Seeking a Good Pediatrician in Cedar Rapids, IA

Hi E.-
I live just outside CR and work in CR. I am taking my 3 1/2 mo-old son to Pediatric Associates (right next to St Lukes) and moved my 4-yr-old from Linn Community Care to Ped Assoc also. I am really liking them so far, much better than Linn Community Care. Plus, my OB is in the same building - OB-GYN Associates. All of the docs there are terrific also. I have not had a bad experience in the 4 years I have been going to them. Hope this helps!
J.

I would highly recommend Dr. Mark Reinertson (that is who my son goes to) or Dr. Scott Nau. I used to work at St. Luke's in the Diabetes Education department and had interaction with almost every pediatrician in town. Dr. Mark is an excellent experienced physician...with a wonderful bedside manner. I was always comfortable with him when I worked at St. Luke's and he has a wonderful reputation (AKA...he has never done anything that I would question). Also, he is great with following a parent's lead. I had a difficult time getting my milk supply up when my son was about a month old and he did not demand I use formula right away. He let me work with the lactation consultant and when I decided to start supplementing (completely my decision) he gave me some samples of a high calorie formula (Similac Neosure), so that I was able to keep the supplementing to a minimum. BTW, if you are looking to get out and meet some new people in town...I also live in Cedar Rapids on the NE side. I am 28 and my husband is 31 and we have a 6 month old son.

We take our girls to the Pediatric Center and they have a great group of doctors. They have a new physician who I am sure is accepting patients, her name is Dr. Shire. I really like her a lot. Good luck with your move and welcome to CR!

Hello!

This is a strong (and long!) recommendation for St. Luke's!

My son just turned one and we have always taken him to Dr. Mark Reinertson at St. Luke's Pediatrics. I exclusively breastfed him until he randomly weaned himself three weeks ago and Dr. Reinertson has always been supportive of that effort.

My husband and I LOVE this practice. They are open more hours than anywhere else in town and they are SO friendly and supportive. Dr. Reinertson in particular is extremely knowledgeable, but also low-key. He doesn't alarm us for no reason, but he also doesn't make us feel as though our concerns are unjustified. He never seems to be in a hurry to rush off to the next patient and always takes the time to ask how things are going in our lives. We see him around town and he always addresses us and our son by name and that is truly remarkable given the number of patients he must see!

There have been a few times when Dr. Reinertson was not available and, if he felt it was serious (my son had a small allergic reaction to some food) he told the nurses to fit us in, which I really appreciated. If it's just a re-check from an ear infection or something like that, we have seen a few of the other doctors and have generally been pleased with all of them.

One other thing: You'll hear this practice called IHP for Iowa Health Pediatrics because it is part of a group of pediatric practices. I've also heard it called Cedar Rapids Physicians and Clinics, Cedar Rapids Pediatrics, and St. Luke's Pediatrics. They are all referring to the same great office, but for the record, they answer the phones "Thank you for calling Iowa Health Pediatrics!"

Good luck with your decision!!

Wow! Dr Mark should be giving us referral bonuses! He is an awesome doctor. I have taken all 4 of my children to him, and he and his father were MY peditricians as a child. He is very respected, very kind and gentle and very knowledgeable. As a nervous first time mother he never made me feel silly for taking a crabby baby to have her ears checked, he's always been good at reassuring me for decisions or things we have done and is also very good at checking things to make parents feel better and not writing them off as "nothing to be worried about". (all without making you feel alarmed) I have referred others and they have been happy too. If you're looking for a nurse practioner, Barb Neitzel-Schneider is in the new Hiawatha office. She is very kind, detailed, knowledgeable and takes all the time you need to answer questions, check your child and help everyone feel better!

I'd recommend Dr. Tammy O'Brien or any of the people at her office. She's a mommy and a baby doctor which just makes a lot of things so much easier and she's down to earth and realistic and considers each baby seperate from every other baby she sees. A STRONG recommendation for her practice. (Family Medicine Specialists is the name of their actual practice.)