Ex-Rockaway lawyer opens premium Prague pediatric clinic

Former lawyer at the investment group Rockaway Capital Kristýna Ulmanová has opened a private pediatric clinic, Mama Clinic, in Prague's Strašnice district — a startup that promises to address one of the most painful problems in Czech healthcare: a shortage of children's doctors and endless waiting lists. Membership at the clinic costs families a sum that can exceed 100,000 crowns a year.

The pediatric care situation in Czechia is genuinely critical: half of all GPs for children and adolescents are of retirement age, and almost 400 pediatric practices have closed over the past five years, leaving around 390,000 children without a regular doctor. Even Prague, traditionally attractive to doctors, cannot keep pace with the influx of new residents. It is precisely into this vacuum that Ulmanová decided to step with her project.

Her background in retail management and investment shows in how the entire client journey has been designed: spacious parking, a bright, modern interior, a children's play area and a changing table. A nurse with neonatology experience from Prague's Podolí maternity hospital offers breastfeeding consultations at the clinic, while the pediatrician — who has worked at hospitals in Kladno and Motol as well as the Canadian Medical network — speaks fluent English and never rushes parents during appointments.

The Mama Clinic concept relies not only on medicine in the classic sense but also on non-pharmacological support — child psychology and consultations on psychomotor development and sleep routines. Diagnostics rely on modern equipment: a Plusoptix device for vision screening, hearing screening for newborns, a bilirubinometer for non-contact measurement of jaundice, and an OptoSmart optotype for testing vision, color perception and hearing.

For its wealthiest clients, the clinic offers a premium membership with a concierge service: the family gets a single point of contact for any medical question, while the clinic's team coordinates further treatment and arranges highly specialized examinations. Digitalization also plays an important role — booking an appointment through the clinic's online system takes just a few minutes.

Ulmanová's project is a telling example of how private business is trying to fill the gaps left by an aging, overburdened public healthcare system, offering affluent parents a premium service in exchange for a substantial annual fee.