can put babies at risk. My new born daughter responded to soy milk with violent, projectile vomiting. I was told by my BP pediatrician that the vomiting was a «normal» response and to keep feeding her the same soy formula as her body would adapt – the most insensitive medical advice ever! She is now an adult and has been diagnosed with auto immune issues.
My son had eczema since birth and subsequent allergies. The doctor at Berkeley Pediatrics recommended soy milk. My son never thrived and is still very underweight. All red flags that Berkeley Ped dismissed as «normal» but were, I believe, signs of nutritional deficiencies.
Had my children received better, more holistic care in their formative years, they might not have allergies and autoimmune issues today.

Great practice. While you may have to wait months for a well visit, you can get a same day visit, usually with your child’s doctor. Phenomenal patient care. They have a new online system, and respond to phone calls within the same time. There is also a new urgent care line.
Excellent, excellent practice.
I should add, I wasn’t used to this mixed use construction, so the first time we went I want hanging u-​turns for almost 20 minutes, to the point I was talking with the receptionist trying to find the place. After that, of course, it’s simple to find, and there’s usually ample street parking.

I love Dr. King, he is a good combination of smart and low key. He clearly knows his medicine, and he doesn’t require any unnecessary procedures.
The only problem is booking with him is a little like booking for the French Laundry. You have to book an appointment 2 months in advance to get one, but you can’t book more than two months in advance…
Dr. King is also a big proponent of vaccines. But he did allow us to break my son’s up. I like vaccines too, but I wanted to make sure if my son had a bad reaction to one, we would know which one. I also didn’t want to overtax his immune system.

Our son was a patient of Dr. Franks, for 14 years, and she and the other doctors and nurses at BPMG are all that we hoped for. Changes in insurance available have taken us to Kaiser, but we would have happily stayed, and would go back for the rest of the «pediatric» years, in a heart beat.
Dr. Franks has always been kind, smart, approachable, thorough, encouraging, reasonably optimistic, supportive and any other good word you can imagine. Just right for the doctor you trust with your kid. In well-​child visits and various childhood ailments, she listens, checks everything, follows up with questions, everything you want. We couldn’t be happier. She has explained and answered questions for both parents and child, willingly and with
Yes, the advice nurse service is not quite as fully featured as Kaiser, but they return calls, answer questions and concerns, they never failed us. The other docs that we saw when Dr. Franks wasn’t available were just as good to us, the nurses and technicians are patient and good at their jobs.
I recommend Dr. Franks and BPMG without reservation.

I recently switched from Kaiser a month after my son was born and wasn’t looking forward to searching for a doctor. My lactation consultant recommended BP to me. We absolutely love Dr Franks. She is very sweet and friendly. She’s never judgmental and gives us all the information we need to get us through to the next visit. They have a very helpful website that has saved me a couple of phone calls to the dr.
I also like that they have separate entrances and rooms for sick children.
The only thing that I really wasn’t pleased about was the after hours advice nurse network. I am used to Kaiser where it’s almost like talking to your own dr. These advice nurses ask a lot of unnecessary/​repetative questions and are just not helpful. One time I called and they asked me «what would you have done if you didn’t have us to call?» I said I don’t know because I do have you to call.
Aside from that the office staff and nurses are very friendly.