{"id":357153,"date":"2026-06-12T01:51:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T01:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/357153\/"},"modified":"2026-06-12T01:51:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T01:51:11","slug":"after-treating-100000-patients-during-an-idyllic-career-of-52-years-los-al-pediatrician-dr-robert-a-kaplan-gets-praise-from-patients-and-physicians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/357153\/","title":{"rendered":"After treating 100,000 patients during an idyllic career of 52 years, Los Al pediatrician Dr. Robert A. Kaplan gets praise from patients and physicians"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Dr. Kaplan goes through the hundreds of photos on his office wall one more time as he says “it’s time” to say goodbye.
\nCourtesy photo<\/p>\n

He might be a little late for the Norman Rockwell era, yet the life of Dr. Robert A. Kaplan does indeed sound like a painting from a wonderful life.<\/p>\n

And in a world sometimes full of gloomy news, this is a story of humble glory, reminding us all that, yes, the American Dream does still exist.<\/p>\n

As a pediatrician for more than half a century, the physical and mental health of his patients is the testament of his life\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

Hard to imagine, but for 52 of America\u2019s 250 years, he has made kids and their families feel better.<\/p>\n

Even so, a khaki-dressed \u201cDr. Bob\u201d bobblehead, a gift from an office mate, Dr. Vivi Tran, on his 80th birthday, is the highlight of his sparse Los Alamitos office.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always loved kids,\u201d he told ENE this week. \u201cI\u2019ve always enjoyed doing this kind of stuff and being around children. It\u2019s been a very happy practice for me, and I retired at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Dr. Kaplan with Traci Aaron\u2019s three children, among his last patients before retirement. \u201cI\u2019ve always loved kids,\u201d says Dr. Kaplan.<\/p>\n

The baseball aficionado used a Willie Mays fable to explain that he knew it was time to go (Mays, he said, dropped the last fly ball before his retirement). \u201cI wanted to go out catching the last fly ball,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dr. Bob, as old-school a doctor as you\u2019ll ever meet, took his final at bat in May, with an office party and patient tours, and a sendoff with his large circle of colleagues, friends, and loved ones at a waterfront restaurant in Long Beach, his office said in a statement.<\/p>\n

After treating kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids in over 40,000 local families, which experts say translates to about 100,000 patients during his career, but who\u2019s counting?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt feels embarrassing, heartwarming, and it feels rewarding,\u201d he said, yet \u201cit also feels like validation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaplan grew up in New York, attended Penn State University for his undergraduate degree, and graduated from NY Medical College in 1971. He completed his Pediatric Internship in New York.<\/p>\n

In 1972, he and his wife, Ronni, moved to California, where he completed his Pediatric Residency at the University of California, Irvine. He became Board Certified in Pediatrics in 1976 and remained board certified throughout his career.<\/p>\n

\"\"A very young Dr. Kaplan with newborn. Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

Kaplan and his long-time collaborator and friend, Dr. Joel Widelitz, founded their practice in Cerritos in 1979 and later moved to Los Alamitos in 1997. He served as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, and he taught medical students and Pediatric Residents both in his office and at Miller Children\u2019s Hospital in Long Beach.<\/p>\n

Back in the day, he said, running a private pediatrics practice was vastly different from what it is now.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose early years were incredibly nerve-racking and busy,\u201d said Kaplan. \u201cBesides seeing patients from all over, we had to find staff and make sure that they had our philosophy and work ethic,\u201d Kaplan remembered.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur clinic was too far away from a hospital to send sick patients to without first stabilizing them. We needed to have supplies and a place to handle any emergency for any child,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had a room in the office dedicated to emergencies for critically ill children,\u201d said Kaplan.<\/p>\n

He said it was before many vaccines, \u201cso we regularly diagnosed, tapped, started IVs, intubated, and treated children with meningitis, sepsis, and illnesses, and then would have one of our staff call the children\u2019s hospitals to come pick up the child to be admitted to either CHOC or Miller\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Dr. Kaplan, a lifelong athlete, still says in shape. Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so thankful that we don\u2019t see those illnesses anymore, all due to immunizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were on staff at four hospitals caring for newborns, seeing consults throughout the area, and admitting sick children to Miller Children\u2019s Hospital, where one of us visited them every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Kaplan, however, it\u2019s been a lifetime labor of love.<\/p>\n

\u201cI fell in love early with pediatrics,\u201d he said, \u201cand had a great teacher and mentor.\u201d I have never second-guessed my career choice,\u201d he added. \u201cI guess I\u2019m pretty lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luck, it seems, belonged to the tens of thousands of children who received his care over the past half-century.<\/p>\n

To his staff, his patients, and to other doctors, Kaplan has emerged as an excellent example of medical ethics and professionalism.<\/p>\n

He remembers the thousands of success stories, including his groundbreaking treatment of a neurodivergent child, now 20 and enrolled in Cal State University.<\/p>\n

Life and medicine have not always been sunny side up for Dr. Kaplan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember the parents brought in a four-month-old baby that looked pale, so we sent them to the hospital. He died that night,\u201d says Kaplan. \u201cWe decided then and there that if a baby were that sick, we would begin treatment, start antibiotics, then send them to the hospital,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Also, he remembers a teen who died of a heroin overdose. \u201cI still wonder what I could have done differently.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is, however, with that personal and individual concern for every patient that observers say Dr. Kaplan successfully treated more than 100,000 patients over his illustrious career.<\/p>\n

\"\"Dr. Robert A. Kaplan. He is a pioneer at Children\u2019s Hospital of Orange County, he developed many new policies and procedures in the areas of mental health and addiction treatments. Courtesy photo<\/p>\n

Kaplan became a pioneer in mental health and addiction treatment for kids and teens, two standard areas that yet remain in huge demand at pediatric healthcare systems today.<\/p>\n

