YouthCare Pediatric Administrative Staff
You can assist us in meeting your needs in several ways:
1. As soon as you realize that your child is ill and requires our assistance, call the office, even if the assistance you need is simply telephone advice. Early calls can be handled much more efficiently than late ones.
2. Whenever it is possible, as you telephone our office, please provide the pertinent information to one of our staff who can consult with the doctor or practitioner and relay instructions to you. Delivery of messages in this manner helps us meet your needs more quickly. At times when further information is needed, the doctor or practitioner may need to return your call.
3. When calling, please state your child’s name and age, and describe his or her problems. Please do not assume that we will recognize you by your first name or the sound of your voice. Also, please remind us of any allergies, medications or special problems that your child might have, especially if calling after hours.
4. Visits to the emergency room should be for emergency problems and not for illnesses which can be handled in the office. As your child's primary care provider, we also request that you contact us before pursuing any medical attention. If your child becomes seriously ill after hours, call the office at 478-923-3360 ( Warner Robins ) or 478-988-2205 (Perry) and follow the recorded instructions to reach the answering service which will contact us immediately. If the problem is not major, you may leave a message on the answering machine. Should the illness require attention before our office re-opens, we will direct you as to how it should be handled. Patients who present to the emergency room without first calling will generally be asked to see the ER physician, who will then call if necessary. There are exceptions, of course, such as any potentially life-threatening event, for which you should proceed directly to the Houston Medical Center or Perry Emergency Room.
5. Notify us of any change of address, telephone number, insurance company, etc. which may occur between visits.
6. If you have any questions, concerns, complaints or compliments, we welcome them and will be happy to discuss them with you.
7. Plan ahead. We would appreciate your not asking for refills or prescriptions after hours when we do not have access to the charts. We are reluctant to prescribe or refill antibiotics without first seeing your child, since this could lead to overlooking of more serious illnesses. If you feel that an antibiotic is necessary, your child will likely require personal attention. For controlled medication refills, we request a 48-hour notification to have the prescription ready.
8. Please have your pharmacy name and phone number available when you call the office in case we need to call in medication for your child.
9. All practitioners at YouthCare are exceptionally qualified to care for your child; however, we realize that parents sometimes feel that they see someone different at every visit and would prefer to see one particular practitioner. Please don't hesitate to let us know if you prefer to see a particular physician, NP or PA and we will certainly do our best to accommodate you.