We started coming to this clinic since I was referred to Dr. Ragins and am glad I did. When my daughter was born at Alta Bates, the peditrician on call was Dr. Davis who I was not familiar with. After having two different appointments with him after baby left, I decided it was time for a change. The staff here are friendly and provide courtesy calls to remind you of your next appointment. Rowena is Dr. Ragins nurse and she has a nice gently approach with the little one. Dr. Ragins listens, make suggestions and hears my concerns since being a first time parent, one has a lot of questions. read more

We just started coming here and the doctor we see seems to be great but it's always the longest time waiting to actually see the doctor. Not sure why we are called to go in the room if the doctor will still take over 30 minutes to see us. I made an appointment for 4pm and wasn't called in until at least 430pm. Have been sitting in the room now for over 20 minutes. I have an infant so it's tough to sit in a small room for over 30 minutes without having the baby cry for the majority of the time we're waiting. Still checking to see if this place will be a good fit for us. If this continues, I'll have to change to someone who takes scheduled appointments seriously. Besides the wait times, the doctor seems great and very thorough. read more

Really like this place the ladies that check you in are great kind and always greet you with smiles. Dr Ducker and Dr. Glen are really good with my kids, Dr Glen explains things really well so I really don't have questions and if i do she answers any questions I do have.. I do like the new updates to the place.. I really do enjoy this place and it's comfortable to my kids.. read more

My daughter is nine and my son is 4 and they have been at that office since day one. I love her doctor Laura Balestreri she is the best. Anytime I need her to call me back she does within the day. She is so helpful and wonderful. She takes her time with you and answers all of your questions. She makes you feel like you are human and doesn't make you feel awful when you child gets hurt. She will truly be missed read more

I'm only giving one star because yelp requires it to leave a review. This office is a total rip off. They require you to leave a credit card number on file and will charge your card as they feel like it. Read EVERYTHING before you sign it. They are shady af! If you see one of their doctors and they spend literally 3 minutes with you and tell you that there's nothing they can do and send you to urgent care. You will be charged despite the fact they did nothing for you, and maybe 3 minutes of face time with an actual doctor if you're lucky. And believe me I'm being generous when I say 3 minutes. My daughter has been going there since she was 5 but now that she's 18 she'd rather go to a more ethical practice and one that will actually notify her when her primary care doctor moves to another state. No one told us her doctor had moved away so they were just going to give her to whoever had openings. That's exactly what they did when we arrived for treatment. They will not notify you that your provider is no longer with the practice but they will blow up your phone with voicemails and frequent calls to remind you that your child hasn't been seen for X amount of time. They want your money but don't want to give you their time which you will be charged for regardless. They are money hungry, inept, and give zero f**ks about your child. I can't even begin to express the amount of disappointment I have with the practice that both of my kids were raised in. It got bad after Dr. Hoagland left but apparently once Dr. Balestrieri left you're stuck with the worst of the worst. If you plan to stay with this practice I'm going to pray for you and your bank account. You've been warned read more

I'm a fan of Castro Valley Primary Pediatric. My 15 month old daughter has been seen by Primary Pediatric since birth. Unlike some other reviews, I've never experienced a scheduling problem nor a long wait. In fact they were very good about accommodating us for an immediate appointment the very day I called when my daughter was sick. We've been seeing Doctor Hoglund, a very patient and experienced Doctor. On our last visit we were seen Doctor Balestreri and she was marvelous, so much in fact that I decided to write a review. She's a mother of two young children so can really empathize and offered helpful suggestions and even recommended a few helpful books. Likewise nurse Jeannie is also wonderful. She has a gift for administrating shots; there were times my daughter didn't even cry. I make a point to schedule my appointments when she's there and request her every time. Even the pediatric hotline available during off hours has served us well. read more

