Five Questions With Dr. Saad Al Alou
Dr. Saad Al Alou is a board-certified pediatrician with the Yuma Kids Clinic.
He did his medical residency at St. Joesph's Children's Hospital, which is affiliated with the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in Paterson, N.J. He worked at Mason General Hospital and Cascade Valley Hospital in Washington for six years before coming to Yuma. He arrived in Yuma three years ago and started the Yuma Kids Clinic, which specializes in pediatric and adolescent medicine.
“We are dedicated to the care and well-being of all children from birth to age 18. We see and treat all pediatric ages and medical conditions, and provide complete preventive medicine, including vaccinations, well-child checks, school and sport physicals, school and behavioral problems, allergy testing and treatment, and circumcision, among other services,” Dr. Al Alou said.
He took a few moments to answer Five Questions from the Raising Yuma team.
What was the best lesson or advice you received from your parents?
I will always remember them telling me to always be myself, to always aim high, and to not let anything stop in my way to achieve my goals and dreams. That is exactly what made me become a doctor, and I went on to specialize in pediatric and adolescent medicine.
What brought you to Yuma, and what do you love most about the area?
When I was practicing in Washington state, I never had a plan to relocate. However, family circumstances made me move to Arizona, and when I came to Arizona, I had four different places to choose from: Phoenix, Payson, Show Low or Yuma. I did go and see all those places, and I decided to stay in Yuma for few reasons. One is the great support that I got from the hospital and medical staff, especially my fellow pediatricians that were very supportive and encouraging. Another reason is the relative proximity to San Diego, Los Angeles and Phoenix. And, the other reason is the size of the community and how social the people are here, which made me realize that this is the right place for me.
What makes your business unique, and how do you serve families?
You see, when I decided to open my own office, I wanted to make sure that we do have the one on one service, we do see our patients, know their needs and their families, discuss the diagnosis together and provide the necessary education. We talk about treatments and the best course to take for each individual family or patient, and we also make sure that we see our patients for a follow up when necessary to make sure that we achieve what we set out to achieve in the first place.
We also take pride in being able to see our patients the same day when sick, and work to avoid unnecessary hospitalization, lab work or imaging.
What would surprise people most about you?
Well! I have three brothers that are doctors too, one is at Tuscany Children Clinic here also in Yuma. I also had to resign from being the chief of the department of pediatrics, and chief of the medical staff at Mason General Hospital before coming here to Yuma.
What makes Yuma a great place to raise a family?
The weather is great. There are very good schools here, and the medium-size community.
Yuma Kids Clinic is located in the ProMed building, 2270 Ridgeview Drive. They are currently accepting new patients. His office can be reached at (928) 783-1222.
