FAQs

Yes, we always welcome new patients to our practice! Please see the list of insurances that we accept under the "Office Info-Insurances" Menu Tab. If your child is new to the practice and needs a well visit, please note that we need all prior records sent to our office before making your appointment. This gives our doctors adequate time to prepare prior to your appointment and that means less wait time. It also allows for us to give an appropriate amount of time for the appointment in case there are additional issues to discuss and make sure that the last well visit has been at least one year prior for insurance purposes. If the entire chart is unavailable in time, we ask that you please have your prior doctors office fax the vaccine records and last well summary to our office in the meantime. Thank you and welcome aboard!

Please note--which medication you give your child is based on subjective opinion and symptoms. Call to speak to our nurses to guide you in the right direction for any OTC (over the counter) medications.

Our office is open Monday through Friday regular business hours 8am-5pm as well as after hours Monday throught Thursday from 5pm-7pm for sick visits. Our weekend hours are Saturday and Sunday are 8am-noon at select locations. As our daily schedule is subject to change, please call to confirm office hours.

Select offices are open for evening and weekend sick visits. We will do our best to get you in to be seen, but you may have to go to a location other than your primary location. 

To make an appointment please call our office. Existing patients may also request an appointment through the patient portal. New and existing patients may request an appointment through our website as well.  Portal and website requests are "requests" for appointments and will be answered in 24-48 hours. Someone from the front office will contact you to confirm your request or find a time that works best. 

To ensure the best use of time, for both our physicians and patients, all of our office visits are by appointment only. We ask that you arrive at our office 10 - 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment time. This will allow you to complete any necessary paperwork and to update any demographic and insurance changes. If you must cancel an appointment, please notify us as soon as possible so we can offer that time to someone else.

Emergencies arise. We will advise you if there is going to be a delay in seeing you. If your schedule won't allow you to wait, we will be happy to reschedule your appointment. We do appreciate your patience and cooperation during our busy times and we will make every effort to keep your wait time to a minimum.

Please refer to our insurance page to review a list of accepted insurance providers.

We have a physician on call 24 hours a day, please call our office. This is for emergency purposes only. Refill of medications and referrals will not get handled after hours.

IN THE EVENT OF A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY, CALL 911.

A pediatrician is a medical doctor who specializes in the care of children. Pediatricians have undergone special training in the health and illnesses of infants, teens and young adults, and the majority of pediatricians are certified by the American Board of Pediatrics after passing a comprehensive exam.

Pediatricians provide preventive health care for children in good health and medical care for children who are acutely or chronically ill. They also provide parents with support and advice with issues such as growth and development, safety and prevention, nutrition, and emotional wellness to foster a lifetime of good health.

Every effort is made to arrange your child's well care and follow up visits with the physician of your choice. When your child is ill, he or she may see any one of our physicians.

Our routine health maintenance visit schedule follows the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for well visits in children for children.

Well visits include: 

Newborn visit

2 week visit

1 mo visit

2 mo visit

4 mo visit

6 mo visit

9 mo visit

12 mo visit

15 mo visit

18 mo visit

24 mo visit

30 mo visit

36 mo visit

Yearly well visits after 36 months

Certain medical conditions such as ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, Asthma, Obesity as well as others require more regular follow up appointments that your Physician will discuss with you at your visit. 

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Immunizations are a series of shots given to children at different ages to help protect against serious, and potentially fatal, childhood diseases. Making sure your child receives immunizations when scheduled is the best way to help protect your child from potentially fatal diseases. According to The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), vaccinations have reduced the number of infections from vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 90%. 

Our practice believes  all children should receive the recommended vaccines, according to the guidelines provided by the AAP and the CDC. Vaccines are safe and effective in preventing diseases and health complications in children and young adults. Regular vaccinations help children ward off infections, and are administered as one of the safest and best methods of disease prevention.

If a parent chooses not to vaccinate their child, the pediatricians of Children’s Medical Center may not be best suited for your pediatric needs and we would encourage you to seek medical care elsewhere. We believe we do have a moral and ethical obligation to protect the children in our practice through immunizations.

If you have questions or concerns about vaccines our Doctors are happy to discuss them with you as togehter you make  a plan to keep your children healthy!

To help protect your child from many serious infectious diseases, we follow the immunization schedule recommended by The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Please discuss your immunization questions and concerns with any of our pediatricians.

For non-urgent referrals: when one of our doctors refers you to a specialist, please schedule your appointment with the specialist, then call our office within five business days of your appointment. Your referral will be available within 72 hours. Most referrals are completed electronically and submitted directly to the specialist's office. Please check with our office staff to determine if your insurance plan processes referrals electronically.

For urgent referrals: when one of our doctors determines that you need an urgent referral, your referral will be initiated immediately. Please remain in our office while your referral is processed, then proceed to your specialist.

You will receive a call quickly with any lab results that require urgent attention. Other abnormal lab results will be addressed promptly by the provider that ordered the labs or tests. Normal values are reviewed and addressed by the physician that ordered them.

Please call our office and follow prompts to leave a message for the nurses line to request a refill. Allow one-two business days for all routine prescription refills. For prescriptions that require prior authorization from your insurance company, please plan ahead to allow at least three to five days for refill approval. Prescription refills for controlled substances such as pain medications are refilled Monday through Friday only and will be filled only by the prescriber who primarily prescribes them to you so please request these well in advance.

Yes, we promote breastfeeding. We have lactation consultants as part of our team at Children's Medical Center to help you with your brest feeding journey.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding babies for the first six to twelve months. Breastfeeding helps defend children against infections, prevents allergies, and protects against a number of chronic conditions. While experts believe that breast milk is the best nutritional choice for infants, breastfeeding may not be possible for all women.

Some women have specific medical considerations that impede breastfeeding; others choose to feed by formula because of discomfort, work schedule, or lifestyle choices. In these cases, an iron-fortified, milk-based infant formula is a good alternative. We will gladly discuss your diet and feeding concerns at your child's well care visit, or please call during office hours to speak with our experienced nursing staff.

Yes, in fact we strongly encourage parents-to-be to visit our office for a prenatal appointment. This is a great way to get acquainted with our office and our doctors. During this visit, we will answer any questions that you have about our practice or your new child. Visit our expectant parent's page for more information.

We recommend that your newborn be seen in our office 1-2 days after discharge from the hospital. Our staff understands the importance of this first visit and will make every effort to schedule this visit promptly.

As all children are different, we advise following several appropriate steps to advance your child's diet based on age and development. Please discuss these steps with our providers at your well care visit.