As a parent of 3 children, I'm advising all parents NOT TO COME TO THIS OFFICE. Doctors in this office are not educated and don't care about children being sick. I am not a first time mother, and know exactly when my child isn't well. When he was two month old, he was constipated for three days. When he finally made his poop it was very dark...IF you are a parent reading this, you would know that isn't normal. I saved the diaper and called the office and asked to get the soonest appointment. When I went in I showed the dr. the diaper. They tested it and found BLOOD in the stool. The dr. Comes back to tell me "There is blood in the stole, we will change his formula and no worries there's nothing wrong with him take him home" I knew that wasn't right my son was peddling with his legs very hard and screaming as if he's in pain. Two hours later I took him to the Eden hospital emergency room only for them to transfer me was an ambulance car to the Children's Hospital in Oakland after so many scans and ultrasounds on my son they came back to tell me that he has something called (intussusception). and they must do a procedure on him where they put air through his rectum in order to release the intussusception in his stomach. We stayed in the hospital for two days after that for doctors to make sure my son was ok. My son then turned six months old, as I was taking him for his vaccines for six months old. We were late for 20 minutes. The office refused to let us see the doctor as we were late. Which in my opinion they have every right to do so since it was my mistake. However, what's not RIGHT is that they rushed to give him his 6 month old vaccines and we're trying to schedule me for an appointment a month and a half later. My spouse called the office, and said he will report them to the medical board for refusing to give my son his vaccines. Then the dr. From this office calls to say that we could bring him in ONLY TO TAKE THE VACCINES, however she will not do his well examination. I refused as I was concerned about his weight and his development it's his right to be seen for his well examination. Two days later my six months old son had a rough Thursday night he wasn't breathing well, and he had a bad cough. The cough sounded as a barking dog. Its due to something called CROUP. (I knew about as my first daughter had it when she was 5 years old, however her dr. Treated her from the first day and never waited on her to become very sick) To mothers that don't know when you hear that cough sound it's serious. TAKE YOUR CHILD TO THE ER RIGHT AWAY. Sadly, I didn't take him to the ER right away. I called the office the very next morning and got the first appointment to see his dr. On Friday morning The dr. Told as the usual "don't worry just go home put him in some steam he will be fine" Then she wanted to give him his VACCINES. I Refused since when do we give children vaccines when they are sick!!!!!!!! Anyhow, sadly I listened to this uneducated, careless, dumb dr. I took my son and went home... filled the bathroom with the steam every hour and would sit with my son in the bathroom for 15 to 20 minutes. MY SON WAS GETTING WORSE AND WORSE. Friday night was the worst night in my life he wasn't breathing well and woke up every hour, or less. Saturday morning comes around he is a bit better but not so much. Then 8pm on Saturday night comes around and he isn't able to breath normally... he lost his voice...unable to cry... gasping air for oxygen. I couldn't wait another minute at home I went directly to Oakland Children's Hospital. As I am registering him, The nurse that is registering him saw the way he is breathing. She immediately calls nurses to come very fast. They take him immediately to a room and starts putting oxygen for him. FIVE minutes later they're giving him medicine to let the swelling down in his vocal cords. I hear the nurse calling doctors and telling them to rush to the room, as they have a six month old with severe croup. YES, you read it RIGHT SEVERE CROUP. Listening to this uneducated dr. Led my son to severe croup. They give him treatment once... twice... and it's not working. They tell me they will try it one more time if it doesn't work. He has to be admitted to the hospital. They did it the third time and ..... it didn't work. He was taken to the 4th floor, a room isolated by himself for his condition. The dr. Comes to tell me "we will try the med's for one more time, pray that it works or he will be taken to the ICU" At this point I'm emotional crying and world is black in front of my eyes. Thankfully the meds worked this time around, we stayed in the hospital for two more days for them to make sure he was ok. As Croup actives by Night. HERE is the BIG ONE. The doctors in the hospital came to tell "why didn't you bring him in from day one, he is 6 month old only, he should have been treated from the first cough you herd" I'M ASKJNG EVERY PARENT TO READ THIS. ITS IMPORTANT. read more

My son's appointment was at 3:40, I am still in the dr's office waiting. This ruins and frustrates us both. Don't like waiting, when you make appointments, keep them!! Don't want to come back after today read more

