Scott Hoffinger, M.D.

Dr. Scott Hoffinger has been the director of the Pediatric Orthopaedics Department at Children’s Hospital Oakland since 1993. He attended the University of Michigan, where he completed both his undergraduate and medical studies as part of a six year combined undergraduate/medical program. After residency in General Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery was at Yale in New Haven, Connecticut, he moved to California to complete a fellowship in Pediatric Orthopaedics at UC Davis Medical Center from 1988 to 1989. He spent four years as an Assistant Professor at Children’s Hospital in Seattle, Washington, where he was also the Medical Director of the Gait Analysis Laboratory. In 1993, he returned to California to work at Children’s Hospital Oakland. His areas of interest include cerebral palsy, limb reconstruction and lengthening, trauma reconstruction and hip dysplasia.

Dr. Hoffinger is Board Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, as well as the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, the American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine and the American Academy of Pediatrics. He is currently serving on the board of the Northern California Skeletal Dysplasia Clinic.

Dr. Hoffinger’s skill as a clinician and teacher has been recognized by the residents at The University of California, San Francisco, who presented him with the Resident Teaching Award in 1995. He is also an Associate Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco and is frequently invited to give lectures at conferences and meetings throughout the Bay Area. Dr. Hoffinger was the Medical Staff Vice at Children’s Hospital in 2003.

Dr. Hoffinger was born in the Bronx, NY in 1959 and has been married to his wife Eileen since 1987. The Hoffingers have four children. (back to the top)

Rebecca Demorest, M.D.

Dr. Rebecca A. Demorest joined the Pediatric Orthopaedic Department at Children’s Hospital Oakland in early 2009 as Associate Director of Sports Medicine. She specializes in non-operative management of musculoskeletal and medical conditions affecting pediatric and young adult athletes. She comes to the Bay Area from Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City where she was an Assistant Attending Physician and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College of Cornell University. Prior to that, Dr. Demorest was the Medical Director of Sports Medicine at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC and an Assistant Professor of Orthopaedics and Pediatrics at The George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Dr. Demorest grew up in the Philadelphia area and completed her undergraduate training with honors at the University of Pennsylvania. She obtained her medical degree from The University of Pittsburgh where she graduated with AOA honors. She completed her pediatrics residency at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and her sports medicine fellowship at The University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Dr. Demorest is board certified in Pediatrics and fellowship trained in Sports Medicine. She is currently one of less than 150 nationwide pediatricians trained in sports medicine. She is an elected member of the Executive Committee of The American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness.

Dr. Demorest is currently a team physician for USA Rowing and has been a team physician for the Wisconsin Badgers, George Washington Colonials and numerous high schools. She has provided medical care at the 2008 US Tennis Association Federation Cup in Moscow, the 2007 World Rowing Championships in Munich, Germany, the WNBA Combine, San Francisco Giants road games in Washington D.C., the Madison Marathon and Ironman. She was Medical Director of the Fairfax County Virginia Public School System and was Co-Medical Director of the annual Cherry Blossom 10-Mile Run.

Dr. Demorest has done research in the field of sports medicine medical education. Her other interests include concussion management, the female athlete, gymnastic and rowing injuries, and Little League shoulder and elbow. She has published numerous articles and chapters on various sports medicine topics and speaks regularly on sports medicine topics at the local and regional level.

Dr. Demorest was married in 2008. She is an avid runner and a former competitive high school and collegiate rower. (back to the top)

L. Kaleb Friend, M.D.

Dr. L. Kaleb Friend joined the Pediatric Orthopaedic Department at Children’s Hospital Oakland in September 2008. He specializes in the treatment of sports-related injuries but also covers general pediatric orthopaedics with a particular focus on the child foot.

Originally from Southern California, Dr. Friend graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Biology from the University of Southern California. He later earned his medical degree from the USC Keck School of Medicine. After doing his surgical internship at Baylor and research in pediatric orthopaedics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Dr. Friend completed three years of his orthopaedic surgery residency at Tulane University in New Orleans. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in August 2006, Dr. Friend transferred to Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York to complete his chief resident year. Dr. Friend stayed in New York to complete his pediatric orthopaedic surgery fellowship at Hospital for Special Surgery.

Dr. Friend lives in San Francisco. He is an avid rock-climber and hiker, and can often be seen in the city parks with his dog, Bella. He also enjoys snow skiing, cycling and photography. His favorite part about being an orthopaedic surgeon and number one professional goal is to get his patients better faster, and get them back out on the soccer field, the basketball court, the ski slope, or the dance floor. (back to the top)

James Policy, M.D.

Dr. James Policy was born in 1966 in Virginia, and moved to Youngstown, Ohio as a child, where he grew up and attended High School. After attending Notre Dame and graduating with honors, he went on to medical school at The Ohio State University School of Medicine. After graduating, he moved to California, where he completed his Orthopaedic Surgery residency at Stanford University Hospitals. At Stanford, he was exposed to a lot of sports medicine and spine surgeries. This piqued his interest in Pediatric Orthopaedics.

After five years at Stanford, Dr. Policy went on to complete a Pediatric Orthopaedic fellowship at Shriner's Hospital for Children in Portland, Oregon where he received specialized training in scoliosis surgery as well as Pediatric Orthopaedics. While living in Portland, he also met his wife Kristen. The Policys have two young boys.

Since joining the Children's Hospital Oakland Orthopaedic group in 1999, he has been busy with a wide range of pediatric orthopaedic cases. In addition, he has taken the Scoliosis program to a new level by applying the most current surgical techniques. He has changed the care of scoliosis at Children’s by performing some surgeries endoscopically, and now performs a scoliosis correction with multiple pedicle screw fixation, which provides excellent results with a single approach. Dr. Policy has also allowed the Children's group to offer more sports medicine surgery by using a voice activated computer in the operating room while he performs arthroscopy. Jim has also helped grow and improve the Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Program at Children’s Hospital in Oakland. (back to the top)

Stephen Skinner, M.D.

Dr. Stephen Skinner joined the Pediatric Orthopaedic Department at Children’s Hospital Oakland in 2006. But he is not new to the practice of pediatric orthopaedics. He has been in practice for 27 years.

Dr. Skinner received his bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College in 1970. He got his MD from the University of Pittsburgh. After an internship at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh, he completed his residency at Penn State University in 1978. He did a fellowship in gait analysis at Rancho Los Amigos Medical Center in Los Angeles. In 1979, he returned to Penn State University as a member of the faculty in the department of orthopaedics. In 1984, he moved to San Francisco where he developed the pediatric orthopaedic program at UCSF. In 1991, he became Chief of Orthopaedics at Shriners Hospital in San Francisco. Under his leadership, the hospital moved to Sacramento from San Francisco in 1997, becoming the flagship of the Shriners system. Dr. Skinner had the opportunity to participate in the design of the new hospital and develop its medical staff. He served as Chief of Orthopaedics until July of 2006.

Dr. Skinner is one of the oral examiners for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He belongs to many professional societies. He serves on the Council on Ethical Affairs for the California Medical Association. He is a member of the advisory board of Operation Rainbow and has served on many volunteer medical missions to Central and South America. He is Clinical Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at UCSF and at UC Davis. He has authored many scientific papers and medical textbook chapters.

Dr. Skinner’s clinical expertise has been primarily in the care of children with neuromuscular diseases, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and muscular dystrophy.  He has extensive experience in the management of pediatric spinal deformity.