Need New Pediatrician - Skokie,IL

Dr. Cathy Divincenzo is the best! I moved to Vernon Hills in the last 3 years, so we see Dr. Woods now, but she is awesome. I have a 12,10, and a 7 year old. She might remember me, B. Cutro. I highly recomend her, some of my friends still see her. Good luck.

I met with Dr. Ettner, but he didn't take my insurance. Other than that he was very very nice, and I think he would be very open to not vaccinating. I went to Dr. Minkus for a few appointments, but really didn't like him that much. I have been going to Dr. Divincenzo ever since and I really like her and the other 2 doctors and nurse practitioners in her practice. I believe they would be open to non-vaccinating, but haven't asked them directly. Their office hours are very convenient. They have walk in sick hours every day from 8:30-9:30, and it is never hard to get an appointment last minute if you need it (although it may be with the nurse practitioner). They also have evening hours some days of the week and are open both Saturday and Sunday mornings for appointments or last minute sick kids. I have been quite happy with them over the past 3 years. That said, I think Dr. Ettner would also be good, although maybe less flexible since there aren't other doctors in his practice (or at least I don't think there are). You should also set up appointments to meet with the doctors you are considering. I met with all 3 of the ones I mentioned before my first son was born.

Hi C.,

Mary Hall is with Glenbrook Pediatrics in the Glen and I have used this office all of my daughters life. I like them very much. We have seen Dr. Hall a few times, but she is not our primary Dr. I wish you luck in your decision, but rest assured, if you decide to go with that practice, you will be in very good hands.

D.

Both of my children go to Dr. Cathy DiVincenzo & she is wonderful.

Dr. Belmonte is my sons pediatrician. I like him a lot. He is very nice and understanding. I have no problems talking to him. I do not know his philosophy though about vaccinations as I choose to vaccinate. But from my impressions I see him as understanding especially if your 5 mo already had a bad reaction. Good luck with your search though!

Dear C.,
We are very happy with Dr. Cathy DiVincenzo. She is pro vax but she will stagger them if you want and she's an excellent listener. She's incredibly sweet with my little guy and her nurse Kasia is excellent. Front desk staff are great, very clean office & convenient parking. She's been very supportive of us as a co-sleeping, breastfeeding family as well. We chose her based on a recommendation from multiple friends, and because she takes our crappy insurance. Additionally, she is the mother of triplets!

Good luck! It's nerve wracking...congrats on your beautiful little one!

D.

My dr is Dr. DiVincenzo and we love her. She will NOT serve patients who do not vaccinate, but her office is willing to do what they call an "alternative" vaccination schedule. (ie, they will spread out the vaccines instead of doing a bunch at once). We have also seen Dr Shepherd in the same office. We like her, too, but not as much as Dr. D.

I have a 4 month old and have been with Dr. D. since my dtr's birth. We met her through our childbirth classes and were very impressed by her. She is informative, has a great bedside manner, and takes as much time as you need during appts.

Good Luck!

We love Mary Hall. She is no longer with Glenbrook Pediatriacs. She and Dr. James Olsen have opened their own practice (Kids Health Partners) in Skokie. She is a wonderful and compassionate pediatrician.

S.

We have had extensive experience with both Minkus and Ettner. Minkus was our pediatrician when my son was an infant. I chose him on recommendation from my midwife as a physician who would tolerate alternative approaches to health. He did not push vaccinations, yet was not knowledgeable of natural medicine and quite mainstream. Dr. Ettner has been our pediatrician as of late. He, too, is supportive of alternative medicine. Of the two, Ettner has my vote for his bedside manner as well as his knowledge/support of alternative health. My son gives him the thumbs-up as well. [And he is easy on the eyes! : )]

Dr Ettner has been VERY flexible and supportive with our vaccine schedule-- I started myson at 18 months and my daughter at a year. Sarah gives the shots, so it's not neccesary to wait for Dr. Ettner-- sometimes there can be a long wait. Good luck!

i work at lutheran general hospital and hear great things about dr belmonte. not to sure about the vaccination issue though.

I love Dr. Ettner and he is very amenable to vaccination on different schedule and in different ways. He always responds quickly and is extremely warm and perceptive. I cn't say enough about how he is really interested and cares! My daughter is grown and I work with babies and kids and have sent many people to him. None has been disappointed.
Susan Alberts.

I only know Dr. Ettner, (assuming this is Fred Ettner). He was at St. Francis in Evanston while he was my doctor and my daughter's pediatrician. I went to him for 25 years and he is the best. He is more into wholistic medicine and will work with your feelings about vaccinations and other issues. I only switched because our insurance forced me to. I live in Chicago but was willing to drive to Evanston to keep going to him. You may have to wait in his office, but he will spend the time to listen to you when it is your turn. HIghly recommended!

from C. in Chicago

We are very particular in our choice of health care providers in part because we do have a skilled surgeon in our family. Our opinion of Dr. Mary Hall is that she is an excellent pediatrician. She is a good communicator, very honest and very knowledgeable. We have taken both of our children to her for over 8 years. She has waited for us after office hours to give our child a breathing treatment. She has also played a major role in the successful recovery of a birth injury in one of our children. She definitely goes above and beyond when it comes to the medical care and well being of any of her patients.

My son sees Dr. Minkus. Dr. Minkus is very non-alarmist but sometimes I feel like he's too non-alarmist. His answer to everything is don't worry about it with no explanation. But he is very laid back and open to whatever you want and very non-judgmental. I know you said he doesn't accept your insurance, however, have asked to see if they will join your insurance's network? Sometimes a doctor can easily join a network and is willing to if you ask.

Where are you located? When we had our son downtown at Prentice we LOVED the pediatrician we had at the hospital -Dr. Lechmann with the Northwestern Memorial Physicians Group. We would have used him after too but he's located downtown and we live in Evanston so it wasn't convenient. He was really open and went above and beyond. He called us at 8pm one night because we had a question after he was no longer our son's doctor!

Also, when I was expecting I got a handful of recommendations in the Evanston area from friends. I still have the info so if you're interested send me a private message and I'll give you the list.

Good luck with your search!

We can also recommend Dr. Fred Ettner. His office hours are a bit limited, however. He does work with two other doctors who I believe are more open to off-hours. His manner of being laid-back may be frustrating at times, but it's to reassure. He is amazing at calling back, and for that plus his vaccination approach (doesn't start til 6 months, only one at a time, doesn't do some of the more questionable/unnecessary ones) is why we're staying with him.