Thank you to Dr. Deforest in caring for our newborn son. She has 30 + years of experience -- She is helpful, encouraging and supportive!

First, it's important to note that this doctor does not speak Spanish fluently. While she knows a few words, it's far from enough to communicate effectively, especially in a medical setting. We sought her out initially because my partner does not speak English. During our visit we were hoping for an open and honest discussion about the expanding vaccine schedule for babies, but instead, we were met with judgment and accusations that we were simply "googling" misinformation. We were never completely opposed to vaccines, but as new parents with a newborn, we had legitimate concerns and wanted to explore all our options. These are medical treatments that expand over years, and cause babies discomfort and sometimes side effects. I don't think we were wrong in asking questions and having concerns. Instead of listening, the doctor condescended to us, recommended other pediatricians (whom she also criticized and laughed about, some were even her former colleagues), and told us she would not treat us as patients. Well, adios! This so called "bilingual" doctor actually made us more hesitant about the current vaccine schedule...she definitely won't be getting her vaccine bonus payouts from us! In our opinion, doctors should be open to conversation, give alternative options when necessary, and recognize that one size does not fit all with every patient. Had she been respectful and genuinely concerned for our baby's safety, we might have been more receptive, but her aggressive and condescending approach only made us more uncomfortable about the vaccine schedule. How does this protect the community, exactly? Something claimed she cared about during our appointment. The only positive aspect of the visit was her suggestion of a practice that would accept us as patients and work with us on a vaccine schedule that works for us and our family. Be gone inflexible authoritarian doctors. You're doing more harm than good. read more

I've been meaning to write this review and kept forgetting. My daughter was a patient of Dr. Imelda's for 31/2 years. Way too long. First time mom so I didn't really know what to expect from a pediatrician. She was very bare minimum and always 45 minutes to 1 hour late no matter if I was the first appointment or last. We were never ever seen on time and that was honestly my last straw. I switched over to coastal pediatrics and I can get same day appointments if needed, I've never waited more than 2 minutes after my appointment time and the doctors care and are phenomenal. No matter which doctor there. They are all 5 stars. read more

Be prepared to wait at least an hour to see this dr. This is the 3rd appt I've had with this dr and every time she's been at least an hour late but today was the last straw. I received a text saying to arrive 15 mins early, which I did. But I get called in 10 mins after my appointment, and I'm not seen until 1 hour and 15 mins later. I told the assistant that is completely unacceptable. When the doc finally comes in, she says "let me start by telling you I've been working like this for 30 years. If you don't like it you can go somewhere else" How can a health professional working for Dignity say that? It's not even a private practice! I told her "People have things to do, work to get back to" and her only answer was "Oh well". I will not be taking my 3 kids back to this place. read more

this review is also long overdue.I am deeply disappointed with the behavior of Dr. Deforest during my brother's recent appointment. My younger brother decided at the last minute that he did not want Dr. Deforest to wear the smart glasses, which were clearly stated to be optional for the doctor. Instead of respecting his request, Dr. Deforest reacted unprofessionally. Dr. Deforest cursed and took their anger out on the nurses, creating an uncomfortable and hostile environment. This display of unprofessionalism was unacceptable, especially considering that wearing the smart glasses was entirely optional for the doctor. Patients and their families should never be made to feel uncomfortable or pressured for making a reasonable request. I hope this feedback encourages Dr. Deforest to reflect on their behavior and strive to create a more compassionate and supportive atmosphere for their patients and staff read more

Thank you so much for the difference you make in the lives of your patients! Your kindness, sincere caring, and concern make everything better and are a great encouragement. Nick and I really appreciate you and your staff. (Maria is out of this world). read more

Dr. DeForest is very patient with my concerns, but she is particularly patient with all the questions my daughter has for her. (My daughter says she wants to be a baby doctor one day, Dr. DeForest is definitely an inspiration in that aspect!) She has been my daughter's doctor since my daughter's birth, and has always explained her reasoning behind her recommendations, which is important due to my daughter's medical history on my husband's side. My daughter is a healthy and happy child and she loves Dr. DeForest. Her new office is really bright and friendly, and has a lot of fun decor for kids, but also really fun books and a kid table. This shows me how important it is for kids to feel at ease in her office. She has taken care of my daughter through one major health issue and a lot of minor ones, including pink eye. The most important quality that I feel has made a big difference that she is patient. I never feel rushed and I feel like all my questions are always answered in a calm and reassuring manner. While she may use doctor lingo when necessary, she is great at explaining it in easy to understand terms to someone like me, a nervous mother taking her sick kid to the doctor. read more

Imelda DeForest, MD - My daughter with her doctor Barbie and her doctor, Dr. DeForest. She wants to be a baby doctor when she grows up! - Pediatricians Near Me - Oxnard, California

