Patient Information
Patients Transferring To This Office
Patients transferring to this office should ask their previous doctor to forward a copy of their records. To help you in this process, we will supply you with a HIPAA-compliant record transfer request if you need one. Also, please make sure you have made any necessary changes with your insurance company.
Routine Health Care/Well Child Visits
We typically see children for well child care beginning at the age of about 1 week and at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 30 months. Well child care includes routine assessments of child growth, development, a complete exam, immunizations and discussion of any questions you may have. Annual visits are recommended after age 3 until age 21. For children over the age of 2, well child visits are usually booked at least two months in advance. We generally see patients through age 21 (or until high school graduation).Weekends, Evenings and Holiday Schedules
If an urgent issue or concern arises please call our main office number (413) 599-1201, and our after-hour calls to our office will be handled by our answering service. All non-urgent requests will be forwarded to our office and addressed the following day during normal business hours. If you are calling for advice regarding your sick child, these calls will be handled by our Nurse Triage Telephone Service. Normal wait time for your call to be returned by our triage service is approximately thirty (30) to sixty (60) minutes. The triage nurse is able to offer supportive care and advice, however they are unable to fill prescriptions or make appointments. Please keep this in mind during weekends and holidays. One of our health providers comes to our Wilbraham office on weekends for urgent issues, usually in the morning for a few hours. If a concern arises and there is a possibility that your child may need to be seen for an urgent problem on the weekend or on a holiday, please call between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., if possible. Otherwise, if the problem cannot be managed over the phone, the health provider may refer you to the emergency room.Newborn Hospital Care
In September of 2017 our providers stopped rounding on babies born at Baystate Medical Center. While we may no longer be seeing you at Baystate Medical Center in the first few days after your delivery, please be assured that you and your newborn will continue to be in good hands. Our pediatric colleagues and residents at Baystate will assess and care for your newborn prior to their discharge. We will receive information about your newborn and be made aware of any and all concerns before their first office visit with us. If you have any questions about the care of your newborn during your stay, please don’t hesitate to call our office. While in the hospital, babies typically receive a Hepatitis B immunization, a hearing evaluation, and a newborn screening blood test which checks for certain rare diseases.
For mothers who are planning on breastfeeding, the nurses in Labor and Delivery are a valuable resource for general questions regarding nursing. Sometimes, problems or questions with breastfeeding do not arise until you are home from the hospital. If this is the case, just call our office to speak with your pediatrician or one of our nurses. We may refer you to a lactation consultant if non-routine breastfeeding problems arise. Our office is very committed to supporting nursing moms in any way possible.
Parents of newborns should be sure to notify the insurance company of the baby’s birth as soon as reasonably possible (within 3 days is preferable). Billing issues generally go more smoothly when the parent has made a call directly to the insurance company to be sure the baby is enrolled.
Other Hospitalized Patients
Patients admitted to the hospital for acute illnesses (such as asthma or dehydration) will receive their care at Baystate Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital. While at the hospital, patients will be cared for by a Pediatric Hospitalist. A Pediatric Hospitalist is a pediatrician who specializes in the care of the hospitalized patient. Our pediatricians will be sure to provide the hospitalist with all the medical information they will need about our patients so that they receive the best care possible while in the hospital. The hospitalist will communicate with our pediatricians during the hospitalization and at discharge to ensure good follow up care. Occasionally, pediatric specialist consultations will be required as well. For serious medical problems, pediatric and neonatal intensive care may be required.