by Chris Wilson

Kids Doc Pediatrics, located in the Women’s Center at North Florida Regional Medical Center, offers a relaxed environment, professional staff and a doctor ready to help children of all ages stay healthy. Luis Scaccabarrozzi, MD, MPH, says he tries to make his office as comforting as possible for his young patients.

Scaccabarrozzi opened Kids Doc Pediatrics about seven months ago, after having worked with a larger pediatric group — Children’s Medical Center of Gainesville.

Scaccabarrozzi also gained experience on the staff at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.

“I had heard that Gainesville was really nice,” he says. “I heard it was a great place to raise a family.” Scaccabarrozzi’s wife Yvonne is the practice’s office manager and the couple has three young children — Gianella (age 13), Andrea (8) and Piero (5). “We have a very family-oriented business because the two of us are very involved,”?says the doctor.

Scaccabarrozzi was born in Chicago, but actually grew up in Peru, where he also received a lot of his medical training. He also received training at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

Prior to becoming a doctor, Scaccabarrozzi received his Masters degree in public health from the University of Illinois. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Chicago in the division of research and investigation for two years. He also performed a lot of work in the public health sector on integrating maternal and child health programs. He has been a part of studies on issues such as maternal mortality prevention and child sexual abuse prevention.

Scaccabarrozzi continues that commitment to public health in Gainesville, where he is among a large group of area pediatricians who are advocating a children’s hospital be built in Gainesville.

“It would probably be necessary for a growing city like Gainesville, with all of the surrounding communities, to place a combined effort by providers, leaders and the community, into lobbying to obtain the first steps in creating a Children's Hospital,” he says. “The thought has been going around for years, but it took the death a young boy and the misfortune of a family to bring some families together to initiate donations in favor of the future construction of a children’s hospital.”

The young boy Scaccabarrozzi mentions is Sebastian Ferrero, a three-year old who died because of a medication overdose in October at Shands Hospital.

Ferrero was at the hospital for a routine endocrinology exam to determine why his growth rate was slower than average. Ferrero’s parents have started a foundation in their son’s name, whose sole purpose is to bring a free-standing children’s hospital to Gainesville. You can learn more about the foundation at www.sebastianferrero.org.

Today, Scaccabarrozzi says he enjoys the work he’s doing at Kids Doc Pediatrics. “I’m able to maintain the one-on-one contact with parents,” he explains. “It’s unusual for a provider to be able to do that today. I try to give back to the patients and their families by having direct contact with them if they call me or during visits.”

In addition, Scaccabarrozzi says he loves being around the kids all day, even though some of them just might be a little apprehensive when it comes to doctor visits. “I try to provide a friendly environment, so that kids are not scared to be here,” he says.

To that end, the office is decked out with all of the bells and whistles that kids love. From various games, children’s books and movies being shown in Kids Doc Pediatrics’ waiting area, kids can daydream while staring at their favorite Disney characters on the walls. Each examination room has a different and fun theme. One room has a “fireman” theme complete with a firetruck exam table that kids can climb on while they wait. Another room features characters and paintings from The Jungle Book.

Scaccabarrozzi sees patients from newborn to age 19. He also makes hospital visits to treat newborns and mothers. “I would say probably 25% of our business is making visits to newborns and parents at North Florida Regional Medical Center,” he explains.

Kids Doc Pediatrics is located in the Women’s Center at North Florida Regional Medical Center, at 6440 W Newberry Rd. in Suite 105. For more information, call 332-4400.