Dr. Deforest is absolutely wonderful. As a first time mom I was so nervous about selecting a Pediatrician. She treats us with kindness and compassion and is straight forward and honest. I feel such ease with my child in her care. From the moment you enter the office you are met with top notch service. Her and her staff are the best of the best. She takes time to answer all of your questions and concerns without judgment. I am so happy we found Dr. Deforest. She is a gem! read more

Horrible experience .This review is long over due!!! This doctor was Rude to my teen daughter and l . She made comments about my daughters weight and made her feel horrible about herself . How can any doctor be so rude and make comments about a young girls weight . When my daughter is not at all overweight !!!!!!!!! My daughter left scarred from Her words !!! She horrible and I would not recommend her to any parent ! read more

Dr. Deforest is filled with dangerously wrong information, she is the opposite of thorough and borders on negligent. She has put my newborn daughter and myself through hell. My daughter is only 4 weeks old and we have already had so many instances where Dr. Deforest has lead us astray. Needless to say we will never see her again. The first instance is when my daughter was 4 days old. She is my first child and had been exclusively breastfeeding. Dr. Deforest told me that because of her tongue tie, breastfeeding was causing her pain more than likely and that i should switch her to the bottle until i could get her tongue fixed. Four days later the ear nose and throat specialist fixed it and told me that Dr. Deforest was definitely wrong and if she had been breastfeeding, that she clearly wasnt in pain. Since then i have not been able to get her back on the breast. We have been working on it everyday, and it's been a huge struggle. Then there was her clavicle. My daughter's left clavicle was fractured on the way out during delivery. Dr. Deforest told us to go to Rolling Oaks Radiology in oxnard at 3 weeks to have it xrayed. She insisted that we wouldnt be able to go to Rolling oaks' other location in Thousand Oaks where we live. We called both offices directly and were told it didnt matter which we went to, so we went to TO. When we arrived, the receptionist informed us that she had ordered xrays on both clavicles. I asked to speak with the radiologist and asked why my doctor would order both sides when just the left was injured. She told me there was no reason to xray the right side so i asked her not to. I was upset that dr. Deforest would order something like that because of the extra unnecessary radiation. So after the xray, the radiologist told us that the x-rays would be emailed to Dr. Deforest and to expect a call from her by the next day (a tues) at the latest. The next day both my husband and i called at different times and were told it was in her inbox and she hadnt gotten it yet, but they'd leave her a note. Then on Wednesday we called again and were told the same thing twice. Finally on Thursday i demanded more info and the person on the phone told me the dr is actually out of town for the week and wouldnt get to the email until the following week. I asked that a different doctor review it, and was told it was emailed to another doctor. The next day on Friday, five days after the xray, i called again and was told it was never sent to another doctor. They were finally able to set me up with a video visit with another pediatrician to review it that day. I was livid. Then today i had a family member mention that all babies are put on vitamin d drops and she was surprised my daughter wasn't on them. Again, Dr. Deforest never brought them up. I called and asked to speak with a different pediatrician and was told that yes, my daughter should have been on them from birth on. She said that sometimes the older generation of pediatricians (Dr. Deforest) forget to recommend them because they are a relatively newer thing. I feel that this doctor is over worked and doesnt care about her patients. She is not at all thorough and gives no needed information until asked specifically about things. She is dangerous and should not be allowed to practice. Please, keep your children far away from negligent doctor. read more

I'm extremely appalled by the lack of leadership in this office. The doctor has no sense of time. The first time she was extremely late I brushed it off and waited patiently. The second time I was furious because the lack of communication the nurses had with the doctor. If they knew she was going to flake on me again they should have at least consider letting me know instead of doing absolutely. I wasted my day and I had even called off from my work for this. Horrific. Never again. Wouldnt recommend this office to my worst enemy read more

My daughter's appointment was today 3/4/2021 at 10:30am. Arrived at about 10am and we still have not been seen . I would not recommend Dr DeForest . Not the first time I've scheduled appts with her. Various times I've scheduled a he is over the hour late or does not show up to the Telehealth visits we are scheduled for . Nurses do not even call us to notify us Dr cannot make it to the appt that was scheduled. Left appt at 12:02pm without even seeing the Dr my daughter was being seen for dizziness and she was fasting just in case blood work was needed . Mind you my daughter is 8 and to wait for the Dr this long with a scheduled appt is unacceptable. read more

This doctor is by far the most unprofessional I've seen. Has no tact. Zero empathy! For one in charge of caring for children at a moment when a parent is verbalizing concern be ignored and dismissed is the most horrible experience a parent can have. NEVER experienced such callousness. Embarrassing! read more

