Welcome to Beach Pediatrics
Our office is conveniently located adjacent to the TJ Maxx shopping center and across the street from Nemo's. The N15 bus stops directly in front of the office, opposite Montgomery Avenue.
Beach Pediatrics would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your loyalty and support. We appreciate you continuing to allow us to meet your child's needs.
Meet the Doctors

About Elise Jonisch, MD
Dr. Jonisch is a board certified pediatrician. She attended Binghamton University and then Milton S. Hershey Medical School at Pennsylvania State University. She completed her Internship and Residency at North Shore University Hospital. Dr. Jonisch has had a private practice in Atlantic Beach, Long Beach and Island Park since 1984. She is married with five children, twelve grandchildren and has two dogs. In her spare time she enjoys gardening, jazzercise and yoga.

About Rina Jonisch Jaffe, MD
Dr. Rina Jonisch Jaffe is a board certified pediatrician. She graduated Binghamton University, summa cum laude and then attended Sackler School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency at North Shore University Hospital. She has practiced pediatrics and adolescent medicine in Long Beach, Island Park and now in Oceanside at Beach Pediatrics since 2001. She is married , with two daughters and a new puppy. In her free time, she enjoys listening to music, going to Bruce Springsteen concerts and playing basketball.

About Alisa Minkin, M.D.
Dr. Minkin is board certified in Pediatrics. She has been with Beach Pediatrics for over 6 years. She attended Johns Hopkins University followed by New York University School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center. Prior to joining Beach Pediatrics, Dr. Minkin worked in private practices in Brooklyn and Queens. She is married with six children and a bunny. In her spare time, Dr. Minkin enjoys cooking, reading , and playing games with her children.

About Lauren Shinder, M.D.
Dr. Shinder is a board-certified Pediatrician. She has been with Beach Pediatrics for over 10 years. She received her B.S. from Cornell University in 2000. She then went on to obtain her M.D. from SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY in 2004. She did her Pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, NY. Prior to joining Beach Pediatrics, Dr. Shinder had been living in Houston for 2 years where she worked in a private practice. She has been with Beach Pediatrics since our days in Island Park. When she is not at work, she is spending quality time with her husband and 3 kids, family and friends.

About Christopher Cuccia, M.D.
Dr. Cuccia is a board-certified Pediatrician. He has been with Beach Pediatrics for over 5 years. He received his B.S. at the University of Rochester and then went to SUNY Upstate Medical University for his M.D. degree. His residency was completed at Stony Brook University Hospital in 2006. Prior to joining Beach Pediatrics he was working at a federally qualified Health Center in Mount Vernon, NY. He is married with one beautiful daughter (who rules the house). He enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, biking, running, and reading adventure novels. Yankee games are great too!

About Gerald Schulman, MD
Dr. Schulman has been practicing Pediatrics and Adolescent medicine in Brooklyn NY for over 30 years and now joins Beach Pediatrics in 2019.
He attended CUNY Brooklyn College and then SUNY Downstate Medical School. He completed his residency and chief residency at the Brookdale Hospital Medical Center. He is married with three children and three grandchildren. In his spare time, Dr. Schulman enjoys reading, music, swimming and biking.

About Daphne Capon, M.D.
Dr. Capon is a board-certified Pediatrician. She has been with Allied Physicians Group for over 15 years. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Hamilton College and then attended SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse. Her residency was completed at Brown University where she was named Pediatric Chief Resident. Dr. Capon furthered her studies with a fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at Cornell. She has been delivering warm and high-quality Pediatric care for over 25 years. In her spare time, Dr. Capon enjoys running and hiking outdoors, folk dancing, and cooking for her husband and 3 children.

About Monisha Shah, MD
Dr. Shah is a board-certified pediatrician. She graduated from Rutgers University and then attended Ross University School of Medicine. She completed her pediatric residency at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in 2018. Prior to joining Beach Pediatrics, Dr. Shah worked as a pediatrician in a busy children’s Emergency Department in the Bronx. She is married with one beautiful daughter. During her free time, she enjoys baking, choreographing dances, and spending time with her family and friends.

