Doctor ready to open office in townDoctor ready to open office in townJanuary 16, 2004
When residents from other local communities read this they will probably be surprised to know that for the first time in nearly two decades Oakley will have a physician in town.
At one time in the early '80s, Sutter Delta Medical Center -- then known as Delta Memorial Hospital -- had a clinic in downtown Oakley that eventually turned into a hospice of sorts, but that facility has long since closed.
The long awaited Dr. Laavanya Raju, M.D., has finally opened her doors here in Oakley. She is still getting her office in shape, but her medical assistant Amy Madrid will be on hand to take appointments starting Monday morning and answer questions.
"Amy and I are both very excited about being here," Dr. Raju said. "This is a brand new beginning for all of us. It will be great seeing the practice grow."
Dr. Raju is a family practice doctor, which means that she will see anyone and everybody who needs her medical services. "Everyone, from before they're born until they're senior citizens," Dr. Raju said.
Coming from a long line of doctors in her family, Dr. Raju knew what she wanted to be from a young age. She attended the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where she grew up. She did her residency at the Royal University Hospital in Canada, as well. She worked as a doctor in Kansas before moving last year to work with Dr. Moorthy's family practice in Antioch and Antioch's Sutter Delta Medical Center.
Which is where Oakley found her.
John Slatten, longtime East County resident, had been working with the Sutter Delta Board of Directors to bring a doctor to Oakley and was proud and excited when he finally got someone interested in taking the area on. He said "she is beautiful, smart and she is interested in working in a small town."
That is exactly the kind of practice Dr. Raju says she is interested in bringing to Oakley. While her office hours will be for now 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. with a lunch break from noon to 1:30 p.m., she is working on the idea of adding some Saturday morning clinic hours if needed. She will be taking appointments as well as walk-in patients and there will always be an answering service for if she is needed after hours.
"One of the nice things is that I live about a minute away from the office and can be here quick," Dr. Raju said.
Her office is located in Oakley Town Centre next to Rite Aid. She took over half of the old video store that was there before Hollywood Video came to town.
Dr. Raju said that she will still be working with Sutter Delta in Antioch and referring patients there as needed. Her hope is to keep as many people as possible from having to do too much outside of the area. She will be doing much of the lab work in house, so patients won't be forced to have blood tests and the like done in Antioch and then have to make an additional appointment there and then have to come back for a third appointment. She wants to make life as easy as possible for everyone.
One of the other things Dr. Raju said she would be interested in doing is to convince her brother and sister who are also doctors to move to the Oakley area and come into business with her.
To make an appointment with the doctor, who by the way takes most health plans including Medi-Cal and Medicare, call Amy at 679-3284 or stop by 2565 Main Street, Suite A. Some people say they would like to get to the know the doctor before they see them professionally. Now's a good time to stop by and introduce yourself before the crowds come in.
Roni Gehlke's column on life in Oakley appears each week in the Brentwood News.
Distributed by the Contra Costa Times