Sara Volat, MD

Bio

I was born in Manhattan, and raised in Queens Village on the outskirts of New York city. My father was a high school English teacher who loved Shakespeare and my mother was a school secretary who loved the outdoors. Our family took summer-long camping trips across the United States, hiking in many national and state parks and meeting people from all over the country. In high school I thought I'd like to be a doctor. I remember going with my mother to her school, registering long lines of terrified little 5-year-olds and their mothers, emigrants from the South to the big city. We had to check their arms for smallpox vaccinations. It amazed me how a kind word and a gentle touch could completely relieve their tension and fear and turn the occasion into one of smiles and laughter.

My mother had an intense interest in giving her family a healthy life, with fresh simple food, lots of hiking in the woods and trying to be calm and kind. I grew up feeling that health was something very precious to be protected, treasured and worked for. I thought that if I learned to be a doctor, I could better understand health and how to prevent disease and also how to help people get better when they were sick.

I went to Cornell University in upstate New York, partly because we had camped in the beautiful surrounding lake country and the campus is surrounded by waterfalls and streams and lakes. (Little did I know, being a summer visitor, that it snows from early October through May.) I majored in Biology and English.

After college I moved to California and had four children, Miriam, Joseph, David and Deborah. At age 30, with Deborah in tow, I decided to try to reach my girlhood aspiration of becoming a physician. I went to Sonoma State, and redid my premed requirements and went to medical school at UC Davis.

I did my Internal Medicine and Pediatric residencies at Children's Hospital in San Francisco, where we rotated through specialty clinics at UCSF and learned to practice medicine from expert practicing clinicians at Children's.

My children often came with me, and Nathan, my 5th child, was born at Children's. When I returned to work as a resident when he was 3 months old, he and a good friend who watched him came with me and stayed in the call room and went for walks. The security guards made him an ID badge that said, "Nathan Volat, Hospital Baby." I was so happy having him at work and nursing him and getting to see him throughout the day.

I completed 2 residencies and became board certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. I returned to my home town, Petaluma, to start a practice that I had for 14 years.

I loved taking care of people in my practice, but it became terribly difficult to get good care for my patients with the health insurance difficulties in Sonoma County. The delivery of care was chaotic.

Two-and-a-half years ago I was lucky to join Kaiser Permanente at the Kaiser Rohnert Park Clinic. Delivering modern medical care is so complex, it definitely is a team effort. I am so relieved and happy to work with a team of such willing and excellent family doctors, internists, specialists, nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists, psychologists, physical therapists and health educators. I feel grateful to the Kaiser Permanente management who can organize such a team, who emphasize prevention and who are enabling people to work towards their own health by seeking a healthful lifestyle. I am very supported by all these people to practice medicine.

We just started using the new integrated Health Connect computer program at Rohnert Park. It will help us keep accurate, thorough records, find information quickly, safely write orders and prescriptions and give great patient information handouts. I am very excited about its contribution to my practice.

My Medical Specialty

More details about my specialty:

I enjoy both my specialties of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. Both require me to have a broad range of knowledge about the science of medicine and to be able to translate it into practical use for people's real lives. At Kaiser Permanente, I feel very empowered to practice good medicine, because I am provided with tremendous educational and information resources for my patients and great specialist care.

My specialty interests and affiliations within my field:

I am particularly interested in nutrition and exercise and how all different kinds and ages of people can reach a healthful lifestyle that is to their taste.

I am also particularly interested in child development and in children's well-being in our society. I am interested in the interface between health and our psychologies and family life and lifestyles, and in the challenges of child-rearing and in menopause.

I am interested in Pharmacology and Infectious disease and the safe and appropriate use of medicines and vaccines.

Current projects or research:

I am currently studying and going to conferences to become more informed about Attention Deficit Disorder and becoming a Kaiser ADD "champion" or a resource for information on the condition.

Great health resources that I refer to:

Medical Letter for unbiased, well-researched information on medications.

Scientific American to keep up with broad developments in basic science in and outside of medicine.

UptoDate for concise organized web information on the medical literature

An interesting story from my training:

During my training, I particularly liked seeing how people from all different cultures reacted and thought differently about illness, death and dying. It gave me a lot of respect for people. I liked working at the San Francisco General Emergency room, seeing how generous our society can be to the poor and down and out and seeing the skill with which we can take care of the terribly traumatized.

Photos from My Training Years or of Practicing Medicine in My Field:

Dr. Sara and 2 Patients

Interests

Currently reading:
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini; The New Yoga for People over 50

My favorite book or author:
Leatherstocking Tales by James Fenimore Cooper

Hobby Photos & Links:

great crochet books, with modern styling

Candy Babies and Candy Blankies by Candi Jensen

Santa Rosa Symphony
Camping guide to California State Parks

Family & Friends

People in my life:

Chuck Levine and I have a mixed family of his 3 grown sons and my 5 children, ranging from 16 to 35 years of age. The only child at home is my youngest, Nathan. Together we have 4 grandchildren: Simone - 3, Everett - 2, Cora - 15 months, and Hannah Joy - 14 days.

My children and people I care about:

My son, Nathan, is a warm, perceptive person, who enjoys and loves his family. He's a whiz at complex video games, which I try to understand and appreciate. He has a passion for mountain biking and has a great natural golf swing.

Chuck Levine is my best friend. We are loving making a home together, getting to know our grandchildren, playing music and getting out in nature. He's a good singer, skier and golfer, plays the recorder and is now working on playing the ukulele. He is great at being a good master to our dog Ginger.

An interesting story about my family or friends:

I went with Nathan's summer camp to Baja, Mexico. We visited the first Spanish Mission. This olive tree is as old as the Mission itself.

Photos of my Family & Friends:

Cora Doing Gardening

Simone

Everett's 1st day of preschool

Four generations together

Miriam and Cora

Sonata for 20 fingers

Hannah

Nate Catching Breakfast

Nathan

Chuck preparing for Italy

Chuck in Tahoe

A Rare Cool Spot

Chuck and Nate and I are lucky to live with Ginger, a 2-year-old golden retriever, and Tigger, the cat. We just lost Marshall, a standard poodle and terrific companion for 14 years.

Pet Photos:

Ginger and Tigger Playing

Ginger

Marshall in the snow

Ginger in the snow

Travel

An adventure I've had:

My mother, for her 80th birthday, took her children and grandchildren for a 2-day camping and white-water rafting adventure on the American River. I loved being near the energy of the river. We had a great guide; you can see him holding my mom in the boat.

Favorite place in the world:

My favorite place in the world is Sonoma County. I love the golden brown hills and the oaks in the summer. It is home. I also like Heart's Desire Beach on Tomales Bay. It is quiet and protected, and the surrounding woods remind me of my East coast home.

One of my recent trips:

Last year I went on a trip to Italy with 10 friends. We stayed in Florence and shared a farmhouse near San Gimignano and took hikes through the countryside. On the last evening in Pisa, before we flew home, we happened upon a concert in the huge cathedral of Pisa of the Tallis Scholars singing medieval music. The church was designed to perfectly amplify human voices. I burst into tears--it was so beautiful.

Travel Photos:

Rafting

A Photo of One of My Favorite Places:

Hiking Near Point Reyes

Trip Photos:

Campanile in Firenze

Tuscan Farmhouse Where we Stayed

Overlooking Florence