The following is a letter one of our member parents wrote to another family who was interested in joining Child’s Light Pediatrics:

“…Child's Light is amazing - Dr. Herbsman and Dr. Martel are exceptional doctors -- I really cannot say enough good things about them. They are smart and very knowledgeable, thorough, organized, punctual, very responsive, great about follow ups, caring. And most importantly, they are just nice people and have terrific bedside manner with the kiddos (and with the parents). When J. was born, Dr. Martel demonstrated some great massage techniques that we still use. And without going into too much detail, over the past months, dealing with a colicky newborn, I really came to appreciate Dr. Herbsman's bedside manner. He made sure that I got the post-partum help that I needed for breast feeding to succeed, displayed wonderful empathy and knowledge about bringing newborn home and was sensitive to issues for my son with adding a sibling.

I love their approach to medicine -- they really listen to parents and support that we are the experts on our children. I have learned so much about parenting from them -- much more than any book I could read.

I also appreciate their practice model - all visits done in the home, 24/7 phone and email contact for questions and urgent care issues, assistance through ER (in Marin or in city). Great connections to CPMC and Marin General. Fortunately, I have only had to take my son to the emergency room once and that was for an x-ray of my son's leg after hours. Dr. Herbsman met me in the ER and got us through the process as quickly and painlessly as possible. I had to take my daughter in to the hospital over a weekend and Dr. Herbsman was able to meet me there, see us for 15 minutes and save my daughter having to have her blood drawn. They have been to our house numerous times after hours. When my son was a baby, he had an allergic reaction to something and Dr. Herbsman was here that evening within 15 minutes of my calling him. Both of my children have needed to see specialists, and Dr. Herbsman's referrals and connections have been first rate.

Regarding the financial aspect, I believe that their visit / vaccination fees are consistent with many other pediatricians in Marin (we were at (another) office before switching to Child's Light). A good part of the fees have been reimbursed by our insurance company -- we have obviously gone out of pocket for access fee and for some of the wellness visits (our plan limits the number of visits and insurance plan does not really support spaced out vaccinations. I would have this problem regardless of which doctor I was with). I feel that the way they practice medicine has actually saved us numerous trips to urgent care/ER, visits which would have been more expensive and subject to higher co-pays….I also feel that their parenting advice has been so solid that I have gained confidence as a mother and been able to forego the sleep consultants and others that I would have been tempted to call. The quality of care provided by Child's Light is exceptional. It has been such an incredible investment in our children's health and given me great piece of mind…”

Dear Friends:

The purpose of this email is to introduce you to Dr. Herbsman whom I met recently through an unfortunate health-related experience with Katarina, our four-year-old daughter. As mothers and fathers (or soon to be ones), we all have a keen interest in the ongoing wellbeing and good health of our children, and with health services that are both efficient and first rate. Dr. Herbsman has provided my family with this service. I was so impressed with him that I thought you could benefit from his services too.

My daughter Katarina has been battling pneumonia on and off for one month. Her prior pediatrician and his associates evaluated her condition from its onset. Since her doctor had multiple offices, Katarina did not always see her primary physician but other doctors, and, after hours, on-call nurses (we spoke to three doctors and five nurses during her bout with the illness!). As a result of the multiple individuals in the process, the health-care service was fragmented and at times confusing: each doctor or nurse I spoke with had a different theory on Katarina’s illness, leading to a constantly varying treatment.

I decided to ask around for a pediatrician that was available beyond a typical 9-5 workday especially at night when symptoms seem to be at there worst. When she relapsed a third time I rushed her to her primary physician and I was told that she did not have pneumonia anymore, but had caught a virus (probably at school). He was wrong.

What he did do right was give me the name of Dr. Oded Herbsman. Dr. Herbsman has a-24-hour-on-call-at-home pediatric service. Outside of his wonderful disposition he was the Vice Chair for Pediatrics at CPMC and was touted to us by the Chief of Medical Services at CPMC as : “the best pediatrician he had ever known.” I agree.

The following morning at two o’clock a.m. she spiked a high fever and was in terrible pain. I phoned Dr. Herbsman. His associate Dr. Steve Martel was on call that night and knew about Katarina’s condition and advised me right away on what to do (yes, you read correctly, a doctor responded, not a night time nurse or answering service). Dr. Herbsman contacted me immediately after my call and at five o’clock a.m., he followed us to CPMC Emergency Room. He had her admitted and in a room right away. No waiting.

He treated her himself (he even drew her blood, usually a function for the attending nurse). He had the results of Katarina’s x-rays and blood work in under an hour; the results showed that she had a severe case of pneumonia in her left lung. It was so severe that had we not taken immediate action, the pneumonia may have spread outside of her lungs, requiring surgery!

