Among the few items in Dr. Robert Kaplan’s relatively spartan office at Los Alamitos Pediatric Medical Group is a bobblehead.

A gift from his office mate, Dr. Vivi Tran, on his 80^th birthday last year, the bobblehead is of “Dr. Bob” wearing a blue dress shirt, khaki pants, brown dress shoes and, of course, a white coat and a stethoscope.

It’s a perfect memento for the native New Yorker, capturing not only his lifelong passion for baseball (he’s a Willie Mays guy) and other sports but also his iconic stature in the Orange County pediatrician community.

Dr. Kaplan, as old-school a doctor you’ll ever meet, takes his final at bat this week, with an office party and patient tours today, May 29, 2026, and a sendoff with his large circle of colleagues, friends, and loved ones Sunday at a waterfront restaurant in Long Beach.

“It feels embarrassing, it feels heartwarming, it feels rewarding, it feels like validation,” Dr. Kaplan says of his retirement after 52 years in practice.

Part of the RCH family

In addition to spending part of his residency at CHOC in 1972-74, Dr. Kaplan’s longtime practice in Los Alamitos has, since 2018, been part of the primary care network at CHOC, now Rady Children’s Health (RCH).

It’s been a great association, he says – one that rejuvenated him after the death of his practitioner partner of 36 years, Dr. Joel Widelitz, in 2012.

Turning down other offers that would have reaped him buckets of money but also have forced the closure of his practice, the partnership with RCH allowed Dr. Kaplan to continue running his clinic on Cherry Street with his beloved team, some of whom have worked with him for more than three decades.

When Dr. Kaplan’s clinic joined the RCH primary care network, he had charts on nearly 40,000 families he had seen over the years. Do the math and his patients approach 100,000.

“This association has allowed me to continue practicing pediatrics the way I always wanted to, surrounded by people who truly care about children and families,” says Dr. Kaplan, who describes how he treats all his young patients thusly:

“I try to make them feel seen, heard, and safe.”

He’s excellent at that, according to the families he’s served, first in Cerritos, when Dr. Kaplan and Dr. Widelitz started their practice in 1979, and in Los Alamitos, where it relocated to in 1997.

‘Call Dr. Kaplan’

Traci Aaron, a Cerritos native whose parents took her and her three siblings to Dr. Kaplan, had a tough time saying goodbye to him during a recent appointment. He has cared for her three children, a 12-year-old girl, Amelia, and two boys, William, 9, and John, 8.

“I remember him being so easy to talk to when I was a child – he’s so kind, caring, and attentive,” Traci recalls. “And I love how he talks to my kids. He’ll ask my boys, ‘Are you having big poops?’ They think he’s hilarious. My kids are never nervous around him. He’s like their friend.”

Dr. Kaplan loves to communicate with the families he serves – especially by phone.

Traci recalls panicking when one of her sons got into the trash when he was 2 ½ and ate some raw chicken marinade.

“Well, what was in the marinade?” Dr. Kaplan asked her.

“Does that matter?” she wondered.

“Yes, it does.”

Traci said the marinade included chipotle peppers.

“He’s fine,” said Dr. Kaplan, explaining that the spice would help prevent any possible bacterial contamination.

When other health concerns arose at home, Traci’s husband, Josh, always would tell her:

“Call Dr. Kaplan. Everything will be fine.”

A straight-talking man

Dr. Michael Weiss, vice president of population health and the Clavis Foundation Chair for Wellness at RCH, knew about Dr. Kaplan’s reputation for decades – Dr. Weiss has been practicing for nearly 40 years. But he really got to know him when Los Alamitos Pediatric Medical Group joined the RCH primary care network.

“For me,” Dr. Weiss says, “the biggest thing with Bob is he’s just a sweetheart. He’s just a really genuinely nice guy.”

“He does whatever he needs to do for the kids, he’s passionate about that, and the thing about him that’s really cool, even though he’s a senior physician, he has been remained flexible. We’ve gone through a lot of changes in the last eight years and he’s always said, ‘OK, all right, if it’s better for the kids and the system, I’m on board.’

“He always defaults to what’s best for the kids and that, to me, is the most amazing thing.”

Dr. Kaplan is a straight shooter in conversation, Dr. Weiss adds.

“He invited me to play golf with him and one of his buddies a few years ago in Long Beach,” Dr. Weiss recalls. “I was driving the cart. I pulled out a little in front of his pal, who was on the green taking a shot.

“I stood outside the cart to protect Bob from possibly getting hit. Turns out his friend’s ball hits a tree and plugs me right on the thigh and I get a bruise the size of a tin can.

“Bob just turned to me and said, ‘You shouldn’t have pulled out in front of him.’”

The joy of pediatrics

Dr. Kaplan was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Queens, and lived in Long Island. At Jericho High Schol in Long Island, he played football, basketball, baseball, and tennis.

When he started medical school, he wasn’t thinking of becoming a pediatrician. He wanted to become an orthopedic surgeon so he could work on professional athletes in New York.

