David H. Keene, M.D.
Infants Children Adolescents
T.H.E. Health and Wellness Center
3721 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90016
T.H.E Clinic is located on LaBrea Avenue just south of Exposition. It offers dental and vision care, its own pharmacy, and certain social services as well as pediatric and adult medicine.
You are not generic.
Because everyone is different among both children and parents, I find it difficult to give generic advice. Sometimes the situation calls for more intervention, and sometimes it calls for just waiting and letting things take care of themselves. My goal is to take care of your child when he or she is sick, to help you make decisions that will keep your child healthy, and to help you be the best parent that you can be.
My pledge to you is to listen, to be observant, to be thoughtful and to make appropriate use of what is known from real science, in order to provide or arrange for the best possible care for your child.
For more on my approach to pediatrics in general and certain topics in particular, please explore this website. And if you have more questions, I hope to see you in the office soon.
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​
The journey of
growing up
Childhood
Most children are well most of the time, and when illness happens, often all that’s needed is a little bit of time for your child to get over whatever problem he or she has. Colds, diarrhea and rashes are all common problems that almost always resolve on their own.

If your child is well, you should come in once a year for a check-up so we can mark his or her progress, catch potential problems early, and explore any questions that you -- or he or she -- may have. Questions especially will get better attention at a check-up than in the shorter time allotted for a sick visit.
Adolescence
When I think about adolescents, I'm reminded of what William Faulkner said on the occasion of receiving the Nobel Prize in literature -- that man will not merely endure, he will prevail.
People think adolescence is a challenge, but that's not what makes it different from other stages of parenting. I advise my patients not to let their pre-teens' and teenagers' behavioral changes obscure the tremendous emotional and intellectual growth that is also occurring -- growth that makes a young person more interesting, more capable, and eventually, more mature.
To take advantage of these changes, try to make sure your teenager is getting enough rest -- including rest from their electronic devices, which should be off a full hour before they try to go to sleep. Studies have shown it's natural for teens to stay up late, but that doesn't mean the time has to be spent on a computer. Reading a magazine, doing math homework and even planning tomorrow's outfit will make it easier for your teenager to fall asleep when she tries. And if you can use that last hour for talking between you and him even once or twice a month, you're doing great.
For new parents
Congratulations and welcome, or welcome again, to the wonderful world of parenthood! Every baby is special, and even if you've been here before, you'll find that there will be surprises galore along the way.
Hiccups and sneezing are really common, and normal. Babies are supposed to eat more or less all the time, every couple of hours. They pee and poop a lot. We don't call it diarrhea as long as they start gaining weight, but they don't start gaining weight until they're a few days old.
-
If you're planning to breast-feed your baby, that's terrific. For sure it's less expensive than buying formula, and it's almost always a little bit better. But you should know that it doesn't always work, even for mothers who are completely committed to making it work. And you should know that formula isn't so bad either – and it's a big improvement over being hungry and underfed if there isn't enough breast milk available.
-
Spitting up is normal – every baby does it. That’s why you carry a cloth around protecting your clothes.
-
Coughing, on the other hand, isn't really normal. Call if your baby coughs.
-
I would not advise taking your baby's temperature unless he or she seems to be really hot or unless he or she is acting sick. And if the temperature is over 100.0 degrees before the baby is three months old, you should call me right away.
Click here for information on bilirubin and jaundice.
INFORMATION ABOUT INSURANCE
I believe all families deserve access to the very best medical care, and I have been proud throughout my years in practice to subscribe to as many insurance plans and options as possible.
T.H.E., a 50-year-old federally funded neighborhood clinic and one of the first in the United States to operate with families on public assistance in mind, accepts only families with insurance through Medi-Cal. If that includes you, please call the office at 323 730-1920 and say you'd like an appointment with Dr. Keene.
How to find us
My office is located in the Baldwin Hills Shopping Center, on the west side of La Brea Avenue just south of Obama Boulevard and north of Coliseum. We are just east of Village Green and not far from the Metro's light rail Exposition line.
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The address and phone number are at the top of this page.
There is parking both in front of and behind the building, but the back is beautifully shaded and has many more parking spots.
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A bumpy road
Or, how I moved my practice
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It was the summer of 2024 when I first wrote with the news about moving my practice to the T.H.E. Health and Wellness Center on LaBrea Avenue, though not everyone received or saw that letter. When I wrote, it was my expectation, affirmed by everyone at T.H.E., that all my patients could follow me there, no matter their insurance.
Then, once I started right after Labor Day, I began receiving calls from families who said they'd been told they couldn't see me at T.H.E. because their insurance was not accepted there.
