Best Docs

Written by Tracie Grimes

A doctor is more important than a refrigerator. Obvious, right? Yet somehow, we spend more time researching a high-priced refrigerator, even a new stereo, than we do a physician.

More often than not, we rely on word-of-mouth for our health care needs. It may be alright for some, but when we need a specialist, we shouldn’t have to rely on a friend-of-a-friend’s aunt’s opinion.

That’s why Bakersfield Magazine has once again teamed up with Best Doctors® to help Kern County residents find the physicians who are ranked highest in their field.

Best Doctors* has done the leg work in collecting the data** on the most recommended physicians in America, including first-rate physicians practicing here in Bakersfield. Best Doctors asked fellow physicians, “If you or a loved one needs a doctor in your specialty, who would you recommend?”

These are the physicians in our area.

Susan Luu, MD

“I am honored and very surprised by this,” begins Dr. Luu shyly, as she learns about being named one of Bakersfield’s Best Doctors.

Dr. Luu began her dermatology practice in Bakersfield in 1984 when her husband, a radiologist, decided to join the staff at San Joaquin Community Hospital. At the time, they lived in Minneapolis where Dr. Luu had just completed three years training in pathology and three years training in dermatology at the University of Minneapolis.

“He was looking for someplace to practice, saw the ad for a radiologist, and then we came here,” Dr. Luu recalls, laughing at how a chance newspaper ad sealed their future.

She felt like part of the community from the start, and when her husband died suddenly at the age of 41, she saw just how friendly the town really was.

“My three children [two daughters and a son] and I were devastated, but we were a part of the town, people here were so friendly and helpful; we were able to keep on going. This was our home and we didn’t want to leave.”

Dr. Luu had already left one home, South Vietnam, where she had completed her medical training and gone into the field of dermatology at the urging of her uncle (who was chief of dermatology at a Vietnamese hospital), and the thought of digging up roots to start again did not appeal to her.

So the Luus forged on and Dr. Luu’s practice continued to grow.

“My patients have become part of my family,” Dr. Luu smiles, recalling that a recent count of her charts came up with a total of over 30,000 patients which she’s followed over the years.

“I have to have close ties with my patients because I have to be informed about what’s going on in their lives in order to treat them most effectively. I feel like I’ve really established strong relationships with my patients and their families over the years.”

With her own family grown and living their own lives, work has become Dr. Luu’s life.

“I keep working so I don’t have to leave the office and, have no plans to retire. As one physician who retired and then went back to work after a couple of years told me, ‘there’s only so much golf you can play’,” she laughs.

John B. Schlaerth, MD

When Dr. Schlaerth, an OB/GYN (obstetrics and gynecology) with specialized training in gynecologic oncology, decided to relocate from the Los Angeles area to Bakersfield in 2007, he found himself walking into a community that welcomed him with open arms.

“The acceptance of gynecologic oncology has proven to be most successful in communities such as Bakersfield where a considerable degree of medical expertise and sub-specialization already exist,” Dr. Schlaerth notes. “The warm reception we received and acceptance from our medical colleagues have made for a very positive experience,” adding that less traffic congestion, a more relaxed lifestyle, and friendly people have also made his transition easier.

But Dr. Schlaerth was no stranger to the Golden Empire when he decided to make the move. His group, Women’s Cancer Center, has been a part of the Bakersfield medical scene since 1999 when they contracted with Kern Medical Center to train medical students and residents, teaching them in the sub-specialty of gynecologic oncology.

And teaching has been a big part of Dr. Schlaerth’s focus. After finishing his training at the University at Buffalo (SUNY) School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (where he received his medical degree), and LAC University of Southern California Medical Center (where he completed his residencies and fellowships), he became a faculty member at the University of Southern California School of Medicine. For 17 years, he practiced gynecological oncology, did clinical research, and taught obstetrical and gynecological residents and post-residency fellows in gynecologic oncology.

But specialized care in gynecological oncology was mostly provided to patients in cancer hospitals, so the thought of expanding his expertise appealed to Dr. Schlaerth.

“I resigned my professorship and joined two other gynecologic oncologists in forming a large sub-specialty group focused on bringing our specialty into non-academic centers and community hospitals. This concept of providing our sub-specialty outside of medical schools has proven to be very popular and successful to patients, primary care providers, and obstetricians/gynecologists.”