But during his third year at New York Medical College when he started doing clinicals, he quickly realized surgery wasn’t the right fit for him. Pediatric rotations changed his career path.

“I began to understand the importance and the joy that being a pediatrician would bring,” Dr. Kaplan says. “What I really liked was that being on the pediatric ward was enjoyable, all the staff was positive and nice, and that pediatrics is truly a team effort — everyone working together for the benefit of the child. That idea has stayed with me throughout my entire career.”

Dr. Kaplan met his wife, Ronni, while in medical school and the two moved to California in 1972 after he completed his pediatric internship in New York. He completed his pediatric residency at UC Irvine, during which he spent most of his time at CHOC and Miller Children’s and Women’s Hospital in Long Beach.

The early years

Dr. Kaplan was a pioneer in mental health and addiction treatment for kids and teens – two areas that are standard at pediatric healthcare systems today. And he has mentored scores of residents.

Back in the day, running a private pediatrics practice was a lot different than it is now.

“Those early years were incredibly nerve wracking and busy,” Dr. Kaplan recalls. “Besides seeing patients from all over, we had to find staff and make sure that they had our philosophy and work ethic. We were on staff at four hospitals caring for newborns, seeing consults throughout the area, and admitting sick children to Miller Children’s Hospital, where one of us rounded every single day.

“Our clinic was too far away from a hospital to send sick patients to without first stabilizing them. We needed to have supplies and a place to handle any emergency for any child.

“We had a room in the office dedicated to emergencies for critically ill children. This was before the H. flu vaccine, varicella, and rotavirus vaccines, and we regularly diagnosed, tapped, started IVs, intubated, and treated children with meningitis, sepsis, and illnesses-and then would have one of our staff call the children’s hospitals to come pick up the child to be admitted to either CHOC or Millers Children’s.

“I’m so thankful that we don’t see those illnesses anymore, all due to immunizations.”

Starstruck

Dr. Anjalee Galion, a pediatric neurologist and sleep medicine doctor at RCH, began learning about the legend of Dr. Kaplan when she was a resident at CHOC in 2008.

“You can tell so much about the quality of a doctor based on the patients they refer, and he has always sent us the greatest patients,” she says. “He’s done such an excellent job with them. His questions are so thoughtful, and the families are so well informed and engaged in their children’s care.

“He really makes it a pleasure to be a doctor,” Dr. Galion adds. “He embodies what it means to be a medical home for a patient and doing everything he can for them and being a true partner with his subspecialists.”

Dr. Galion was star-struck when she finally met Dr. Kaplan in 2017 during a communication leadership course for primary care and subspecialty physicians.

“In my mind,” she recalls, “he was this mythical creature. He wasn’t wearing a badge. I happened to be sitting next to him and he introduced himself. I couldn’t believe it. It was like meeting your hero.”

Dr. Galion, a but flustered, told him: “I can’t believe someone of your stature is attending this course.”

To this day, Dr. Kaplan ribs her that what she really said was, “I can’t believe someone as old as you is doing this.”

A community treasure

Dr. Andrea Kallah, a colleague in Dr. Kaplan’s clinic, says he’s a legend in the local community.

“Bob has made a lasting impact through not just his work but also through the people like me that he’s guided, supported and inspired,” she says.

Says Dr. Galion: “He came in with the mindset that he’s an extension of the community. That’s a deep core value for him. He’s very mission oriented. For him, it’s not just about making money. He’s embedded in the fabric of Los Alamitos.”

Laurie Moffitt, RN, has worked with Dr. Kaplan for more than 35 years. She was 19 and fresh out of nursing school when he hired her.

“I was a little intimidated by him at first,” she says. “But that soon passed once I got to know him. He was a great doctor who sometimes gave the vaccines himself.

“Over the years, he learned how to relate well to patients of all ages. And parents trusted him with their children’s health, which was invaluable. He was never too busy to call a parent who had questions or needed reassurance. He loved to do procedures — he even sutured my daughter’s chin laceration once so that we wouldn’t have to go to the ER.

“I learned so much from him that impacted me as a nurse and as a mom. Even after all these years, he still manages to teach me something new. He is one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, and he will truly be missed.”

Lessons learned

Dr. Kaplan plans to enjoy retirement traveling with Ronni, a retired special education teacher, and spending time with his two children and five grandchildren. Son Todd lives in New York and daughter Jessica in Vancouver, Canada.

A former avid bicyclist, he’s been taking it a bit easier this last decade regarding his physical pursuits. But he still loves pickleball, golf, and tennis. He also does a lot of volunteer work, including at Temple Israel Long Beach.

Some lessons that have stuck with him over the years as a pediatrician are:  

• Speak to the child first and help them feel comfortable.
• Help parents feel relaxed and heard.
• Know what you know and don’t know
• Never be afraid to ask for help — pediatrics is a team sport.
• And above all, communicate.

“I’ve been very lucky,” Dr. Kaplan says. “People have been very generous placing their trust in me. As I tell my patients and their families, I’ve learned as much from them as they have from me. They’ve made me a much better doctor.”