This came as a surprise and at first I thought it was a transition error, something that could be quickly remedied. I and the leaders at T.H.E. began to investigate. But eventually it became clear that the terms of T.H.E.'s government support, on which the clinic relies, require that it accept only patients without insurance, or who have coverage through Medi-Cal. There is an exception for those who wish to pay for services with cash, but same-day appointments are very difficult to arrange, and immunizations cannot be provided because of government rules for federally subsidized clinics.
As a society, we are very fortunate that our government ensures healthcare for those who otherwise might not be able to afford it. The various bureaucracies that ensure that this "safety net" catches everyone it should, and that tax dollars go where they are needed, support different facilities in different ways. And it turns out that T.H.E. operates in a way that is separate from other forms of healthcare payment in Los Angeles.
Still, this was a bitter pill for me personally. When I started out, the frontiers of medicine were rapidly advancing and my goal was to bring the practice of medicine closer to the frontiers, by providing the best, most up-to-date care to every kind of person. As I looked over the numbers in recent months. I've been pleased to discover more communities, nationalities, religions and backgrounds than I could have imagined when I set my goals.
As our lease expired on San Vicente, this goal had not changed -- except that I also wanted to shake off the many administrative responsibilities that had weighed down my time, and instead to devote a much higher percentage of my efforts to my patients themselves. That's what I found at T.H.E. When I learned I couldn't see all of you there, I investigated other possibilities, including working in two different settings: T.H.E. and another office that would take other kinds of insurance, on different days of the week. But I realized that if I did that, I would not be regularly available to any of you. Many of you have made other suggestions as well. Ultimately, none of these possibilities was a good solution for me.
If you're eligible for T.H.E. and haven't visited yet, I look forward to seeing you soon. And if you have already moved on to another physician, I thank you for entrusting your children's care to me until now and I wish you and them the very best. There are many outstanding pediatricians in Los Angeles, and I am confident you will find one for your family.
I am able to send out copies of your records via email to whomever you ask, as long as you make the request to me in writing. Please send such requests to email address, davidhkeene@gmail.com.
If you still have outstanding balances due, please call me. I can still accept payments by Zelle, which I can receive at the same email address, davidhkeene@gmail.com. Please be sure to include your account number so I can properly credit it.
My practice has always aimed to be a little bit more than professional, by which I mean that my patients feel to me like an extended family. I've tried to encourage in your children curiosity, wonder and interest in all things, and I'll be very happy to hear news of you. My email address won't change, and neither will the feelings and hopes for you that I've carried as your doctor.
Thank you,
Dr. Keene
My practice
T.H.E. Health and Wellness Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours you can reach our call center through my office telephone number, which will give you the option to page someone either urgently – no matter the time of day or night – or non-urgently, which means that if it’s after business hours, you won't reach anyone until the next morning.
My practice serves a very diverse slice of our very diverse Southern California community, including patients. I don't mean just geographical diversity, but economic and cultural as well.
Really good medicine -- the relationship we hope to create and sustain between patient, parent and physician -- cannot exist outside of the social and cultural context. I aim to be aware of and sensitive to the context from which each of my patients comes. Everyone's an individual and I aspire to treat everyone in a way that respects who they are.
​​
Our office is located in LA's
Carthay Circle neighborhood
You are not generic.
Because everyone is different among both children and parents, I find it difficult to give generic advice. Sometimes the situation calls for more intervention, and sometimes it calls for just waiting and letting things take care of themselves. My goal is to take care of your child when he or she is sick, to help you make decisions that will keep your child healthy, and to help you be the best parent that you can be.
My pledge to you is to listen, to be observant, to be thoughtful and to make appropriate use of what is known from real science, in order to provide or arrange for the best possible care for your child.
For more on my approach to pediatrics in general and certain topics in particular, please explore this website. And if you have more questions, I hope to see you in the office soon.
INFORMATION ABOUT INSURANCE
I believe all families deserve access to the very best medical care, and I have been proud throughout my years in practice to subscribe to as many insurance plans and options as possible.
Almost everyone who has pediatric insurance can arrange to use our office. Click here to visit our website's Insurance page.
My practice
My office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. After hours you can reach me through my office telephone number, which will give you the option to page me either urgently – no matter the time of day or night – or non-urgently, which means that if it’s after 10 p.m., I won’t be “beeped” until 8 the next morning.
My practice serves a very diverse slice of our very diverse Southern California community, including patients who come from as far away as Palmdale, Long Beach, Orange County and Pomona. But I don't mean just geographical diversity, but economic and cultural as well.
Really good medicine -- the relationship we hope to create and sustain between patient, parent and physician -- cannot exist outside of the social and cultural context. I aim to be aware of and sensitive to the context from which each of my patients comes. Everyone's an individual and I aspire to treat everyone in a way that respects who they are.
​
To learn about our office and staff, click here.
The journey of
growing up
Childhood
Most children are well most of the time, and when illness happens, often all that’s needed is a little bit of time for your child to get over whatever problem he or she has. Colds, diarrhea and rashes are all common problems that almost always resolve on their own.

