Take Control of Your Food Allergies

Our 4 year old daughter Nicole was diagnosed with tree nut allergies when she was less than a year old. The first time we gave her peanut butter her entire face swelled so that she could barely breathe or see. It was terrifying. We discovered that she could tolerate certain nuts so we began doing food challenges. The challenges were done in an adult allergist office, which were miserable experiences. We had to wait 6+ months for an appointment, the nurses weren't used to working with children, the environment was dreary and our daughter hated it. After sharing my experience with our Pediatrician, he recommended Latitude. We had a wonderful first visit at Latitude and every time since then. The office is inviting, clean, bright and happy, and we are always able to get an appointment in a reasonable amount of time. There are toys and snacks for the kids, and space for parents and care givers to work while waiting. Dr. Rani showed care and concern when talking to us about Nicole's allergies. She explained options to help reduce her allergy like OIT (Oral Immunotherapy) which had never been explained to us before. She was so thoughtful and took the time to make sure we understood everything. The nurses and office staff know our family, remember us by name, and are wonderful with Nicole. Nicole started OIT in October and it has been going so well. I thought it would be a battle to get Nicole to go to Latitude for her updose every other week, but she loves it and tells all her school friends she is "going to Latitude today" with so much pride. It doesn't feel like a doctors visit to her. Even though we are not through the process entirely, we are so much more at ease as parents sending her to school or social events where she may be exposed to nuts. We did not even know what OIT was before Latitude, and knowing that Nicole should be able to eat an entire peanut soon without going into anaphylactic feels like a miracle. Joining the Latitude family has been one of the best decisions we've made as a family for the health and future of Nicole. We are so grateful!

I'd give Latitude even more stars if I could. Our son went through 1 year of oral immunotherapy with this incredible team to help treat his allergies to milk, eggs and peanuts. From my first contact with this team, I felt a sense of warmth, understanding and professionalism at the highest level. Our family felt so well taken care of and informed from our initial testing to food challenges to the changes in dosing through the course of our oral immunotherapy. Dr. Rani and Alison listened intently to our situation and provided personalized guidance for navigating an oral immunotherapy course that made sense for us and that we felt comfortable with. I always felt like they were part doctor/nurse, part educators, helping us really get to know and understand the process every step of the way. In the end, our son hit a maintenance dose and we moved out of the area, so we are no longer going in for regular appointments, however, we left at a maintenance dose that gives us a freeing sense of peace that if our son comes into contact with one of his allergens, he is safer than he was when we started. This sense of peace is life changing for our family.

Highly recommended and as we go thru the OIT process. We have seen them for almost a year now. We feel SO LUCKY to have found them and knowing insurance covers the majority of their services is key to us. My pediatrician in Burlingame asks about them along with other pediatrician friends. Their offices are the epitome of what you would want your allergic kid to experience at an allergist and this is critical during COVID times. It is one of the few places we really comfortable in.

Insurance:
Super easy to navigate insurance with them and they have been easy to work with for booking (Suzie is their poc for that). No huge upfront fee and they provide info readily about billing. The latter is rare and often not very clear. Please note that for OIT there is an initiate fee for the program.

Staff:
Coordinators and staff are amazing with kids (especially recommended for under 3) and extremely patient with difficult eaters and during the 3-4 hour challenges. Many have kids and have gone they allergy challenges. They are extremely responsive and engaging. These are definitely people I trust with my kid and I would want to spend time with.

Facilities:
Facilities are super clean, organized, a lot of toys and focus on cleanliness. They have wifi, snacks, easy to clean products when kids throw up, changing tables, chargers, diapers, wipes, changing tables, food to get kids to take doses, and a lot of little details really meant for smaller kids. Pantry with snacks (chips, bars, cheese, fruit) and drinks that are allergy free. Extremely well thought out facility. Easy parking and right off highway.

COVID differences: They check you in outside and change your mask for you. During COVID they ask patients to stay in their rooms, open up windows, keep it very clean, have stickers and coloring for the kids as they wait, and the bathrooms are still the same where it's fully stocked and super clean.

We have not run into any cons so far.