Since the emergency room visit, Dr. Herbsman has been constantly available to me. He has called frequently to monitor her progress as well as visiting us at home to examine Katarina. Because of Dr. Herbsman’s knowledge and care, Katarina has made a full recovery.

I cannot recommend Dr. Herbsman enough. Our experience with him has been so astounding we cannot imagine ever using another pediatrician. We also found his fees to be more than reasonable.

Recommending Child's Light Pediatrics:

"For those of you looking for (or contemplating switching to) a new pediatrician, I highly recommend Child's Light Pediatrics (specifically, Dr. Oded Herbsman). Child's Light Pediatrics is a house-call based group of pediatricians who serve Marin and SF and they are fantastic! You have access to the doctors via cell phone (and yes, Dr. Herbsman has answered each time I have called -- no voicemail). His advice is sound and, if you are interested, he incorporates alternative medicine into his treatment plan.

The most amazing part is that when you have one of those scary parental moments (like the one we had last night where our two-year-old son woke up hysterical with a fever of 105!!) they ease your anxiety by answering the cell phone (yes, Dr. Herbsman answered at 2:30 a.m.!!) and they are there for you at every step. In our case, Dr. Herbsman met us at the ER so that he could evaluate (including conducting the necessary tests) and take care of our son immediately. Our son is sleeping quietly now and the peace of mind Dr. Herbsman gave us last night and going forward (knowing we can call if we need to) is invaluable."

Hi,

This is an unsolicited (and a little gushy) update on our experiences with Child's Light Pediatrics, Started and staffed by Drs. Oded Herbsman and Steve Martel. (I should say at the outset that I am a physician and therefore PRIMED to be a high-maintenance first-time father!) CLP follows the "concierge" model of primary care medicine. For a regular fee (billed for access and services rendered the previous month/quarter etc) we have essentially unlimited access to our pediatricians 24/7/365, including house calls email address and direct phone numbers.

Our 8 month-old son started out as a fairly colicky baby who is developing into a wonderful child. There have only been a few minor bumps along the way including sleep issues, vaccine dilemmas, a few colds and one problem requiring some physical therapy. Nevertheless, Drs. Herbsman and Martel have been absolutely incredible over the last few months. When our son had his first vaccines at his original office-based pediatrics practice in San Francisco, there was no discussion of alternate vaccine schedules or strategies, no patient education opportunities, and no love at all when it came time to give the shots. A nurse had us undress him, hold him on the changing table and then delivered 4 injections in rapid succession, resulting in a hysterically screaming baby and traumatized first-time parents. The whole visit lasted 25 minutes.

We had switched (for various reasons) to CLP by the time the second series of shots was due, and the experience could not have been more different. Dr. Herbsman arrived at our house (where all of our doctor visits take place) and immediately held and played with our son for a few minutes while getting to know all of us. He then put two patches of local anesthetic (Emla) cream on his thighs and proceeded to spend the next hour chatting with us, taking our son's history, examining him and speaking to us in totally UN-RUSHED detail about alternate vaccine schedules, mercury, aluminum, autism etc., until all of our questions were answered and the baby's thighs were numb. He then administered the two injections we had agreed on for that day while the baby drank some breast milk, the shots essentially went unnoticed!

We were sold from then on. All of our subsequent experiences with CLP have been similar whether they have been late-night phone calls or scheduled visits. I think it is safe to say that in the wake of our son's colic we were quite shell-shocked, high-maintenance new parents. We really believe that one of the things that has helped us relax quite a bit, is the fact that Drs. Herbsman and Martel have been so approachable and supportive. Bottom line: When your Dr's office is open to communicating with you, suddenly, the panicky need to call your doctor for every little thing evaporates, because you know that they will be there for you when its serious.

I decided to write this post today after a 2 minute conversation I had with Dr. Herbsman. Several of our son's friends have been sick with a GI bug. Today he started vomiting and has been a bit fussier than normal. He's not super sick, but we can tell that its probably coming. I called Dr. Herbsman just to ask if there was something going around, and what to watch out for. He asked if he could call me back in 5 minutes. I said "sure" and in EXACTLY 5 minutes he called, confirmed our suspicions and advised us about what to look for and how to alter his eating pattern to avoid dehydration. Try THAT with your office-based pediatrician! Our old practice probably wouldn't have even called back for 24 hours. CLP is open to herbal remedies, massage, traditional western-style pediatrics etc. They'll meet you in the ER if there is a true emergency or need for your child to be admitted to the hospital, and help coordinate their care. This is medicine practiced the way it was meant to be practiced; By exemplary professionals who love their work. The decision to switch to them was the best one we have made so far in our limited parenting career and I cannot recommend them enough.