Pediatricians at Harvard Vanguard in Davis

[tercat.livejournal.com]

My husband and I are expecting our first child at the beginning of August.  We have worked with doctors in the Harvard Vanguard network for years, and we are seriously considering one of the pediatricians at the Davis Square office for that reason and also for convenience.  What can you tell me about the pediatricians at the Harvard Vanguard in Davis? 

The doctors listed on the Harvard Vanguard site include:
Carole Allen
Benjamin Kruskal
Julie Puncochar
Jan Shoyer

I have read the few posts here about pediatricians, but I'm hoping for a little more specific info about the Harvard Vanguard docs.

Know anything about them?  Thanks in advance for helping us out!

Comments

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

I can't speak to any of them, but if you're not on the Somerville Moms email list yet (through Yahoo Groups), I strongly suggest joining it and searching the archives for them, or posting there if you don't find anything -- there's a ton of info on that list. Congratulations! :)

[purpless77.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!!!!!!!
It's so great to see more families starting here.

I second the post above, also check Facebook. There might be a Somerville Moms group there. If you get any specific names try Yelp for reviews. Sorry I couldn't be of better help.

[dent42.livejournal.com]

Congrats. We go to Dr. Puncochar, and couldn't be happier!

[hauntmeister.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! Our baby is about to turn one this month, and we've been seeing Dr. Kruskal. He's very nice, and patient with our questions and worries. At one point during a visit, when we were evidently running overtime, a nurse eventually broke in and apologetically interrupted with, "Excuse me, doctor, but there are three other patients waiting". But he hadn't made any efforts to dismiss us while we were still asking questions.

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

Hey, I didn't realize we shared a pediatrician!

[anotherjen.livejournal.com]

We love Dr. Kruskal. Very competent, patient, friendly, genuine, and he's got five kids of his own.

[eeyorecol.livejournal.com]

Second for Dr. Puncochar! We love her! She's patient and very nice, and I like that she seems very laid back - it helps me relax and I've never felt like I've asked a stupid question or have a silly concern.

I will say that we've seen Dr. Allen on a couple of occassions as well; she's very good and very knowledgable, and seemed a bit no nonsense to us (which was exactly what we needed from her at the time)

All of the pediatricians are willing to meet with you before the birth of your child, which could help you make a decision. Also, the suggestion of joining SomervilleMoms is a good one

We've seen them all

[jblack73.livejournal.com]

Our son is now 4 and we have had far too many occasions to be at HVMA. Our primary Pediatrician is Dr. Kruskal and he has been great in helping us navigate a number of complex medical and devlopmental issues.

All of the pediatricians are good and caring, as well as the weekend urgent care doctors. Remember though, that most pediatricians seem to do best with generally well children (typical colds and stuff) but it can be difficult if the child has more complex medical issues and you are juggling multiple doctors - we found Dr. Kruskal to be a great "ringleader" for us.

If you have the opportunity to pre-screen and visit with the doctors - that is great to find the right fit for you. If not, you can ALWAYS change - we did.

Finally - there is a huge benefit to having HVMA as your care center only a few blocks away - you can always stop in if you have concerns, urgent care is open all weekend, they have an in house lab and pharmacy. One stop shopping to take care of your child.

Also - congrats on the up coming little one!

[tercat.livejournal.com]

Everyone, thanks so much!

I'm waiting for my acceptance to the Somerville Moms Yahoo group. Thanks for the tip!

We are definitely looking forward to having convenient access to the pediatricians, pharmacy, etc. I use that pharmacy anyway and it's only about a 10-12 minute walk from our house.

I haven't seen anything about a "Meet the Pediatricians" night, so we'll probably make an appointment or two to meet with some of the doctors.