My kiddos have been patients here since birth (now 8 and almost 6). We started with Dr Hoglund back in 2010 and when he retired, we moved to Dr Balstrieri. She has been nothing short of amazing. I'm actually pretty shocked by these reviews as I've never had crazy wait times (and I'm one to walk in the minute of my appointment) or anything but amazing help from the nurses and office staff. From sick kiddo appointments to Saturday shot clinics, we've been happy with our care. Anything that was beyond their means they have always referred us to Children's Hospital. My husband would switch back over to Kaiser in a heart beat for our care but the only reason we haven't is because we don't want to give up our pediatrician. I can't recommend them enough. read more

My son was sick, so we came here to have my son checked since he has fever for two days with coughing and running nose. Dr. Ducker was not even willing to touch my son. He only said he will be okay and no recommendation or medication. Visit for less than 15 mins and charging for $223 by doing nothing. We will not come back to this office for sure, and do not recommend anyone to come here either. read more

Like the last reviewer, this review is not about the doctor but the office. I have similarly bad experience with the office. Unfortunately, they did not respond to feedback because I also experience the similar problem as the other reviewer. I normally go to the Oakland office but since I live in Castro Valley, I decided to try out the Castro Valley office. I left the office after waiting for OVER 45 minutes to not see a doctor. This office is not made for working parents with young children with a nap schedule. I had taken time off work to bring my son in for an appointment and it is just not reasonable to except an active 11 month old to be OK with waiting that long. I showed up a little before the appointment time and I asked the ladies there if the doctor was running on time and they assured me that he was. After 45 minutes, I started to ask the ladies again since my baby was getting tired and cranky. They said they don't know when the doctor will see me and offered to give me a toy -- but it was not going to help to give him a toy. I finally decided to get out of there after getting a refund for my co-pay. The worst part is the apathy of the staff -- they simply don't care about my time or my baby. I guess this is just normal for them. I hope they do not bill insurance for this doctor no-show. read more

This office is great! My 16 month old has been seen by Dr. Ducker since the actual day she was born. Dr. Ducker came to my recovery room to introduce himself and wanted to make sure my baby and I were doing O.K. I had a difficult pregnancy and we were off to a rough start. I'll never forget that special care and have gone to them ever since! Dr. Ducker always answers my million questions and never makes me feel like I'm rushed. The office makes my appointments to my work schedule and what works for my Daughter. When I go to the office the staff are always very nice. I have used their same day appointment service and I'm in and out. I was also happy that they have walk-in clinics for those last minute appointments. I have had a couple of "little emergencies" when I needed to get in on a Saturday! I have recommended this office to a family member with 3 small children and she thanked me after her first visit. My daughter is a healthy little girl thanks to Primary pediatrics. **Oh and if you a WIC mommy like me they are really helpful in getting you the right paperwork for your appointments. Shots are always up to date! :)** read more

I love the doctors there. The reason I left off a star was bc I feel the office structure is a bit behind the times. At my previous office i got reminder calls and they were automated or email reminders... I don't believe you can email your doctor here which i was able to do with my other pediatrician. Regardless I am able to get same day appointments, the doctors are super thorough. So for all the minute negatives, the positives totally outweigh! I am fan. read more

We have been patients of Dr. Ducker for 25 years, but we have seen every pediatrician in the group. I have only high praise for the care my babies have received. While most of our medical needs are fairly routine, some of my babies have had unusual and emergent medical needs. They have always been seen quickly and the care has been thorough and kind. I have always found the office staff and the nurses to be friendly and caring. I have rarely waited on the phone (other than on a very busy Monday morning during a typical high illness season) and, best of all, I have never waited very long to get into an examining room, unlike some other medical appointments we have had. I value having pediatricians who are current on medical information and have a relationship with Children's Hospital. I would recommend this practice with no reservations. read more