If your child is well, you should come in once a year for a check-up so we can mark his or her progress, catch potential problems early, and explore any questions that you -- or he or she -- may have. Questions especially will get better attention at a check-up than in the shorter time allotted for a sick visit.
Adolescence
When I think about adolescents, I'm reminded of what William Faulkner said on the occasion of receiving the Nobel Prize in literature -- that man will not merely endure, he will prevail.
People think adolescence is a challenge, but that's not what makes it different from other stages of parenting. I advise my patients not to let their pre-teens' and teenagers' behavioral changes obscure the tremendous emotional and intellectual growth that is also occurring -- growth that makes a young person more interesting, more capable, and eventually, more mature.
To take advantage of these changes, try to make sure your teenager is getting enough rest -- including rest from their electronic devices, which should be off a full hour before they try to go to sleep. Studies have shown it's natural for teens to stay up late, but that doesn't mean the time has to be spent on a computer. Reading a magazine, doing math homework and even planning tomorrow's outfit will make it easier for your teenager to fall asleep when she tries. And if you can use that last hour for talking between you and him even once or twice a month, you're doing great.
How to find us
My office is located on a mostly residential stretch of San Vicente Boulevard between Wilshire and Olympic, just south and west of LACMA and Miracle Mile, near the southeast border of Beverly Hills.
The address and phone number are at the top of this page.
​
Our building is just west of the corner of San Vicente and Crescent Heights. There's ample underground parking and we have pretty views from our office, which is down the hallway to the left when you step off the elevator.
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Covid-19
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We're now in the third year of Covid-19 and we're all tired of it. Fortunately, it is very rarely a serious disease for children and young adults. But our patients have lost grandparents and uncles and aunts. Years of school have been lost. The disease has gone from being an ominous threat to a persisting annoyance. Many uncertainties remain, including how well the vaccine works for children, and including the pretty large unknown of "long Covid."
Meanwhile, life goes on. We try to make the best decisions we can on incomplete information. Here's what I recommend.
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Kids 12 and up should get the Pfizer Covid vaccine, as many doses as are recommended and whenever they are approved. Your own child has a very small likelihood of becoming severely ill, but he or she may have a friend or relative who is more vulnerable (or who has a friend or relative who's more vulnerable) and even if the vaccine only lessens symptoms, it may lessen the viral load of his contagion enough to reduce the danger to someone else.
Also, if your school has a policy requiring it, it's important to honor it.​
I keep thinking I've been asked every possible question about Covid, but new ones keep coming up. If my child was probably exposed recently, should I get a vaccine? (It might help and it won't hurt.) How can a child be "isolated" from his parents or his siblings when he has Covid? (With difficulty, but it's worth a try if someone's particularly vulnerable or you have a wedding or a trip coming up.) What's the point of doing a Covid test if her siblings are positive? (Nothing, though for data-collecting purposes the County might want to know. Also, you'll need to count days from when she became sick to know when she can go back to school.)
But more broadly, there's no certain answer to most of these questions. What you need is a way to answer them when they arise. You should know that it's very unlikely your own child is going to get very sick, that it's almost as unlikely for the adults you know to get very sick either if they're vaccinated. You should know that our public health community and society as a whole are doing their best to keep the toll of this illness as low as is possible.
Wear a mask when there's a mandate. When there's a big wave of cases in town, be more cautious about indoor gatherings. The CDC and state and local health departments deserve our gratitude and our respect -- even when they don't have all the answers.
It's okay for you to call me, too. I'll try to give a thoughtful answer, based on what I know about Covid and what I know about you.
For more about Covid along with other emerging viruses and their vaccines, please visit our Covid-19 page by clicking here.
For new parents
Congratulations and welcome, or welcome again, to the wonderful world of parenthood! Every baby is special, and even if you've been here before, you'll find that there will be surprises galore along the way.
Hiccups and sneezing are really common, and normal. Babies are supposed to eat more or less all the time, every couple of hours. They pee and poop a lot. We don't call it diarrhea as long as they start gaining weight, but they don't start gaining weight until they're a few days old.
-
If you're planning to breast-feed your baby, that's terrific. For sure it's less expensive than buying formula, and it's almost always a little bit better. But you should know that it doesn't always work, even for mothers who are completely committed to making it work. And you should know that formula isn't so bad either – and it's a big improvement over being hungry and underfed if there isn't enough breast milk available.
-
Spitting up is normal – every baby does it. That’s why you carry a cloth around protecting your clothes.
-
Coughing, on the other hand, isn't really normal. Call if your baby coughs.
-
I would not advise taking your baby's temperature unless he or she seems to be really hot or unless he or she is acting sick. And if the temperature is over 100.0 degrees before the baby is three months old, you should call me right away.
Click here for information on bilirubin and jaundice.