Other physicians have noticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cBob has made a lasting impact through not just his work but also through the people like me that he\u2019s guided, supported, and inspired,\u201d says Dr. Andrea Kallah, a colleague in Dr. Kaplan\u2019s clinic.<\/p>\n

Another associate, Dr. Anjalee Galion, a pediatric neurologist, said it is obvious that the \u201cmindset\u201d of the community is within him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe came in with the mindset that he\u2019s an extension of the community. That\u2019s a deep core value for him,\u201d she said. \u201cHe\u2019s a very mission-oriented physician. For him, it\u2019s not just about making money; he\u2019s embedded in the fabric of Los Alamitos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Michael Weiss, VP of Population Health and the Clavis Foundation Chair for Wellness at RCH, said in a statement that he has known about Dr. Kaplan\u2019s reputation for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Kaplan was a pioneer in mental health and addiction treatment for kids and teens \u2013 two areas that are standard at pediatric healthcare systems today. And he has mentored scores of residents,\u201d said Weiss.<\/p>\n

Kaplan has endured and overcome personal loss along the way. \u201cI was shocked,\u201d he said,\u201d when his long-time partner, Dr. Widelitz died, somewhat unexpectedly, following a hospital procedure in 2012.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis loss was emotionally and operationally difficult for me,\u201d said Kaplan, admitting a low ebb during this period. \u201cThe staff was devastated, yet the office stayed open.\u201d<\/p>\n

He and Widelitz were best friends and shared the duties of running the office, said Kaplan. \u201cLuckily, we were great friends, and we knew what each other did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI sought additional support,\u201d said Kaplan, which landed him an affiliation with Children\u2019s Hospital of Orange County (now Rady Children\u2019s Health).<\/p>\n

In addition to spending part of his residency at CHOC in 1972-74, Dr. Kaplan\u2019s longtime practice, Los Alamitos Pediatric Medical Group, has since 2018 been part of the primary care network at CHOC.<\/p>\n

Kaplan refused \u201cbuckets of money\u201d to avoid a path taken by other firms, many of whom sold their practices to larger firms. The move allowed Dr. Kaplan\u2019s office to remain open.<\/p>\n

Thus began an association with CHOC that \u201chas allowed me to continue practicing pediatrics the way I always wanted to, surrounded by people who truly care about children and families,\u201d said Kaplan.<\/p>\n

Kaplan\u2019s longevity has been matched by the loyalty of his dedicated staff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a little intimidated by him at first,\u201d says Registered Nurse Laurie Moffitt. She has worked with Dr. Kaplan for more than 35 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much from him that impacted me as a nurse and as a mom. Even after all these years, he still manages to teach me something new. He is one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, and he will truly be missed,\u201d said Moffitt.<\/p>\n

Traci Aaron, a Cerritos native whose parents took her to see Dr. Kaplan, said she had a rough time saying goodbye to him at her recent appointment. Now, it seems, the pediatrician is taking care of her three children, two boys and a girl.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember him being so easy to talk to when I was a child; he\u2019s so kind, caring, and attentive,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I love the way he speaks to my kids. He\u2019ll ask my boys, \u2018Are you having big poops?\u2019 They think he is hilarious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaplan said his long career has taught him that, in many cases, a pediatrician treats the parent as much as the kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of what I did is more taking care of the parent than the kids,\u201d he said. \u201cI mean, you have to be able to listen to children, listen to the parents, believe them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Vaccines have eliminated most of the diseases that he once discussed with parents, said Kaplan, and now issues most faced by pediatricians are psychosocial issues and the behavioral stuff,\u201d said Kaplan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is much more difficult,\u201d he adds, \u201cas you can imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaplan, now 81, bemoaned the loss of traditions long gone, like paper charts, when you could write stuff down. \u201cNow,\u201d he said, \u201cit is all automated. It takes a long time to do a chart when it\u2019s electronic, rather than just writing things down,\u201d said Dr. Kaplan.<\/p>\n

He admits, however, that technology has been a two-way street. \u201cAs a doctor, there have been some great technological changes as well. We have better dictation systems, some with artificial intelligence in them, which made my notes a lot better,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the door is closed,\u201d he said, \u201ctechnology is not that important,\u201d he said. \u201cIt can be helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

A pediatrician\u2019s office, said Kaplan, was almost like a confession booth. \u201cGood people tell you stuff that they would normally not tell you, which is very nice,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His parents\u2019 stories are hilarious, even though the kids he treated now have kids, even grandkids, and a few great-grandkids of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have to tell some parents, \u2018your child is my patient, not you, so you have to quit picking on them and yelling at them to eat their vegetables and don\u2019t make them eat fruit,\u2019\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to grow,\u201d he remembers telling many of them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to learn to pick your battles,\u201d said Kaplan, \u201cunderstanding full well in your heart that you\u2019re not going to win every one of them, and that\u2019s fine with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kaplan and his wife Ronni have lived in Rossmoor, College Park East, and now reside in Cypress. His wife is a retired special education teacher from the Long Beach School District.<\/p>\n

Now, wherever he goes, he inevitably runs into families eager to show Dr. Kaplan photos of the kids he once treated that are now, all grown-up, healthy, and with families of their own.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been pretty lucky,\u201d he admits, \u201cand lived a pretty good life. We still have a lot of the friends here from when we first came here to practice,\u201d said Kaplan.<\/p>\n

Kaplan obviously has never been the subject of any famous painting, but given his history and well-earned success, his story does paint its own picture of a well-lived life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Kaplan goes through the hundreds of photos on his office wall one more time as he says…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357154,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":["post-357153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-long-beach","tag-long-beach","tag-long-beach-headlines","tag-long-beach-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357153","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}