About Lori Chodash, NP
Lori has over 10 years of clinical experience as a Nurse Practitioner in Pediatrics, Asthma, Allergy and Immunotherapy, and has been a member of the Allied Asthma and Allergy division for the past 10 years. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Molloy College, earning a Master's of Nursing in Pediatric Health, and is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau Honor Society and the American Nurses Association. She has worked as a clinical adjunct instructor for Molloy College, teaching undergraduate nursing students in the clinical setting at Mercy Medical Center and South Nassau Communities Hospital. Lori is dedicated to the field of pediatrics, voluntarily serving as a preceptor to Registered Nurses and Nurse Practitioner Candidates to successfully prepare them for clinical practice. Her experience includes treating all types of pediatric visits with a specialty in asthma, environmental and food allergies, eczema, and other atopic conditions. Lori is excited to broaden her care to patients in the community she calls home!
Office Policies
We know these are very difficult times. We wanted to thank you for bearing with us while we organized, planned, and then re-planned our office protocols in order to keep our patients and staff safe.
These protocols allow us to safely do well visits and provide required vaccinations. This is important to ensure that a vaccine-preventable disease does not return to our community.
Specialized Asthma Treatment
Lori Chodash is a pediatric nurse practitioner who has worked with the Allied Allergy and Asthma division for the last ten years. Lori will be performing allergy evaluations, asthma training, and providing care to all of our patients.
Please schedule your appointment with Lori to help ensure that your child’s asthma is under good control before the viral season starts this winter. As you may have heard on the news, nebulizers can aerosolize the spread of Covid-19- we will be recommending everyone switch over from nebulizers to an inhaler and spacer. Please schedule an in-person or telemed training with Lori by calling the office. You and your child can be taught proper techniques either virtually or in person. Please view these videos before your visit, Inhaler / Spacer Video Infant and Inhaler/Spacer Child.
After-hours telehealth services with DR. ZILKA, an Allied health pediatrician are available 7 nights a week from 6:30-10:30PM. Please use our practice code 5000 and you will be directed to after-hours telehealth.
To use this service, download the Anytime Pediatrics app here Anytime App.
We have a ventilation system that creates a negative pressure room that will be used for sick visits only. This room has its own entrance and exit. This system effectively keeps the germs out of the rest of the office and directs them to the outdoor roof area.
Office Policies:
1) When you call for a sick visit appointment, the front desk will help guide you to decide if the visit should be in person or via telemed from home. If the visit is via telemed, if a test is needed, you will then be given a same-day appointment for a parking lot swab in your car looking for strep/flu or Covid 19.
We are running in-office rapid COVID-19 tests which have a 15 minute turn-around time. We also perform the Covid 19 PCR test, the gold standard, which is sent to a lab which has a 24-hour turnaround time for a final result. Please make sure your phone and email are verified as we will notify you via text or email.
2)Upon arrival for your well visit or sick appointment, CALL US, so we can have you go directly from your car to the sanitized exam room. We have placed many hand sanitizer stations all around the office, please feel free to use them.
We have created professionally installed curtain rooms for the main waiting room so we have socially distanced waiting areas in case anyone needs to wait and to create a separate flow for flu shot clinics.
We ask YOU to do a few things for us:
1)For anyone over the age of 2, always wear a well-fitting mask, without a valve, that covers both the nose and mouth while in the office. Studies have shown that a surgical or cloth mask is more effective than other types of coverings.
2)CALL to let us know if you have traveled or have been exposed to Covid 19 or are feeling ill so we can make proper appointments and plans. Please see this CDC useful link about quarantine procedures.
3)Book a flu shot and COVID-shot for this season! The flu shot is very important this year in particular, in order to decrease the spread of disease, prevent confusion with Covid 19, decrease the need for testing for all of our patients and prevent overcrowding in the hospitals. We are booking flu shot clinics on Saturdays, as well as during the week.
4)Check-in online in advance and fill out your online forms, so there is less for you to do once you are in the office. If possible, please have only one adult accompany a child.
5)If your child has been prescribed albuterol via a nebulizer in the past, please call us ASAP so we can call in an equivalent medication via a MDI-(metered-dose inhaler) and spacer in case your child needs one for a cough or wheeze this year.
6)If your child has a cough or wheeze we ask that you bring this inhaler and spacer with you to the appointment so we can administer 2 puffs of the medication if needed at that time as we can no longer administer nebulizer medications in the office.
7)Please bear with us. Like you, many of our healthcare providers and staff are struggling with childcare issues. We are all doing our best to be available and helpful to you in whatever ways we can. Please download our telemedicine app Anytime Pediatrics (if you haven’t already), and put in our code 5000 for regular telemedicine. We are available to discuss any issues you may have, emotional, physical, or COVID-related.
8) Remember if you help us do our job (with your patience and diligence) you’ll be helping everyone.
We thank our whole staff who have been on the front lines taking care of our patients. ALL OF US ARE HERE FOR YOU AND WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS TOGETHER. We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season. Hope to see you soon for your well visits!
Thank you for choosing Beach Pediatrics to care for your child.
We welcome you to the practice and look forward to caring for your child. Please take a moment to read through the website and office policies. Be sure to contact your insurance company (if applicable) to inform them that you have chosen Beach Pediatrics for your primary care doctor.
Our office complies with HIPAA Regulations, also known as patient privacy rights. This policy is posted throughout the office. If you would like a copy please request one from the reception area.
Well Visits:
Our doctors are happy to provide your child with preventive well care. We carefully monitor growth and development and screen for illness and problems with questionnaires, screening tools, and lab tests, and immunize against infectious diseases.
Newborns will be seen 1-3 days following discharge from the nursery then,
2 weeks for weight check and the following well visits:
1 month
2 month
3 month
4 month
6 month, then every 3 months through age 2 yrs
2 1/2 year
3 year, then every year until age 22 years
Teenagers will be screened for “teenager issues” and will have time to discuss concerns in private with their physician.
When your child has an annual physical they will be given a New York State health appraisal that is good for one year, and can often be used for school and camp. If you are requesting any camp forms other than during your child’s annual physical there is a $5 fee.
Co-pays:
Co-pays are due at the time of your visit as required by your insurance company. Mailing out bills is time consuming and costly. If you did not bring payment with you or the responsible party is not at the visit, please call the office by evening with a credit card number, pay on line or bring payment in the next day. If payment is not made within 48 hours, there will be a $10 surcharge added to the visit.
Phone calls:
Our doctors are happy to return your call. Many callbacks are made during lunch (1-2) or at the end of the evening session. If your problem is urgent please let the staff know
Cancellation policy:
Because we like our patients to enjoy prompt visit times, we will confirm your checkups in advance. Please arrive on time and understand that if you arrive more than 15 minutes late, you may be asked to reschedule your appointment. If you need to cancel a check-up we ask you to try and give us 24 hours notice. For those appointments not canceled within this time frame, we regret to inform you there is a $25 charge.
Remember to always check our Facebook page for any changes in our office hours or office closures.
Our friendly staff will gladly assist you with any questions or concerns you may have.
Please advise the office of any specific concerns or questions. Thank you.
Our regular hours are:

Hours
Monday | ![]() |
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Tuesday | ![]() |
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Wednesday | ![]() |
9:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Thursday | ![]() |
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Friday | ![]() |
9:00 AM – 6:00 PM |
Saturday | ![]() |
9:00 AM – 12:00 PM |
Sunday | ![]() |
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM |
Please note that our hours are subject to change.
Telemedicine is available daily until 10 pm.
If you have an emergency when the office is closed, you can reach one of the doctors by calling our emergency number: 516-431-5206.
Insurance
As you are probably aware, in recent years the number of different health insurance programs has increased at an amazing rate. Even within one company there may be several programs with varying benefits and requirements. Although our staff keeps as up to date as possible there is no way to ensure complete accuracy at all times with each program’s individual provisions. Be sure to contact your insurance directly with any questions regarding your coverage.
Helpful facts to know about your insurance:
☐ Is prior authorization required?
☐ Are you, as the patient or parent required to notify them of hospital admissions or trips to the emergency room?
☐ Is a referral required to see a specialist?
☐ Is there a designated facility for diagnostic testing?
☐ Is there a co-pay for services rendered?
There are times that a service is not covered by your insurance and may be offered within the office for a fee. If you prefer to have these services, please let us know and we will advise you of the cost.
Contact Us

3227 LONG BEACH ROAD
OCEANSIDE, NY 11572

P- 516-897-5000 F- 516-431-7519 Poison Control (800) 222-1222
