Are We a Good Fit?
When can I schedule a sick child visit?
If you’re ever in doubt about whether your child needs a sick visit, call our office. The friendly nurse asks a few questions to determine the severity of your child’s symptoms, then helps you decide if you need to come into the office.
You can schedule same-day sick visits any time the office is open. See our Hours and Locations.
We offer online scheduling through our portal for your convenience for routine sick and standard well visits. Please do not use these spots for mental health concerns, as those visits typically are much longer than standard sick visits. Call the office so we can find the best fit for anticipated long visits.
What happens during a sick child visit?
The goal of a sick child visit is to quickly diagnose the problem and start treatment that will help your child feel more comfortable.
In addition to reviewing your child’s symptoms and medical history, a physical exam to assess the symptoms will be done.
Sick visit may require laboratory tests or imaging for identification of the source of symptoms. We can do rapid tests for Strep, flu A & B, urinalysis and COVID19 in our office.
We can collect samples for Strep throat cultures, some PCR tests, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and urine cultures to send to laboratories. We can order further tests from local labs and radiology facilities as needed.
What children’s conditions can a sick visit treat?
Sick visits treat many types of injuries and illnesses that need same-day or next-day medical care. Children’s symptoms can change quickly, so don’t hesitate to call if your child’s symptoms get worse.
The following are some of the most common conditions treated during sick visits:
- Flu Upper respiratory infections
- Earaches Headaches
- Sore throat or strep throat
- Congestion
- Coughs
- Abdominal pain
- Asthma
- Rashes or hives
- Allergic reactions
- Eye discharge or infection
- Vomiting and/or diarrhea
We also treats minor injuries like concussions without persistent vomiting or altered level of consciousness, cuts and sprains.
When does my child need immediate medical care?
Your child should be evaluated by a medical professional for the following symptoms:
- Fever of 100.4ºF or higher in children younger than 2 months of age - this is an emergency: do not wait until office hours
- Daily fever of 100.4ºF or higher that persists for 3-5 days (the younger the child or the more concerning the symptoms, sooner; older children who are overall well appearing can wait 5 days)
- Unusual symptoms or any symptoms that concern caregivers
- Difficulty breathing should be seen immediately unless home treatment improves sufficiently to wait until business hours
- Signs of dehydration (no tears, dry in mouth, decreased urine output or too much urine with other signs of dehydration) should be seen immediately
- Persistent pain may require emergent treatment, depending on severity and other symptoms
- Rash that you can't identify or know how to treat may require emergent treatment, depending on severity and other symptoms
- Fever with a rash, stiff neck, vomiting, and headache is an emergency and should be seen immediately
- Suspected bacterial infection, such as Strep throat (fever, sore throat, headache, nausea, vomiting , sandpaper rash in a child over 3 years - not all symptoms must be present) or urinary tract infection (painful urination, foul smelling urine, fever, vomiting - not all symptoms must be present): most of these can wait until business hours unless there are significant symptoms that are concerning
When your child is sick, call the office as early in the day as possible so they can schedule a same-day visit if necessary or come to our Urgent Care/Walk In hours.
If you have questions about your child’s symptoms or you need to schedule a sick visit, call our office or book an appointment online.
What is appropriate for walk in visits (urgent care)?
We have a full page about our Urgent Care (walk in) availabilities. Learn more here.
Walk in visits work well for acute injuries and illnesses. They are not appropriate for mental health concerns, routine well visits or chronic disease management.
Schedule an appointment with the provider your child most often sees for ongoing conditions such as chronic pain, asthma, and constipation. Your usual provider who knows the story should see chronic concerns. Of course, if there is an exacerbation or sudden worsening of symptoms, acute management can be done at our urgent care with follow up by appointment and ongoing management with your primary care provider.
Welcome to Pediatric Partners!
Pediatric Partners is more than just a name – it represents our philosophy towards quality medical care. Our doctors and staff are committed to partnering with you to deliver comprehensive care that addresses your child’s physical health and development, as well as social and mental well-being.
Partnering with families to provide a comprehensive, compassionatate, high quality pediatric care through education, service and support in a respectful, friendly environment. We want to be the place you call first when there is a medical concern. At Pediatric Partners– an Affiliate of Children’s Mercy, you will always see a familiar face and receive consistent medical advice.