Horrible experience. We heard a lot of good things about DeForest as a pediatrician however after our first appointment I was extremely disappointed . I brought my 1 week old son to get seen for a follow up after staying in NICU. DeForest showed zero concern for me or my son . Her assessment was louse and she didn't want to answer any questions that I asked. Her bed site manners were impermissible. How are you gonna call yourself a pediatrician if you get irritated by a newborn crying and try to rush out of the room. DeForest's lack of communication skills should be corrected! She doesn't posses any compassion or understanding of what a new mother is going through. She made me feel that my son was just a number and not a patient who will receive high quality medical care. She might of went to medical school but never learned kindness or humanity. I felt discriminated because of my religious preference when asked for information about circumsition . She told me that it's too early for my son to be circumcised because they don't have a proper equipment and by the time they will get that equipment it will be too late. I would not recommend her to anyone. I am not in any need of follow from quality assurance department because this was a first and last time i will see her. read more

We've been following Dr. Imelda DeForest, pediatrician, all over Ventura County for one reason... She's AWESOME! Her compassionate eye has been keeping track of all my munchkins since we relocated to Oxnard quite a few years back now. (Time sure flies even more when ya got kids!!!) "We've" (Hah!) delivered @ St. John's Regional Medical Center and she has privileges there. So she's been caring for some of them from the first time they blessed my world! Bubbly, engaging... my kids love her! She interacts with them lovingly. As they've grown, the dynamic changes, but they still enjoy telling her stories and she listens to them so enthusiastically. Not that she ignores us parents at all. Wifey ALWAYS comes with questions and she listens & responds to all of them. Never has she cut her off. Never appears like she's anxious to leave. She's raising kids of her own, so she completely gets the parent point of view. If we needed a prompt visit, her office has always been able to fit us in. And, the office staff? Just as friendly & loving. All you'll hear from us is praise about that woman! Love her ;) read more

Imelda DeForest, MD - Office entry sign - Pediatricians Near Me - Oxnard, California

We were first time parents of a newborn when we first met her. Her bedside manor was terrible and made us feel so guilty for not giving our baby the hep b vaccination right away. Instead of being professional and educating us about it, she was degrading and extremely condescending. I would never go back to her in a million years and she should be ashamed of the way she treated us. Stay far away from her if you are looking for a kind, educated, empathetic doctor. She could see i was confused and upset, but didnt care, instead scolded us and said we could not be her patients if we didnt vaccine, which i never said i wanted to, i just wanted to wait another month for hepatitis b. I can't emphasize enough my discontent for this doctor. I wish i could give negative stars. read more

When I met Dr. DeForest for the first time, She met me with so much kindness, compassion, it eased my anxiety trying to choose an official pediatrician for our baby girl. She not only makes us laugh with her hilarious sense of humor, but she answers all of our questions and concerns with empathy, research-based knowledge, and genuine kindness. She checked in on our newborn girl at the hospital the day she was born and she was so gentle and so sweet towards her! I've never been so certain in my life that Dr. DeForest is the perfect pediatrician for my baby girl. She is a breath of fresh air to be around and I feel confident that she is looking out for our little family's best interest. I highly recommend her as a pediatrician and I will continue to use her services for our family now and for every child We have in the future read more

First time coming to see Dr Deforest and we are not sure that we will be staying. This is the longest we have ever had to wait to be seen (1hour). We never had this with our old pediatrician. Went back today so they can check the fb shot and once again, waited more than an hour. This isn't going to work for our family. We left without being seen. read more

Love Dr. DeForest! She takes time with her patients to explain care. She has answered all of our questions and has even provided us with written material to take home for reference. She is great with my son and he seems to respond to her very well. Getting an appointment has not been an issue and is relatively easy. The only downside is that sometimes you could end up in the waiting room longer than expected. I guess that's what happens when the doctor spends quality time with each of her patients. read more

We love Dr DeForest! She's treated both my kids since their birth. Compassionate and caring, but to the point.

Love my children's Dr. Dr DeForest has been my choice since the 1990s. She has treated my children very well and they have grown healthy. She always makes my children comfortable to speak freely with no baby talk just a normal setting and let them explain what they are feeling at every visit. She is up to date on latest medicine and has been an expert in treating all my children for there asthma issues. I work with different Drs in ventura county and she by far has been the best for my family. Great job on the new office in oxnard I adore it. read more