I have been taking my children to this practice for over 3 years now. While there has been some turnover with some of the doctors on staff, I have always felt that my children received good, attentive care regardless of who we saw. We are currently seeing Dr. Glenn and she's fantastic. I feel comfortable asking questions and there is always good dialogue at our visits. There are a couple other locations in Oakland and Alameda that I've gone to for their weekend drop-in sick visits or to see the lactation consultant, Georganne Walker. Georganne is a SAINT, who has gently counseled me through some difficult nursing obstacles. All together this is a great practice. read more

My family and I just moved to Castro Valley a few months ago. I called this office and they were so nice and helpful on the phone. My daughter was ill and they had available appointments the same day. We saw Dr. Balestreri and she was efficient, answered all of my questions and came in the room fairly quickly. We scheduled another appointment for a physical on our way out and the check out woman was very accommodating even though she said the doctor was really booked up. We still got an appointment within a week. They have books in the room which was great! My daughter had to use the bathroom and the staff graciously showed us where it was located and offered her a sticker on our way out. I'm thrilled that we have found this office!!! If I knew more people in the area and knew of anyone looking for a doctor for the child or children I would suggest they give Primary Pediatrics a call! read more

I am the mother of a 15 month old and my daughter has been coming to Primary Pediatric in Castro Valley since she was born. I took the time to come to the orientation session with the physicians during my pregnancy and choose her physician. As a single mother, choosing a pediatrician was very important to me, because this would be the person I chose to build a relationship with for the next 18 years. I chose this practice over Castro Valley Pediatrics due to the orientation My daughter's original pediatrician was Dr. Sarah Huberman, she was fabulous. Very attentive, understanding, she made the environment welcoming. Right before my daughter turned one, I received a letter in the mail from Primary Pediatrics stating that Dr. Huberman would be leaving the practice. I immediately called Dr. Huberman to find out where she was going and if she could keep my daughter as her patient. She stated she was going to a practice in San Francisco, which would be a commute for us. I probably should of dealt with the commute, because once Dr. Huberman left the service in this office has done a complete 360 for the worse. The customer service which I have received from this office after Dr. Huberman's departure is absolutely ridiculous. The letter I received stated that Dr. Huberman's patients would then be seen by Dr. Balesteri or Dr. Decker. I have never met Dr. Balesteri, but heard good reviews, unfortunately this review is not so good for her customer service as a mother and patient! Dr. Decker is nice, but I just did not feel the welcoming vibe from him, he is an older gentleman, he was the pediatrician who came to visit when I delivered but the vibe is just not there. After I received the letter, I had a conversation with Dr. Huberman about transitioning my daughter to Dr. Balesteri. We were told it would be a good fit. The next day when I called the schedule an appointment I was told Dr. Balesteri is not taking any new patients (well a previous review after my numerous attempts proves that she was accepting new patients). I was appalled because Dr. Huberman had a conversation with Dr. Balesteri, knew the type of hands on mom I was and that I should be seen with her. I was told that Dr. Huberman's patients are now going to another physician who joined the practice. I asked to speak to Dr. Balesteri directly, received no call back. A few weeks later, I took my daughter in to been seen with this new physician who I had no.l demographics or any educational information on. The lady had no relationship with my child. She was very young, and didn't seem to know what to do. I was not very happy, but I said I would give it another try. Called a few weeks ago to confirm my daughter's 15th month check-up, only to find out that new doctor quit. I had been checking the website to get information on this doctor so that I could be comfortable. I was then told, my daughter's appointment is scheduled with the new physician. At this point, I am beyond disappointed. I stated I have not received any communication from this office that the old physician was gone and that my daughter would be seen with someone completely different. They stated there were flyers at the office. Ummm excuse me, as a parent, I expect some communication by mail or via phone notifying me that the daughter's physician had changed AGAIN! I explained the situation to the representative that my daughter was to see Dr. Balesteri per conversation with Dr. Huberman, I received no calls back from Dr. Balesteri and that the letter stated she would be excepting Dr. Huberman's patients but I was denied an appointment and that the new doctor is not even the new doctor anymore and that this customer service is absolutely unacceptable. The representative stated she would talk with Dr. Balesteri and give me a call back the next day. Two days later, I receive a call, stating that Dr. Balesteri is not accepting new patients. I asked to speak with Dr. Balesteri directy, no call back, still waiting weeks later. My non contact with Dr. Balesteri and her staff is unacceptable as an individual working in this field. My daughter will have one more appointment with the NEW doctor at this office since it is on Monday and then I will be finding her a different pediatricians office. The service after Dr. Hubermaan's departure has been disappointing and the lack of consideration and communication is disturbing. It is absolutely appalling that an EXISTING patient is being denied a physician transfer to another doctor but as the previous post states the physician is accepting NEW patients. I work in healthcare myself and even still find this appalling. My daughter's care and well being is my priority and if her doctor's office cannot follow through on their promises and communication why should I continue to.give them our business. I would definitely search other options before trying this office. If I could write a Better Business Bureau complaint again read more