In a pediatric medical home model, the pediatric care team works in partnership with your child and your family to ensure that all of the medical and non-medical needs of the patient are addressed. Our mission is to provide your children with evidence-based, up-to-date pediatric care in a kid-friendly environment.
Choosing the right practice
It is crucial when choosing a pediatric practice for your children that you have given serious consideration to the fit between the practice philosophies and your own. Excellent care happens when the physicians and office staff are aligned with your family priorities and philosophies regarding medical care. Only then can shared decision making be based on mutual respect. Please read the following checklist carefully to be sure Pediatric Partners is the appropriate medical home for your children. We look forward to meeting you and forming a mutually rewarding relationship.
Vaccines
Our Vaccine Policy follows the schedule outlined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). We vaccinate our own children on schedule and expect the same of our patients.
Antibiotics
We work hard to not overuse antibiotics. We educate families on appropriate use of antibiotics, but follow evidence-based guidelines and don’t automatically treat ear pain or a green snotty nose with antibiotics.
We do not routinely call in antibiotics over the phone as we do not believe that is good medicine.
Medical Home
We strive to provide comprehensive medical care and serve as your medical home. To that end, we expect that you contact our office FIRST before seeking specialty care or heading to Urgent Care.
Technology
Our practice prides itself on efficiency through use of technology. You will be expected to contact us through our patient portal and effectively use automated reminders and patient engagement enabled via technology.
Office Hours
We make every effort to meet the needs of our patients. We offer walk in hours 6 days a week and have early morning and evening appointments.
Please be familiar with our office hours and use our office first rather than an outside urgent care center as much as possible to help us take the best, most continuous care for your child.
After Hours
We have a provider on call 24/7/365 for urgent needs after hours. Their contact information is available by calling our main number. We also have this website that is full of information to help you manage the most common illnesses and injuries.
You can often find your answers by using the search box above. It is the same advice (but more comprehensive) that we would give on the phone. We hope that unless it is a true medical emergency that requires 911, you will use our website's advice or call the person on-call to discuss recommendations prior to heading to the Emergency Department or Urgent Care. This can save you an expensive trip into an outside location!
Specialist Care
As your medical home we expect that you will contact our office to discuss care plans before scheduling an appointment with a specialist. We cannot complete a referral after the fact or if we do not have information about why you are needing to see the specialist.
Many times we can provide the same basic treatments as the specialist or begin an evaluation, which saves overall time and money at the specialist. We want to be involved in either providing care in our office where appropriate or referring you to the most appropriate specialist and helping coordinate your care.
Whenever you do see a specialist we ask that you request a report be sent directly to our office so we can coordinate all of your care.
Insurance
Please make sure we take your specific insurance plan. If there are any questions, call our office and/or check with your specific insurance company.
Billing and Fees
It is up to you to understand how your insurance works including prescription formulary, deductibles and co-insurance and to provide up-to-date insurance information at every visit. If you have questions, please call our billing office or your insurance company.
Appointments
Please call our office to make an appointment and tell our staff all of your concerns so that they can allow the appropriate length of time when scheduling your visit. Sometimes we will ask you to schedule a separate appointment to sufficiently cover all concerns or a follow up appointment to review how treatments are working.
We encourage scheduling well visits in advance, especially during the summer months since most school aged kids want physicals during May, June, July, and the first part of August.
All physicians and nurse practitioners have same day sick appointments available, but they can fill up quickly, so call early in the day if you have a favorite provider. We also offer walk in hours six days a week for acute care needs.
Chronic issues (asthma, ADHD, anxiety, etc) are best addressed by the same person each time, so unless there is an acute change in status requiring immediate evaluation (wheezing), please schedule all routine follow ups in advance.
You are responsible to remember your scheduled appointments, so please verify the time and date. Scheduled appointments are found in the portal for you to review if needed. We offer courtesy appointment reminders, but failure to receive a reminder does not negate any missed appointment fees.
If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, it may be necessary to reschedule your appointment in the next available slot (potentially with another provider).
Timeliness
Our practice makes every effort to run on time with appointments, as we believe everyone’s time is equally valuable. We ask that you make every effort to present to the office at your scheduled appointment time and call us if you are running behind. We reserve the right to ask you to reschedule if you have missed your scheduled appointment time.
Please be patient if you must wait. This means that we are taking care of someone else's child that needed more time. Some day that could be your child, and we will spend the time needed with your family!
New Patients
