Our Practice

Longwood Pediatrics is a private pediatric practice that has been serving patients in the greater Boston area for more than 75 years. All of our providers maintain close ties to Boston Children’s Hospital. Our unique location in the Longwood Medical Area allows us ready access to each of the three hospitals (Children’s, Beth Israel, and Brigham & Womens) in the area.

You can read below for a little more history about the practice. You can click here to learn about all of our providers.

Our History

Two prominent pediatricians, Dr. Stewart H. Clifford and Dr. James Baty, started the pediatric practice that became Longwood Pediatrics in 1935. Dr. Clifford was one of the first neonatologists that was invited to attend babies at the Boston Lying-in Hospital.

The practice moved to 1101 Beacon Street in 1941 at the onset of WWII. By 1948, an additional three pediatricians had joined the practice, including Dr. John Hubbell. During 1948 the collection of providers took part in an NIH project, The Collaborative Project, to study the causes of Cerebral Palsy.

Shortly after 1954, the practice moved to 454 Brookline Avenue in Boston. In 1968, a final move occurred placing the partnership at 319 Longwood Avenue in Boston. The partnership gave the practice its current name, Longwood Pediatric Associates.

Dr. Mary Scott and Dr. John Cloherty were the next to join the practice. Thanks to Dr. Cloherty, the custom of making house calls was largely abandoned.

In 1979, Dr. Hubbell took a two-year sabbatical to become the Chief of Pediatrics at Jeddah Medical Center in Saudi Arabia, making room for Dr. Allen Goorin to join the Longwood team. Dr. Hubbell returned in 1982 and Dr. Leonard Rappaport joined the practice.

Several years later the practice grew to include Dr. Amy Ryan and Dr. Robert Michaels. Shortly after, the partnership expanded with Dr. Gregory Young and Dr. Louis Vernacchio. By 2008 Dr. Eleanor Menzin, Dr. Kristie Koppenheffer, Dr. Elizabeth Binney, Dr. Daniel O’Connor, and Dr. Margaret Manion had become a part of the Longwood partnership. In 2020, Dr. Katherine Shearer and Dr. Suzanne Kellam joined the practice.

Since we opened our doors in 1935, our practice has been consistently rated as one of the best in the Boston area for comprehensive pediatric care.

Our Affiliations

Longwood Pediatrics has a long tradition of working together with the hospitals that are recognized as the best in their specialty. We are affiliated with Boston Children’s Hospital as well as with two of the major Harvard University teaching hospitals – Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Our physicians all have admitting privileges at Boston Children’s Hospital, and care for newly born infants at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Pediatric Physician’s Organization at Children’s (PPOC)

Longwood Pediatrics is an active members in the Pediatric Physician’s Organization at Children’s (PPOC). This allows us to collaborate actively with our colleagues at Children’s Hospital and other member practices to continually improve the quality of care that we provide. The whole practice is actively engaged in Quality Improvement and Educational Activities through the PPOC.

Boston Children's Hospital

Boston Children’s Hospital is a 395-bed comprehensive center for pediatric health care. As one of the largest pediatric medical centers in the United States, Children’s offers a complete range of health care services for children from birth through 21 years of age. Children’s records approximately 25,000 inpatient admissions each year, and the hospital’s more than 200 outpatient programs and emergency services care for more than 550,000 patients annually. Additionally, the hospital performs 26,500 surgical procedures and over 158,000 radiological examinations every year.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH)

Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) is a 747-bed teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School recognized internationally for its excellence in patient care, its outstanding reputation in biomedical research, and its commitment to educating and training physicians, research scientists and other health care professionals.

For the past 21 years, BWH has been ranked on US News and World Report’s Honor Roll among the nation’s top 10 hospitals. BWH recently received a 2013 Outstanding Patient Experience Award from Healthgrades, a leading independent health care ratings company.

As New England’s largest birthing center, and a regional leader in high-risk obstetrics and newborn care, approximately 9,000 babies are born annually at BWH and the Newborn Intensive Care Unit cares for more than 3,600 infants annually.

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC)

A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) is renowned for excellence in patient care, biomedical research, teaching, and community service. BIDMC is ranked each year as a “Best Hospital” by U.S. News & World Report in multiple specialties. In 2013, BIDMC was awarded the AHA-McKesson Quest for Quality Prize. This prestigious prize recognizes leadership and innovation in quality and safety among the nation’s hospitals.

Located in the heart of Boston’s medical community, it hosts nearly three quarters of a million patient visits annually in and around Boston. BIDMC is renowned for excellence in surgery (including general, cardiovascular, thoracic, gastrointestinal, solid organ transplant, and vascular surgery), with minimally invasive approaches to many procedures. The hospital is also known for treatment of cardiac conditions, cancer, and pulmonary and thoracic disorders as well as for their expertise in neurosciences, gastroenterology and liver disease, obstetrics and women’s health, podiatry, and emergency and trauma medicine. BIDMC is the official hospital of the Boston Red Sox.