After spending five years working for a managed care facility in Alaska, Evan and Valerie Buxbaum are opening a pediatrics practice in Eastsound so he can practice medicine his way.

“I want to focus on the root causes, including nutrition, natural healing and allergy and food sensitivities,” said Evan, owner and physician of the new Treehouse Pediatrics clinic at 429 Madrona Street. “I want to work with patients in a more personal way by looking at the physical, mental, emotional and environmental aspects of their health.

“In Alaska, I was seeing 30 patients a day. It was so clear that there was so much more that could be done. But, there was not enough time to do it with 15-minute time slots. Seeing so many people each day, doctors have to go for the quick fix – get them in, get the information and fix them fast.”

Evan, a board certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said that too often medical symptoms lead to a course of antibiotics or another prescription when with a little more time the underlying cause can be discovered and treated.

With his “classical Western medicine training,” Evan was surprised to learn how much more good could be achieved by fixing a child’s environment than by writing a simple prescription. In his practice, he will combine general pediatric care with a specialization in chronic childhood illness, allergy testing and therapy, and nutrition. He wants to build relationships with the broad range of island healers.

“Our approach to healing will draw the best from both allopathic and natural healing traditions,” Evan said. “We will use selected natural remedies where they are supported by research and good practice. I want the flexibility to try non-pharmaceutical remedies with families before jumping to medicines. Chiropractic, homeopathy and acupuncture are all available on Orcas and are great alternatives.”

It’s named Treehouse Pediatrics because the Buxbaums like treehouses. Evan eventually hopes to have a treehouse play area for patients and someday even have his office in a treehouse.

The office will be as non-sterile an environment as he can make it with brightly colored red, green and deep blue walls and a play area. He wants to provide a fun place for children that is also comfortable for teenagers. Before they open the office doors of Feb. 2, Evan is available for medical house calls.

Evan grew up in Boston and graduated from Williams College with an honors degree in English Literature. He went on to get his medical training at Duke University and his pediatric training at the University of Vermont. He also holds a Masters degree in Epidemiology from the University of North Carolina, with a concentration in international healthcare and traditional modalities of healing.

Valerie will be using her experience with the management of several small businesses to run the new pediatrics office. She also tends the family’s organic farm and is mother to their four children: 11-year-old Gabriel, nine-year-old Ariel, six-year-old Aiden, and their unnamed daughter, who was born on Jan. 6.

“Valerie is my business manager, and my absolute partner in this practice,” Evan said. “I could not be doing this without her.”

The Buxbaums were looking for a place to raise their children and had explored other places in Washington and Northern California before they fell in love with the natural beauty and sense of community on Orcas.

Evan says that being an avid outdoorsman and environmentalist led to his keen interest in how the environment affects human health and well being.

“The people of Orcas are blessed to have very caring general practitioners here, but for families who want to choose a pediatrician for the care of their children, my hope is that I will offer that alternative,” Evan said. “Our first and best hope is to be of service to the island. We have already seen that this is a community where the more you give the more you get in return.”