Martin Berry, MD

Martin Berry, MD, was also named a Bakersfield Best Doctor, and specializes in rheumatology. After completing medical school at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, he went on to complete his internship and residency at St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City. He furthered his training by completing a fellowship at UCLA Medical Center and is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Jemi Olak, MD

A surgeon specializing in general thoracic surgery (lungs, esophagus, and mediastinum, excluding the heart) at Kern Medical Center and Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, Dr. Olak came to Bakersfield from the University of Chicago and Lutheran General in 2006 because she saw an opportunity to “grow thoracic surgery into something really great here.” Her top-notch credentials, including a medical degree from McGill University in Montreal, a master’s degree in Public Health from McMaster University, top-quality training in general surgery at McGill University, and thoracic surgery at the University of Toronto and Frenchay Hospital in England, helped her hit the ground running when she arrived in Bakersfield.

“We’re using some of the most innovative procedures and approaches to surgical care here in Bakersfield, and it’s been exciting to be a part of these ‘cutting-edge’ advances,” Dr. Olak, making her third appearance on the Best Doctors list, says enthusiastically.

One of the most intriguing changes Dr. Olak has added to her practice is VATS (Video-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery) lobectomy.

“A VATS lobectomy is a minimally invasive surgical procedure we use for select lung cancer patients,” Dr. Olak begins. “In a VATS lobectomy, the lobe of a lung is removed with the aid of a fiberoptic thoracoscope. The scope has a camera attached which allows us to remove the lobe by using strategically-placed incisions. The muscles of the chest wall aren’t divided and the ribs aren’t spread, so the surgery isn’t nearly as traumatic for the patients.”

But Dr. Olak isn’t just concerned with helping a patient medically. She’s also interested in helping the patient steer through the medical system.

“One thing that I’m really trying to make happen is something that Dr. Harold Freeman developed in East Harlem, a ‘patient navigator’ program. The patient navigator helps under-insured and uninsured cancer patients navigate through the medical system so that staging tests, treatment, and follow-up are obtained in a timely fashion.”

Royce Harwood Johnson, MD

With H1N1 (swine flu), West Nile virus, MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria), avian (bird) flu, and seasonal flus, the world of infectious diseases is hopping these days. Royce Johnson, MD, is no stranger to hard work. And as Chief of Infectious Disease at Kern Medical Center since 1975 (and a Best Doctor three years running), he finds his days both full and fulfilling.

Dr. Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Analytical Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He earned his medical degree from the University of California, Irvine and completed his internship at Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center. He did his residency in internal medicine and clinical and research fellowship in infectious disease at the University of California, Irvine, and came to Bakersfield in the late 1970s after completing his training at UC Irvine because he saw a promising future at KMC.

He jumped right in, joining KMC’s department of Infectious Disease while it was just being developed and was the first to be named chief of the division. Dr. Johnson still serves as Chief of Infectious Disease, is currently Chief of the Department of Medicine at KMC, and is Vice Chair and a Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He is also a part of the Kern Faculty Medical Group and past president of The Infectious Disease Association of California.

“The patients at KMC are lovely and so appreciative and their need for care is so great,” Dr. Johnson says, adding that there’s not a hospital in the country that treats a wider range of infectious diseases. “At other hospitals I’ve worked in, I kind of felt like a ‘fifth wheel’—like I wasn’t really needed. But here [at KMC] there’s a very obvious need.”

It’s this feeling of being “needed,” coupled with the fascination of the field of infectious diseases that keeps Dr. Johnson engaged as he treats Kern County residents.

“I view myself as the person with the shield and the spear—going after the disease to make the diagnosis, then killing the disease through a treatment plan,” Dr. Johnson concludes. KERNHEALTH

Best Doctors®

*Copyright 2009 by Best Doctors®, Inc. All rights reserved. This list, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission. No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without permission of Best Doctors®, Inc. No fees may be charged, directly or indirectly, for the use of the information in this list without permission.

“Best Doctors,” “The Best Doctors in America,” and the Best Doctors star-in-cross logo are registered trademarks of Best Doctors, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries, and are used under license.

**These lists are excerpted from The Best Doctors in America® 2009-2010 database, which includes over 45,000 doctors in more than 40 medical specialties. The publication has chosen only selected specialties for the article per their editorial focus.

The Best Doctors in America® database is compiled and maintained by Best Doctors, Inc. For more information, visit bestdoctors.com, or contact Best Doctors by telephone at 800-675-1199 or by e-mail at research@bestdoctors.com. Please note that lists of doctors are not available on the Best Doctors web site.

Disclaimer: Best Doctors, Inc., has used its best efforts in assembling material for this list, but does not warrant that the information contained herein is complete or accurate, and does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.

Article appeared in our 26-5 Issue - December 2009