The Stanford Medicine Children’s Health network continues to grow with our newest addition, Town and Country Pediatrics, located in San Francisco and Mill Valley.
For nearly 20 years, Town and Country has been offering skilled and compassionate health care to local families. The transition to Stanford Medicine Children’s Health serves to make the practice accessible to even more patients, according to business manager, Erica Demafeliz. “We feel working with Stanford Medicine Children’s Health can give us the tools that we need to offer the best care for our patients. For example, it will give us access to more insurance carriers, which means we can improve patient access.”
The practice is staffed by six physicians: Jessica Kaplan, MD, Jasmin Makar, MD, Jody Ullom, MD, Sheva Tessler, MD, John Vande Guchte, MD and Carolyn Wright, MD. From routine well visits to baby’s first cold, they are passionate about providing exceptional health care to the families they serve. “It’s a tremendous privilege to be able to care for children of all ages and to create lifelong relationships with families. It’s wonderful to see my patients grow up in front of me to become resilient and capable young adults,” said Dr. Makar.
At Town and Country, the doctors understand that each patient has unique needs, which is why they are dedicated to partnering with families and giving every patient personalized care. “I really believe in a personalized approach to pediatrics because everyone is different and while you have certain ideas about how parenting is going to go, life unfolds and you learn new things about yourself in the process,” Dr. Kaplan said. “There’s virtually no way to prepare for parenthood except to have an open heart and mind and tap into the support that you have around you.”
Providing a comfortable office setting where children and parents can feel at ease is important to all the practice staff. They set aside time to equip parents with the tools and resources necessary for the development of healthy children because they have first-hand experience with the challenges of parenting. “All of our physicians are parents, so they’re not just coming from the medical perspective of how to parent a child,” Demafeliz said. “When you’re a parent you have a better understanding of how to get children to do what you need them to do, and that’s one of the things that makes us really different compared to other practices.”
Dr. Vande Guchte adds that being a parent gives him compassion and perspective when working with families. “My goal is to treat each child like I would my own. As a father, I put myself into the position of the parent and I try to make them as comfortable as possible and reassure them that we’re doing everything we can to make their children better.” Patients can get a full range of pediatric care at the Town and Country offices, including adolescent care, immunizations and sick appointments, even prenatal visits for expecting parents. Visit our San Francisco location or Mill Valley location for more information about the practice or learn more at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health network.
