Ari Hauptman, MD, FAAP

Bio

I love being a pediatrician. I am honored to have parents trust me in the care of their most precious possession, and I feel responsible for making every interaction with each child a positive one. For me, most of pediatrics concerns reassurance and the growth and development of healthy children as I develop a relationship with the child and his/her parents. When a child does have a more serious or chronic condition, I feel especially empowered to help all involved with his or her care. On a lighter note, I am hopefully a role model to kids and young adults, and I hope that my interactions with them set up a lifelong foundation of trust and confidence with myself and future physicians.

My special interests are universal access to care for all children; personality and temperament differences based on birth order and gender; cultural sensitivity in health care. I also love to use humor as much as possible because ''laughter is the best medicine.''

I was raised in Southern California and I thought I'd never leave. After my residency at Children's Oakland, I found that the Bay Area and Northern California were my home. After residency, I worked in the non-Kaiser world of "private practice" for 10 years. After many disappointments with how health care was rationed/distributed in that model, I chose to pursue a career at Kaiser Permanente. I have now been at Kaiser Permanente since 2001 and have never regretted it. I love the ability to treat patients without the outside health plans' red tape and restrictions and I think that most Kaiser Permanente members are more happy and better served as well.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

Besides as mentioned in my bio, I obviously love kids and enjoy watching them grow and their excitement when they come to see me. I also enjoy the relationship I work hard to build with adolescent patients. I also love my colleagues and fellow staff as the "pediatric team" is such a caring group of dedicated people.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

Universal Access to Care for all children

Temperament and personality differences based on birth order and gender

Asthma: the medications work so well and there is a lot of education to be given to the patient and family that results in empowering them to be able to treat their asthma individually

Current projects or research:

I hope to write a book about birth order. I grew up in a family with 2 siblings and I now have 3 children. I would like to take these experiences and the many I have had as a pediatrician and write a book that has advice, pearls and humor about temperament and personalities stereotypical of birth order.

Great health resources that I refer to:

"Caring For Your Child - Birth to Age 5" (general child care)
"Child of Mine" (feeding)
"Positive Discipline" (toddler behavior)
"How to Talk to Your Kids So Your Kids Will Listen, and How to Listen So Your Kids Will Talk"
"Raising Your Spirited Child"
"Siblings Without Rivalry"
"Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems"
"Helping Your Child Sleep Through the Night"
websites: www.aap.org
www.cdc.gov
www.vaccine.org
www.vaccinesafety.edu
www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
www.globalpediatricalliance.org

An interesting story from my training:

I woke up the first day of internship with a big fever. I couldn't miss my first day!! I went to the hospital and during rounds, my senior resident noted I was sweating, flushed, and jaundiced. He examined me, and after a few tests, determined I had mono. Well, I missed the first 2 weeks of internship and never lived it down with my peers.

Interests

Currently reading:
Sports Illustrated and Rolling Stone

My favorite book or author:
Into Thin Air

Great movie:
Favorite movie: Its a Wonderful Life

Hobby Photos & Links:

Little League Baseball

Little League Baseball

Family & Friends

People in my life:

I met my wife, Lisa, when I was in training at Children's Oakland, where she was an emergency room nurse. She is one of the most sincere and caring people I have ever known. My friends all remind me that I don't deserve her. She is third generation Mexican American and I love the Mexican culture, her family and the food. She is currently a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Roseland School Clinic. She is also famous for her commitment to our schools' PTA and her creativity, which has lately become expressed through her jewelry making and rug making.

My children and people I care about:

I have 3 classic--active and loud--boys: Daniel, Sam and Jack. They love sports, biking, camping, swimming, throwing any object, wrestling,hiking, backpacking, skiing, baking deserts and memorizing lines from movies. I love our nights around the campfire, telling stories and making smores; wandering and exploring rivers, especially for jumping rocks; hiking, especially bouldering in Joshua Tree; and riding the lifts and skiing on a beautiful day together. I am so proud of them.

An interesting story about my family or friends:

We love to camp and hike as a family. We call it "Big Nature" and it creates a lot of time for our family to truly bond without distractions. We love to camp where there is a river to explore - like Richardson Grove on the Eel River or Jedediah Smith on the Smith River. We usually spend one week a year in Yosemite. These are times that the family is together without media and electronics as games like scrabble and cards keep us tight together.

Photos of my Family & Friends:

With My Wife Lisa

My 3 Sons

Big Nature

I brought home our cat, Lucy, some years ago after I saw a patient who was wheezing for the first time. Her mom asked, "Could the wheezing be due to our new cat?" Well, the next thing you know, I surprised our family with a kitty.

Our real fourth son and brother is our golden-doodle dog, Ziggy. He is a soul mate to us all and he makes our day with his wagging tail, sloppy licks and endless energy.

Pet Photos:

Lucy

Travel

An adventure I've had:

My wife and I took a "trek" out of northern Thailand when we were young(er), strong(er) and kid-less. We went with a guide for 5 days and 4 nights into the "Golden Triangle." It was very strenuous and made light of the term "roughing it." We had a great time as we bonded with our guide and explored the countryside and met and stayed with the indigenous people of the region. We came back feeling closer to Buddha.

Favorite place in the world:

Any beach -- I love the smell, the sound, the vistas and the power of the ocean. Lately I have especially enjoyed going to Arch Rock, about a 4-mile hike/bike ride from the Bear Valley center at Point Reyes. I really can't imagine living anywhere far from the ocean.

One of my recent trips:

I went to the Rio Dulce region of Guatemala with Global Pediatric Alliance, an organization devoted to helping educate and empower those "Donde No Hay Un Doctor" (where there is no doctor). It is a beautiful place where the indigenous people live as they have for decades. We spent a week there and put on a 3-day conference where we taught the "health promoters" there newborn care, respiratory disease management, dehydration and wound/burn care. It was incredibly rewarding.

If you'd like to learn more about this great organization, visit the website www.globalpediatricalliance.org

A Photo of One of My Favorite Places:

Family in Monterrey

Above Arch Rock

Ocean Sunset

Ahhh - - Point Reyes!!

Trip Photos:

Family Kayak in the Rio Dulce

Making Electrolyte Solutions

Teaching Wound Irrigation

Newborn Resuscitation

Teaching Burn Care

Donde No Hay Doctor