Your child needs a large healthcare ecosystem where all parts work together to provide quality, compassionate healthcare in a safe, comfortable environment. This ecosystem is made up of urgent care centers, pediatricians, emergency rooms, specialists, therapists, and backups of all of these in case one isn’t available when you need them.
As one of the founding doctors at KidMed Urgent Care, Richmond and Stafford’s only pediatric urgent care center, I recently checked in with our ecosystem – some of our most trusted partners and colleagues in the area. The health of our relationships with other providers affects the quality of healthcare we can all give to our community’s kids, and we want to be transparent with parents and caregivers about what goes on behind the scenes.
Here’s who I talked to:
- Tim Bunchman, MD, Chief of Pediatric Nephrology at Children’s Hospital of Richmond
- Stacie Dugan, Area Director and pediatric physical therapist with Ivy Rehab for Kids
- Joanna Martinette, APRN-CNP with Bon Secours St. Mary’s Pediatric Lung Care
- Nicole “Ashlee” Heely, MSN, CPNC-AC with Bon Secours St. Mary’s Pediatric Neurology
- Chad Aarons, MD with Bon Secours – Tuckahoe Orthopedics
The one thing every provider said was the most important factor in our relationship? Cell phones. Dr. Bunchman said, “We’ve developed an outstanding relationship to the point that a lot of their physicians have my cell phone, which is great because there’s no bureaucracy to get through.” We all have direct, open lines of communication with each other, and we call and text constantly. I know I can call my colleagues to get a second opinion, discuss appropriate testing and immediate treatment, and coordinate follow-up care. All of our KidMed providers do the same.
This healthy communication extends to the rest of our KidMed staff. Outside providers know they can request a patient’s medical records from our team and get them promptly. I usually follow up with our specialist colleagues personally to be sure that plans for our patients are carried out as we discussed.
The continuity of care from KidMed to a specialist or other healthcare provider is crucial for kids. Because we’re connected to so many different providers, KidMed acts as the central hub, referring you to pediatricians, specialists, emergency rooms, and hospitals that we know and trust. This is particularly helpful for stressed and worried adults, new parents, families who just moved to the area, or caregivers looking for a change in their child’s healthcare team.
We only refer patients to providers that we’d trust with our own children. Our carefully cultivated referral network is based on several factors:
- Quality. We trust these providers to give the best possible care to our patients. We refer our patients with confidence that they’ll continue to receive quality healthcare even after they leave our clinic.
- Accessibility. On their own, patients often have to wait six months to see a specialist or primary care doctor. Nurse practitioner, Joanna Martinette, said, “We get quite a few referrals from KidMed, and I get texts all the time from their providers saying they have patients. We try to squeeze them in within about three months, which is a lot faster than average. Sometimes we can even see them within a couple of weeks.”
- Alignment with our values. KidMed is committed to compassionate care for all kids, and we know how important it is for kids to see providers with pediatric training in kid-friendly environments. Nurse practitioner, Ashlee Heely, noted that kids need a place with “silliness and more compassion” than adult-centric clinics to feel comfortable, and our team agrees.
Our extensive network of providers also helps us stay connected with our patient’s parent or caregiver – meaning you always know the full story of your child’s health and can make the best decisions for their care. Dr. Aarons said, “You want to have someone willing to collaborate and have a relationship with other specialties should a need arise – that way, it’s not totally on the parents.” Your child’s illness or injury is stressful for you, too, and remembering every tiny detail of your child’s medical situation shouldn’t be on your plate when you’re worried about your kid. I stay in touch with other healthcare providers treating my patients so that I know how and when to educate parents and caregivers on the status of their kid’s health. After I refer your child to a specialist I know, it helps me stay up-to-date on what happens when you leave KidMed. I will add any pertinent information that I receive from your specialist’s follow-up to your KidMed record. This information can help the next provider who sees your child at KidMed.
As I was checking in with my colleagues, I was curious about what they thought was the key factor when parents and caregivers are trying to piece together an ecosystem of healthcare for their kids. Most of them said “communication” between providers is the biggest green flag, but as pediatric physical therapist, Stacie Dugan, pointed out, “It’s important to have someone you trust for referrals. I use KidMed myself, and I wouldn’t send someone else’s kids to a provider I wouldn’t choose for my family.”
When we started KidMed Urgent Care 15 years ago, we instilled the belief that it’s our duty and obligation to provide thorough, compassionate, specialized care to kids in Richmond and Stafford and help parents and caregivers navigate our region’s pediatric healthcare system. This philosophy is what we consistently and proudly practice to this day.
