Two doctors who built the pediatric practice they wished existed.
Essential Pediatrics is Greater Boston's first direct-pay concierge pediatric practice.
We built it from scratch in Newton, on the belief that families deserve a pediatrician who has the time to know them.
We changed the math.
The average pediatrician in Massachusetts cares for 1,500 to 2,000 children. We built a different model. Each doctor at Essential Pediatrics cares for no more than 300 children, on purpose. The result is a practice where the doctor has time. Time to call you back at 9pm. Time to listen. Time to know your child as a person, not a chart.
So we built a different version. Each doctor at Essential Pediatrics cares for no more than 300 children. We hold the panel small on purpose. The result is a practice where the doctor has time. Time to listen. Time to know your child as a person, not a chart.
We are also Greater Boston's first freestanding direct-pay pediatric practice. We do not bill insurance. Your doctor's recommendations are based on what your child needs, not what an insurer will pay for.
A relationship that lasts a childhood.
That length of relationship changes what care looks like. We are not your child's first pediatrician handing them off at 18. We are the doctor who has watched your child grow up, who already knows the medical history, who already knows the family. Your child knows us well enough to answer our questions on their own. And when your child leaves for college, we get licensed in as many states as possible so the same trusted doctor stays the doctor through their college career.
How a first visit starts.
The first thing we say in the room is the same every time. It is not a clinical question. It is, "What questions do you have? We can get to mine later."
We want families to leave the first visit with the questions they walked in with already answered. Sometimes we never get to ours, because the family has answered them naturally during our conversation.
Dr. Pring and
Dr. Nordt
You will be matched with one of them as your child's primary pediatrician. The other doctor knows your child too, because they are partners. They talk every day. Both are board-certified in pediatrics. Dr. Nordt is double board-certified, with three additional years of fellowship training in adolescent medicine.
Dr. Brenda Anders Pring
Dr. Pring did not start in medicine. After college, she worked in White House and at Lifetime television doing public affairs and public service work. The realization that she wanted to be a doctor came from that period: she wanted to take care of patients, while continuing to advocate for child health policy at a state and national level. She grew up in a large family. The pediatrics part was never a question.
"When I decided to do medicine, there was no question it was going to pediatrics."
She earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed her pediatric training at the University of Colorado, studied French at Smith College and completed post-bacc at Columbia University. She serves as President of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and teaches at Harvard Medical School. She has testified before state legislatures on behalf of children and families. She lives in Newton with her husband and two children.
What patients should know about her: she is the doctor who reassures you on the phone when you call in a panic, then walks through the plan with you step by step.
Dr. Christina Nordt
Dr. Nordt did not always know she was going to be a doctor. She was on track to be either a child psychologist or an anthropologist. The shift happened in her third year of college, when a family member who had been through years of fertility struggles called her with the news she was pregnant. She still gets choked up telling the story.
"At that moment I just said, I want to give that gift and be involved in medicine. I called my parents and shifted course."
She earned her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine and completed her pediatric training at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland. She then did a three-year fellowship in adolescent and young adult medicine at Boston Children's Hospital, which makes her one of the few pediatricians in the area double board-certified in adolescent medicine. Dr. Nordt sees teenagers through menstrual disorders, eating disorders, reproductive health, and pubertal and mental health concerns. She has been recognized consistently as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor in Boston Magazine. She lives in Boston and enjoys spending time with her family, including her six nieces & nephews and dog Rafa, as well as traveling and watching tennis.
What patients should know about her: she thinks it is important that children have a voice in their own visits as well as understand their bodies and treatment plan in a developmentally appropriate way.
"Every child should have a voice in their visits. I am actually trying to get my history from the 10 year old or the 12 year old or the 14 year old."
There are moments when having the right physician makes all the difference.
The late night when your child's fever spikes and you need an answer in real time, not a portal message in the morning. The appointment where you finally have time to ask every question on your list. The specialist referral your doctor personally coordinated, followed up on, and never let fall through the cracks. The teenager who opens up because she trusts the doctor in the room. The peace of mind that comes with seeing the same doctor every time, in a practice where the staff knows you by name.
Those moments are Essential Pediatrics.
Let’s See If We’re the Right Fit for Your Family.
A call with one of the founding physicians, in person at our offices or virtual. Your questions, answered. No commitment, just conversation.