If you are looking for a doctor that will allow an alternative vaccine schedule, this is NOT the place for you. They demand your child gets every single AAP RECOMMENDED vaccine or they will tell you to leave the practice. Dr. Donald Decker recently took me aside and scolded me like a child for not adhering to this regimented schedule. I was actually in the office that day to have my child get a vaccine and this was the way I was treated. This was my first encounter with Mr. Decker and he was very unpleasant, to say the least. Never smiled or offered to work with me and my concerns. Just berated me in front of my child. He actually wanted to have my daughter get 7 booster shots in one day. That may not be a big deal to some, but it is to me. After Sara Huberman left the practice, we were assigned to Dr. Balesteri. I have been uneasy with Dr. Balesteri since day 1 but wanted to give her a chance. No more. I have since hightailed it out of there. It's too bad because their office is conveniently located. Just like previous reviewer Jennifer M stated, I would definitely search other options. This place left me with a very bad taste in my mouth. read more

My family has been going to PPMG for just over 5 years. We started with Dr. Hoglund who was great and when he left we now see Dr. Balestreri...today we will see Dr. Ducker as my son is having ear pain. I love this office, first off I called today and got 3 appt options to choose from for same day, granted they are with a diff doc than norm but all the docs in the practice have been great. That said, I have nothing but praise for this office. Docs are great, nurses are great (super shot givers) and all staff from billings to front desk have all been resources and helped when needed. Highly recommended and I've never had a problem with wait times or scheduling as other posters have...perhaps its because we are already patients of the practice and they are one time visits or drop ins. Either way, love them and recommend them! read more

I have mixed feeling about this place. First of all, the doctors, nurses and staff are nice, the environment is very clean and spacious. The lower rating is given to a nurse who was being careless and unclear. I moved to this area not long ago, so naturally I'd like to switch my son's primary pediatrician to ones that are closer to home. The doctor told me to go out and get a form filled out to request my son's full medical record to be released from the previous pediatrician to them. However, when I went outside, the nurse told me that I don't have to fill out any forms and she just gave me a fax number to give to our previous ped's office. Then I called our previous ped's office and was told that by law, they couldn't release the medical records unless the release of information form is sent over from the current doctor's office. I immediately returned to this office but they were closed, fortunately, I ran into the doctor when she was leaving, and she was super nice to let me fill out the form real quick. I find that very unprofessional of that nurse because she should know better to not give us false information, which could give us a lot of inconvenience. I work very far from this area, and I don't want to take a half day off from work on another day just to come here to fill out a form, which they could have asked me to get it done right there instead of misguiding me. I will continue coming here because it is just so close to our home and my son's new school, and they seem to be the only place around here that accepts our insurance. Hopefully, it doesn't get increasingly unpleasant. read more

