Health

Best Dentist

When it comes to the wide, wide world of teeth, j. readers showed variety in their balloting. Winners were pediatric dentists Dr. David Rothman for San Francisco and Dr. Martin Rayman for Marin/Sonoma, endodontist Dr. Brian Feigher for the East Bay, and dentist (and new mom) Dr. Deborah Postal for the South Bay/Peninsula.


Pediatric dentist Rothman says there was one thing they didn’t teach him in dental school: how to talk to kids. “Ninety percent of this job is talking to patients,” he says. “Ten percent is technique.” Clearly, readers believe he’s good at both.


Oakland endodontist Feigher is a root canal specialist who often takes on challenging cases. He attributes his award to his straight-shooting style. “I tell the patients exactly what the problem is,” he says. “No one wants a root canal, but a majority of patients are having a level of discomfort, so the treatment sells itself.”


Postal treats all kinds of patients in her San Mateo office, but she emphasizes cosmetic dentistry. “Anything to enhance a smile,” she says. The Bay Area native has been in practice 10 years, and finds the doctor-patient relationship to be one of the most rewarding aspects of her job.


Winning for the second year in a row is pediatric dentist Rayman, who calls his San Rafael office “the three-ring circus.” Children play with toys and video games in the lobby while waiting their turn in the exam room. Kids’ dentistry is much less invasive and painful these days, says Rayman, so his patients look forward to coming.

First Place

San Francisco

Dr. David Rothman
(415) 333-6811

East Bay

Dr. Brian Feigher
Oakland
(510) 451-6828

South Bay/Peninsula

Dr. Deborah Postal
San Mateo
(650) 344-0495

Marin/Sonoma

Dr. Martin Rayman
San Rafael
(415) 459-1444

Best Family Doctor

Dr. Herbert Goodman first became interested in medicine while learning first aid for his Jewish Boy Scout troop in Savannah, Ga. All these years later, Goodman was named favorite family doctor for San Francisco in j.‘s Readers’ Choice poll.


What makes him stand out? The good doctor personally returns all calls and sees all sick patients the same day. “I always enjoyed being with people,” says the physician. “I’ve always been there to help people and always given of myself.


“Basically,” he adds, “I’m a concierge doctor at no extra cost.”

First Place

San Francisco

Dr. Herbert Goodman
(415) 921-3141

Best Pediatrician

When it comes to pediatricians, j.‘s readers take our poll seriously — no kidding around.


  You could say Dr. Janet Sollod went into the family business — she and her father, Dr. Mitchell Sollod, share a space in the Stonestown Medical Building. But the San Francisco native, who was voted best pediatrician in the city, says the decision to go into pediatrics was entirely her own. “What drew me was the patient interaction,” she says. “If we help [children] grow healthy, they can achieve their potential.”


It’s happened as far away as Yosemite Valley that Dr. Arnold Blustein bumps into one of his young patients. The hugs that follow give some indication of why Blustein was voted favorite East Bay pediatrician. In practice in San Leandro since 1978, he initially set his sights on a family practice, but realized that pediatrics was just that. “A lot of what we do is counseling, educating families and nurturing families,” he says.


How long has Dr. Doug Kaye loved kids? When he spent time on a kibbutz during his college days, he became the first man to work at the day care center. Today, Kaye works at the Camino Medical Group in Sunnyvale, and was voted best pediatrician in the South Bay. Kaye says the key to success as a pediatrician is being a good listener. “You have to listen to parents’ concerns,” he says. “Often it’s not what they say verbally, but their body language.”


Second place winners were Dr. Ami Goodman from Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco, and Dr. Myles Abbott in the East Bay.

First Place

San Francisco

Dr. Janet Sollod
(415) 566-2727

East Bay

Dr. Arnold Blustein
San Leandro
(510) 352-2425

South Bay/Peninsula

Dr. Douglas Kaye
Camino Medical Group
Sunnyvale
(408) 730-4251

Second Place

San Francisco

Dr. Ami Goodman
Kaiser Permanente
415-833-2200

East Bay

Dr. Myles Abbott
Berkeley
(510) 841-6451

Best Hospital

Got sick? Any of our three winning hospitals would be glad to get you back on your feet. Voted best in their respective areas were California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, the East Bay’s Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and Stanford Hospital & Clinics in the South Bay/Peninsula.


California Pacific makes it two in a row. The hospital is a city institution known for accepting patients no matter what their ability to pay. “We take great pride in being a not-for-profit community resource,” says Dr. Allan Pont, CPMC’s medical director.


In the East Bay, the winner, Alta Bates, was founded by a nurse (Ms. Bates herself) and still maintains a nurse’s-eye view of patient care. “Some people focus on clinical care and forget there’s a live body and a family in stress,” says chief nursing officer Viki Ardito.


Stanford Hospital President Martha Marsh thinks her institution enjoys the best of two worlds. “We’re both an academic medical center and a community hospital,” she says. “You can get anything here, from simple things to a transplant if you need that.”


Coming in second were UCSF Medical Center for San Francisco, John Muir Health for the East Bay, and Sequoia Hospital for the South Bay/Peninsula.

