MEMORIAL PEDIATRICS

Working Parents with Sick Children

We keep appointments open during the last hour of the day for sick children who need to be seen after school or day care. Make sure your babysitter or  day care understands that they should call you before 3 PM if you child becomes ill. If you think your child may need to be seen the same day, please call before our office closes.

Well-Child Questions

We are happy to provide you with the health information you need to be a better parent. Please place calls about behavior questions or other well-child issues during weekday office hours. The best time to call is usually early afternoon, when our switchboard is least busy.

Prescription Refills

Call about prescription refills  to pharmacies only during office hours because we need to have your child's chart handy to check on dosages and disease status. Plan ahead so you don't run out of important medicines. Always have the phone number of your pharmacy handy when you call the office.

Emergency Calls (Day or Night)

Call 911 (emergency medical services) for life threatening emergencies in which your child may require resuscitation (your child is not breathing, is choking severely, is unconscious, or is having seizures, for example) For poisonings, call the poison control center at (800) 846-4766.

Calls about Sick Children During Office Hours

We see sick children by appointment only. Our office hours are 8 AM to 5 PM Monday through Friday. The telephone nurse is available to take your calls during office hours.

If your child is sick and you want the doctor to see him, call ahead for an appointment. Try to call us about sick children during early morning office hours. All medical calls are screened by a telephone nurse who has been specially trained to make decisions about which patients need to be seen by the doctor and how to provide home care for children who don't need to be seen. If the nurse can't help you, she will ask you to bring your child to the office or have your physician call you back.

If the office staff is busy and can only take a message, ask for an approximate callback time. While waiting for a call back, try to keep your line open. If your call isn't returned within 60 minutes after the predicted callback time, call again. In general, we try to return calls within 15 minutes. Keep in mind that Monday mornings are the busiest time.

Nighttime (After Hours) Calls

After office hours, call us only for emergencies or urgent problems that can't wait until morning. Calls about mild illness usually can wait. We need to keep our line open at night for urgent calls. After office hours you calls wil be received by voice mail service and transferred to your physician pr the telephone nurse who is covering your physicians calls. The doctor or nurse will usually return your call within 30 minutes. If you do not receive a callback within 1 hour in a non-emergency situation, please call again.