I had the most unpleasant experiences with Dr. Deforest. My son initially gained weight very quickly after he was born, and then it slowed down around 3 months (catch up/catch down is what this is called), I was not personally worried about it, but at his 4 month appointment, Dr. Deforest made it clear she was unhappy with how much weight he did gain since it was not up to par with what she wanted. She strongly suggested we start on rice cereal immediately, which my husband and I were not comfortable with - we expressed this. We asked about alternatives such as avocado, she made it clear that rice cereal was the best choice and avocado was not to be introduced until later. She stated that rice cereal was traditional and the best route to take. My husband and I left feeling down and discouraged. After a lot of research, we decided to wait until our son was six months to start on solids and we decided to go ahead and start on avocado. At his six month appointment, I went with my friend, not my husband. My son had again gained two pounds over two months and Dr. Deforest made it very clear that this was not ok. She asked about solids and I told her we started on avocado, and had introduced bananas and peas as well, and would be starting apples that week. Dr. Deforest proceeded to tell me that I was ruining his palette by introducing sweet foods first, that I should have started with rice cereal because it is "traditional", and it was just all bad. She didn't remember that I had a husband because she asked me what the baby's father was like physically. It was just all bad. She assumed that I was accepting WIC (nothing wrong with WIC, but she didn't even ask or care to know), she talked to me like I was dumb. It didn't matter that my son was meeting milestones early, because, for her, he hadn't gained as much weight as SHE wanted. I left her office feeling like a failure of a mother, which no first time mom should ever feel. A fat baby does not always equal a healthy baby, and a skinny baby does not always equal an unhealthy baby. A pediatrician needs to be a partner to the parents and I truly did not feel that Dr. Deforest was trying to work with us. I have since spoken with a director at the clinic, and I truly hope Dr. Deforest acknowledges that there's a lot of research that has been done and that every parent is a little different than the last. There's many different correct, safe, healthy ways of raising a child. read more

I have been bringing my kids to Dr DeForrest for the last 16 years she always knows what is best and has been awesome the kids love coming to her read more

Dr.Deforest is a great doctor !She takes the time to let me know all there is I need to know about my son and his growth . She takes the time to listen to your questions and concerns and always has recommended reading material as to what it is I'm looking for along with some great advice . Finding a good pediatrician is hard but we were very pleased when we met Dr.Deforest . We plan on having her as our sons doctor for a very long time ! I would recommend her to anyone looking for a pediatrician for their child. read more

Dr. DeForest is such an amazing doctor she is great with kids I am truly glad that I switched my son's pediatrician she caught so much that the other doctor didn't read more

She's the best! Like another reviewer, we've followed her around for years. Great bedside manner. Very easy going and likeable. If I could find a provider like her for myself, wouldn't hesitate for a second. read more

The staff is decent but the Dr. Herself is rude and pushy ! She crosses the line on what to say and what not to say, seems like she doesn't even care about her patients just gets them in to say she seems them and gets paid! Horrible Dr read more

Dr. DeForest and her staff are awesome. She has been taking care of my girls for 11 years and I've aways felt comfortable asking questions and getting an honest answer. She takes as much time as she needs to make sure that you get that one on one feeling. Unlike some Dr.'s offices where you feel like you are being rushed out the door. (You know THAT feeling.) In my book, Dr. DeForest goes down in history as one of the best Dr's we have ever had. read more

Horrible! Took my son to her 3 days straight. She kept arguing with me why was I back I'm just wasting my copay. I told her my son is sick and he isn't getting better. She didn't even want to touch him she was so mad. She tells me I already told you it's the flu. I said I have two other kids they had the flu before and they never keep getting worse they stay steady he's worse every day. I had to beg her to give him a flu test. She sent us to Saint John's where they said the flu test results would be ready in two days. By the 4th day he would not respond to anything couldn't open eyes or talk. We rushed him to hospital where triage nurse took him from us and rushed him to the back. We had two doctors and nurses around him. IV was put in immediately X-ray were done. They admitted him into the hospital. Turns out he had severe pneumonia and doctors say he would not have made it another day. Two days later Saint John's calls to tell me he has a type of pneumonia. I say I know we've been in hospital. Thank god for Ventura county Hospital. My friend had posted on Facebook her son was sick like mine same symptoms I tell her about what happened to my son 2 years before. And ask what dr she's seeing. Happens to be this same one. She takes her son to hospital and they admit him too. He had severe pneumonia. I don't think this doctor even cares. read more

I was looking for a new Dr. for my 7 year old since we recently moved cities! And found this Dr. and thought why not? So I called to schedule an appointment. 1st off you have to call a month in advance to get an appointment in! And the receptionist made that very clear. So I went on to make an appointment a month out since I didn't need it ASAP! So they call me a day before to confirm my appointment! The next day I show up to the address they have listed and only to have their be a sign that they had moved location! So why was I not made aware of this before hand? Did the receptionist have no knowledge of them moving?! It would have bin nice to know before I made the drive! So I called the office to let them know it was really inconvenient that they called to confirm and knowing it would be my 1st visit failed to let me know they were no longer at the old address & still had the nerve to tell me I still had time to make it! So they wanted me to rush to their new location within 15 min! Reall?!No thank you!They didn't even apologize all they did was brush it off and the receptionist just said "oh i don't know, we are no longer at that location"now that's professionalism at its finest. To be fair I never met the dr or showed up. My review is solely on my experience with the staff. read more