Longtime Newtown pediatrician and resident Dr Richard Auerbach is firmly settled into his new practice in the Village at Lexington Gardens, 32 Church Hill Road.

And his patients — from the teeniest newborns and many young adults he cares for who are exiting their teenage years to the many new and experienced parents he coaches — are benefiting from a diverse range of expertise and sub-specialties Dr Auerbach provides or refers through a number of colleagues, many who are with or affiliates of CT Children’s.

Visitors stepping from the elevator into the hall outside his office are greeted with a cheery sign welcoming them, and once inside, his Auerbach Pediatrics practice offers amenities that include separate sick and well waiting areas and exam rooms, a decidedly child-friendly office with its always entertaining 150-gallon built-in aquarium, engaging solar system graphics, select videos, books, and magazines.

Just do not get too enthralled because Dr Auerbach’s goal is to not make a patient wait more than 15 minutes to be seen.

His office is open Monday-Friday from 8 am to 6 pm, with 24-hour coverage after hours and on weekends. Under certain circumstances, the practice and its staff might also be able to support treatment through online interaction.

According to his bio, Dr Auerbach received an undergraduate degree at Tufts University and did his medical school and residency training at the University of Connecticut and the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

He is board-certified in pediatrics (American Board of Pediatrics and National Board of Physicians and Surgeons) and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is also an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont and University of Connecticut Schools of Medicine

After being a hospitalist, he moved to Newtown in 2001 with his wife and two sons, where he continued his pediatrics practice. Besides his broad interest in pediatrics, Dr Auerbach has a specific interest in Lyme Disease and ADHD, his web bio adds.

Meet The Partners

Dr Auerbach's two colleagues at the practice are also Newtown residents and CT Children’s affiliate pediatricians.

Dr Marina Arena received an undergraduate degree (summa cum laude) at The College of Saint Rose and a medical degree (cum laude) from Albany Medical College. She trained at Albert Einstein College of Medicine / Schneider Children’s Hospital.

She is board certified in pediatrics (American Board of Pediatrics) and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr Corinna Soriano received an undergraduate degree (cum laude) at the University of the Philippines and a medical degree from the University of the Philippines College of Medicine.

She trained at Mount Sinai School of Medicine / Elmhurst Hospital Center, is board certified in pediatrics (American Board of Pediatrics), and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. She was also former Director of St Therese Pediatrics in Kentucky.

Dr Auerbach’s office staff brings well over five decades of combined experience to the practice and even includes one medical assistant who is a former patient. He maintains privileges at Danbury Hospital and has trained and worked at Connecticut Children’s.

Localizing Specialty Care

Patients requiring sub-specialty care may be directed to CCMC’s new satellite office center in Danbury, which is fully staffed by its specialists. Additionally, Dr Soriano and Newtown resident Allene Troy — an Auerbach Pediatrics PA and board-certified lactation consultant — are employees of the CCMC specialty group, which has partnered with Dr Auerbach to bring them to Newtown.

“Prior to this move to Western Connecticut, kids had to be sent all over for subspecialty care,” Dr Auerbach said of the new CT Children’s center just off Interstate 84 at Exit 8. “With that proximity and the affiliations with our practice, it’s much more convenient for our patients.”

Following an injury, Dr Auerbach decided to shift from being a solo practitioner to developing an expanded group that involved a move and the introduction of other providers. It may have been serendipitous that at the same time another local pediatrics office was closing — which led to the affiliation with his local PA Ms Troy, as well as Drs Soriano and Arena.

“It really was good fortune for me,” he said. “So we have essentially become one big practice. Connecticut Children’s has hired [these] two practitioners, and we created a system where they work with me here in Newtown.”

Dr Auerbach said he is very happy with his new practice’s size and scope.

“We wanted to keep a small practice where each patient has a relationship with the doctors they are seeing,” he said. “Once you get much bigger, you can lose that small town pediatric practice that is committed to giving everyone a higher level of care.”

Learn more at auerkids.com, visit the practice’s Facebook site, or call 203-426-KIDS (5437).