First Place

San Francisco

California Pacific Medical Center
(415) 600-6000
www.cpmc.org

East Bay

Alta Bates Summit Medical Center
Various locations
(510) 204-4444
www.altabates.com">www.altabates.com

South Bay/Peninsula

Stanford Hospital & Clinics
Stanford
(650) 623-4000
www.stanfordhospital.com

Second Place

San Francisco

UCSF Medical Center
(888) 689-UCSF
www.ucsfhealth.org

East Bay

John Muir Health
Various locations
(925) 939-3000
www.johnmuirhealth.com

South Bay/Peninsula

Sequoia Hospital
Redwood City
(650) 369-5811
www.sequoiahospital.org

Best Health Club

You may get only elliptical arguments at the Bay Area’s best health clubs, with all of them basically the same: “Start exercising!” Readers’ Choice for best health clubs are Koret Center for Health, Fitness and Sport at the JCC in San Francisco; the Berkeley YMCA for the East Bay; the Addison-Penzak JCC fitness center for the South Bay/Peninsula; and the Osher Marin JCC for Marin/Sonoma.


With 35 trainers on staff, 100 pieces of cardio equipment and 140 group exercise classes a week, it’s no wonder the JCCSF’s Koret Center for Health, Fitness and Sport became an instant hit when it opened in 2004. “We’re constantly trying cutting-edge things and responding to members,” says club director Tom Nelson.


Like the neighborhood it inhabits, the Downtown Berkeley YMCA is a model of diversity. Cal students, seniors, teens and busy adults all earn sweat equity. “We are a one-stop shop for everybody,” says director Peter Yong. And with financial aid programs, it’s affordable, too.


Enter the two-story fitness center at the Addison-Penzak JCC in Los Gatos and you might think you’re in a grand hotel lobby. But that’s where the delicacy ends. “We’re 22,000 square feet filled with state-of-the-art equipment,” says general manager Tim Thompson. “The members love it.”


Director Kelli Maciel tries to foster a family feeling at the health club at the Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael. “We embrace everybody who comes in,” she says. “It’s different from most clubs, where you walk in, do your thing and leave.” Currently under renovation, the club will emerge next January bigger and better than ever.


Coming in second were the San Francisco Bay Club for the city; the Claremont Club for the East Bay; and a tie between the Byer Athletic Center at the Peninsula JCC and the Pacific Athletic Club in the South Bay/Peninsula.

First Place

San Francisco

Koret Center for Health, Fitness and Sport
Jewish Community Center of San Francisco
(415) 292-1200
www.jccsf.org

East Bay

Downtown Berkeley YMCA
Berkeley(510) 848-9622
www.baymca.org

South Bay/Peninsula

Marin/Sonoma

Osher Marin Jewish Community Center
San Rafael
(415) 444-8000
www.marinjcc.org

Second Place

San Francisco

The San Francisco Bay Club
(415) 433-2200>
www.sfbayclub.com

East Bay


The Claremont Club
Berkeley
(510) 549-8569
www.claremontresort.com/spa

South Bay/Peninsula

Peninsula Jewish Community Center
Foster City
(650) 378-2703
www.pjcc.org

Pacific Athletic Club
Redwood City
(650) 593-9100
www.pacclub.com

Best Day Spa

To honor the latest in pamperology, j. readers have chosen their favorites in the category of best day spa: Nob Hill Spa in San Francisco, the Claremont Resort & Spa in the East Bay; La Belle Day Spas in the South Bay/Peninsula; and the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa in Marin/Sonoma. All vary widely in approach, atmosphere and amenities, but each gets an ahhh for effort.


The spectacular cityscape from the Nob Hill Spa is relaxing enough. But spa director Jenean LaRouche promises her clients a lot more than picture-postcard views. With its Pilates classes, massage therapists and patio pedicures, clients feel on top of the city and on top of the world.


Shana Ominsky, director of spa operations at the Claremont Resort & Spa in Berkeley, says her facility is unique. With its 36 rooms, all-natural products and “journey” treatments such as the Mayan Temple and Brazilian Rainforest, the Claremont may well be a spa like none other.


Israeli ex-pat Bella Schneider founded La Belle Day Spas 30 years ago, and she’s still the belle of the ball, with three salons in the Bay Area. “All my interests were vested in making women look gorgeous,” she says. Today, her two South Bay stores serve men and women with hair and nail salons, makeup artists and even medical staff (for services such as Botox and laser hair removal).


Nestled in the heart of wine country, the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa has been lowering people’s blood pressure since the 1920s. Its services include traditional massages and facials, as well as all kinds of water treatments, fed by the spa’s natural thermal hot springs. There’s also the watsu (their term for shiatsu massage in a pool).


The second-place winner was Kabuki Springs & Spa in San Francisco.

First Place

San Francisco

Nob Hill Spa
(415) 345-2888
www.huntingtonhotel.com/nob_hill_spa

East Bay

The Claremont Resort & Spa
Berkeley
(510) 843-3000
www.claremontresort.com/spa

South Bay/Peninsula

La Belle Day Spas
Various locations
(650) 327-6964
www.labelledayspas.com

Marin/Sonoma

The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa
Sonoma
(707) 938-4250
www.fairmont.com/sonoma

Second Place

San Francisco

Kabuki Springs & Spa
(415) 922-6000
www.kabukisprings.com