Looking for a Great Pediatrician in Riverside/Oakpark/LaGrange Area

All I can say is do NOT go to the West Suburban Family Practice in Oak Park. We went there for several years and although the care was good at first, when they were bought by Resurection and moved to the main hospital complex, everything went way downhill from billing and records problems to patient care.
We had a great family doctor there- but after we saw him initially he was literally NEVER available for an appointment and we were always stuck with a strange new resident who had no idea of our medical; history, etc. I am not kidding, I don't think we got an appointment with our primary physician once in the next 6 years!!

However, I can HIGHLY recommend our new doctor's office: the Family Medical practice at LaGrange Hospital. Our whole family sees Dr. Scott Robertson and Dr. Judith Lin.

1)The staff is great. Friendly, helpful with insurance issues, records, etc. (I have never been told I had to go call or look something up myself, or that something is 'my responsibility'. I am capable of doing that, but it is so nice for the office staff to be helpful.)

2)Both our doctors are great.I am getting the best, most detailed and regular health care of my life. Both have always answered every question I had, and I have never felt 'rushed' through an appointment. I've also found both doctors to be very knowledgeable and aware of things like insurance issues, generic brand cost and effectiveness vs. name brand perscriptions- things that a lot of doctors do not bother with or just don't seem to think it is there responsibility to answer questions about.

3) My son has allergies and we also saw a Dr. Stone, who is a specialist who works in the same building. He was excellent as well.

I really felt like all 3 of these doctors have a great balance between giving you a prescription to help with something, but not overdoing it by giving a lot of unneeded antibiotics or perscriptions or doing extra tests, etc. There is a definite emphasis in this office on good health and doing what you can with diet, exercise and general well-being before you just get a bunch of expensive perscriptions.

4)When you have a child, I feel like a lot of your doctor's visits are unplanned. In this practice we have ALWAYS gotten to see one of our two regular doctors, no matter how short notice it is.

My first visit I was so sick with a cold and sinus infection, but they got me in the day I called, gave me a prescription for the infection and had me make an appointment for a more complete exam later in the month. It was exactly what I needed.

The one time we saw another doctor there, we needed a last minute camp physical for my son (I had forgotten to do it earlier). We saw a different doctor that day, and the staff actually apologized that our regulars were all booked up for the day! The other doctor gave my son his routine checkup for camp and we were all set.

I could go on and on and compare all the ways that the LaGrange Family Health practice has been better than West Sub, but really it boils down to this:

When you have a lot of so-so health care and bad experiences at the doctor, it is so easy to SETTLE for it and you get used to it.

Then when you go to an office that is really GOOD- helpful, fast, polite, thorough and really seems to care about your familiy's well-being, you learn how valuable that is!! Do what's best for your son and get to a doctor you trust! Good Luck!

K.,

I am not sure about breathing issues specifically because he haven't had that but my husband and I really like our ped. Dr. Rebecca Barbato at Loyola Univ. North Riverside office (on Harlem). In fact, I think we have seen all the ped. docs there and have been happy. We have had food allergy issues and hip/ortho issues and have been happy with the care and referrals to specialists.

D.

I would recommend Loyola Medicine for your son. You can connect to Loyola online and look up a pediatrician. They will be able to connect you to someone who is familiar with preemies and their asthma related issues. I work for LUMC just to disclose my connection.Good luck!

We love Pedios in Oak Park! There are four doctors, and they're all fantastic. I've always gotten in right away for sick visits. And they're affiliated with Children's Memorial...when my daughter fell & broke her elbow, the ped & the nurses made all the arrangements & phone calls to get her into Children's fracture clinic immediately. I'd highly recommend them.

Hi K., I highly recommend the family practice doctors affiliated with Elmhurst Clinic, located on North Avenue in Oak Park. ###-###-#### We are very pleased with all three doctors there, and we all go to them (very convenient for flu shots!). I do not know about asthma but I feel sure Dr. Hutton and her colleagues will treat your son right. Good luck to you.

There is a great Dr. @ Hope Children's Hospital in Oak Lawn. It might be a little far but I think he is well worth it. Our daughter was hospitalized last year in the fall after having trouble breathing. This was her third visit for breathing, but this time it wasn't because she had a cold, but allergies. She was diagnosed with asthma. Dr Javeed Akhter(OCTER) was great at explaining everything to us. He put our daughter on treatments and we have not had another problem since then. He is a ped asthma dr, so I think he might be a good fit for your son. We see him on top of seeing our regular pediatrician, because he specializes in asthma & our regular pediatrician does not. Hope also offers free asthma classes for parents and kids. This was the best thing for us because my husband & I knew nothing about asthma. One big thing.. Motrin is really bad for kids with asthma. It makes it worse. We had no idea. Explains why when she had fever/colds before we ended up in the er.

I can't say enough good things about Scott Mercola, MD. River Forest Pediatrics.
###-###-####. He is a very good listener and would not hesitate to refer you to an able specialist, should you and your son need to see one. I also find the practice to be well-managed.

Good luck.

Amy S.

I recommend HomeFirst. They have several clinics in the Chicagoland area. They are a group of Family Practice physicians, and they know about using Vitamin D to prevent the difficulties of asthma in children.

http://www.homefirst.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp...

Best wishes,
J.