5. How do I go about finding a pediatrician for my child?

• Expectant parents may choose to schedule a “prenatal appointment” where they’ll have an opportunity to meet one of our providers who is accepting new patients, be introduced to our staff, and familiarize yourself with the office.

• Some families like to make decisions based on recommendations from friends, family members, or neighbors; feel free to ask around about us, we’re confident you’ll like what you hear!

• In addition to your child’s primary health care provider, you get to know one or two other pediatricians or nurse practitioners in our practice for ease and comfort with same-day care appointments.  This way, if your child is ill and your primary physician is unavailable, your family will still see a familiar face at the office.

6. How do I transition from pediatric to adult care?

• What is transition?
  • Transition is a process of moving from pediatric health care to adult health care. Somewhere between the ages of 18 and 21, most of our adolescent patients will leave Pediatric Services and begin seeing providers who care for adults.

• Why must I change doctors?
  • As you become a young adult, your responsibilities increase, you become more independent, and you need to learn how to care for yourself to remain healthy as you grow older. A first step in taking a more active role in your health care decisions is to transition from a pediatrician to an adult primary care doctor, such as a family medicine physician or an internist.

• Your pediatrician can assist you in finding an adult primary care doctor who meets your needs or your family and friends might have a recommendation. Choose a new doctor you can trust and feel comfortable with. You can also make an appointment to talk about a health concern and meet your new doctor before making your final decision.

• All patients will be encouraged to transition to an adult primary health care provider between the ages of 18-21. If you have a chronic illness or complicated medical history, talk with your current doctor about when to transition.

7. How will medical records and information be transferred to a new provider?

• You can work with your pediatrician and a care coordinator to prepare a medical summary and plan of care to be shared with new providers. Work with your care team to determine which records need to be transferred to the new providers.

• ROI Form link

8. How often should my child see the pediatrician?

• Your child should not only see the pediatrician for an illness. It is also important to schedule well-child-care exams regularly, beginning in infancy. Also called well-care visits or checkups, these routine examinations provide the best opportunity for the doctor to observe the progress of your child's physical and mental growth and development; to counsel and teach parents; to detect problems through screening tests; to provide immunizations, and to get to know one another. Well-care visits are strongly recommended as part of preventive pediatric care.

• Well-child visits are also a good time for parents to raise questions and concerns about a child's development, behavior, nutrition, safety and overall well-being.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends this schedule for routine well-care visits:

• 3 to 5 days
• 1 month
• 2 months
• 4 months
• 6 months
• 9 months
• 12 months
• 15 months
• 18 months
• 24 months
• 30 months
• 3 years
• 4 years
• And once every year thereafter for an annual health supervision visit that includes a physical exam as well as a developmental, behavioral, and learning assessment.

9. What is the best way to schedule an appointment with your office?

• You can schedule an appointment by calling our office during regular business hours.

10. Why does my child need to receive vaccinations?

• Immunizations are a series of shots given to children at different ages to help ward off 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, vaccinations have reduced the number of infections from vaccine-preventable diseases by more than 90%. If you're apprehensive about vaccinations, please do not hesitate to contact our office.