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Primary Pediatrics. We've been going to Primary Pediatrics since the birth of my son 4 years ago. And then we added our daughter (now 17 months) to the Primary Pediatric family. We initially started out seeing Dr Saldivar in the Alameda office. She was very nice and thorough. We had to take our son in around 4 months for a terrible rash he had and we saw Dr Balestreri who was filling in from the Castro Valley office. We absolutely fell in love with her from the beginning. She is warm, friendly, very thorough and genuinely cares about the children. We had such a wonderful experience with her that we immediately switched to the Castro Valley office so that she could be our son's primary physician. I looked forward to our kid's well visits because she is so sweet and offered such wonderful advice. She is a mom of 2 and understood and would sympathize with everything I was going through, especially with my first. She is very patient and would answer all my questions and NEVER rushed through any of our appointments. When we started taking our daughter there things were much easier, I didn't have nearly the amount of questions I had with my son but I still looked forward to talking with her. And she would always ask how my son was adjusting to having a little sister and she offered wonderful advice that we still live by and I believe has helped him in so many ways. Concerning the office, they were nothing short of amazing. Very nice and accommodating when I would call. We always got in the same day if one of the kids was sick and needed to be seen. And when you walk into the office it is just a very friendly atmosphere. They greet you with a very friendly hello and immediately get you all signed in. Since we had been going there for nearly 4 years they know my kids by name and we didn't even need to walk up to the window any longer. They would say it'll just be a few minutes and we'll get you in a room. And they were right, I NEVER waited more than 10 minutes to get into a room. Most visits I would only wait 5 minutes. The nurses are all very friendly and interact wonderfully with the kids. Once in a room Dr Balestreri would come in within 5 minutes after the nurse walked out. I couldn't have been happier with the office and the way it was run. I never had any scheduling problems. When Dr Balestreri was filling in at the Alameda office and we needed to be seen right away we would see Dr Hoglund and he was wonderful as well. We recently moved to Colorado and I was very sad to leave Dr Balestreri. But not nearly as sad as my son is. We saw a new Dr here in CO and he talked about Dr Balestreri to her the entire time. I was actually quite surprised to see the affect she had on him. I knew he liked her but I didn't realize how deep it went. It is very sweet. Our new Dr made a comment to me about how attached he was to her. That made me feel great but again sad. During our move Dr Balestreri was wonderful. I talked to her about it and she gave me advice to help the kids adjust and she even provided a list of recommended pediatricians in the area we were moving to. All in all this place is fantastic and Dr Balestreri is a Gem. I highly recommend her and the Castro Valley office. read more

If I could give no stars I would . This doctor was to good and refused to see my 15 month old daughter who spent 6 hours the night before in the ER , where they did nothing for her. I left the ER and the next morning hoping to get the first appointment. she not only refused to see me until 4:00 but degraded me and my parenting in the waiting room in front of her staff. Telling me "if I was so worried about my child I would have stayed at that emergency room" and literally sent me on my way in tears with my daughter who was noticeably in need of some help. I don't know why it is that doctors think they are above the rest of society because there doctors but you lady are NO better than anyone . I would never send your kids to this woman. On another note the dr I had before was SARA HUBERMAN who was amazing!!! She was so good to me and my daughter and I was so sad to get some letter in the mail telling me she was leaving that office but honestly no wonder she left the rest of this office is CRAP! read more

I have had nothing but great experiences with this office and Dr. Ducker. I am a foster parent and an adoptive parent. I have taken over 100 babies to Primary Pediatics.We have been in for routine checks ,emergencies and so on .I have had some seriously ill babies and I have always been given the best of care for all of my children. Recently my daughter broke her foot in three places. the Dr. and his staff went out of their way to help us and give my daughter and myself the best of care. read more

I am so Thankful to the doctors and the stuff at the Primary Pediatric Medical Group. The stuff are always very helpful and friendly when you have to make apointments or if you have questions for the doctors or if your children needs to see a doctor right away and the nurses so nice and patient with children. I just sign up for the portal website where you can send message to the doctor and the doctor answer right back as if you are in text message and have access to your children file and you can send a picture too. It is very helpful website. My son is been going there since he was born and all the doctors are fantastic and do great job with children. His doctor is Dr. Laura Balastreri and she is the sweetest doctor and care a lot about children and she is a great pediatrician. She always has good advice. She always follow up when my son is been very sick. She calls to follow up how your child is doing after a doctor visit and follow up through also the portal website too if you have any questions. If you are first time Mom and you are searching for a great pediatrician this is the place to go and I highly recommend them. read more