Scheduling Appointments & Physician Teams

Scheduling Appointments
To schedule an appointment, please call us at 616-949-4465. If your child is ill and you need an appointment or have questions, please call as early in the day as possible. If your child has a life-threatening illness or injury, call 911 or take him or her to the nearest emergency facility. Calls regarding same day appointments are answered by one of our nurses, who are well qualified to give advice about common pediatric concerns. A physician is consulted whenever a nurse has a question and all calls are reviewed by our physicians. When you call, please refer to your child using his or her legal name. Whenever possible, please have the following information available before you call: Temperature - duration Symptoms - duration Medication - type, dose, how long Chronic illnesses (for example, diabetes) Allergies, including drug allergies Name and phone number of preferred open pharmacy Certain symptoms almost always require an appointment: ear aches, sore throat, cough with difficult breathing, severe abdominal pain, frequent or painful urination and extreme lethargy. Please understand that except in special circumstances, we have a policy not to call in prescriptions for antibiotics without seeing your child first. We are concerned about both over-and under-treatment of illnesses. If you feel an illness is severe enough to require antibiotics, we need to examine your child in the office. Unless previously arranged with our staff, please do not ask us to work in other members of your family at the time of your appointment. While we would like to accommodate such requests, the delays that result can be an imposition to other patients. If your child has a chronic childhood illness, please request that he or she sees their primary care physician for their well-child exams. If a relative or baby-sitter brings your child to the office for treatment, please have them bring a written Authorization for Treatment form signed by you, as parent or legal guardian. Or you may provide a written letter giving treatment authorization. This letter must be witnessed by another adult. Please note that a parent must be present for immunization to be given unless an authorization for treatment form is signed. Please bring immunization records with you to well child exams.
Physician Teams
In order to offer our patients continuity of care, we use the physician team concept within our office. What this means to you is that when you choose one physician for your primary care, in reality you receive high-quality care from three physicians who work together as a team for their patients. Each physician team includes one full-time physician and two physicians who work three to four days a week. This ensures that there is always someone from each team to meet your needs and care for your children. Our teams were formed based solely on the availability of our physicians; there is no difference in the quality of care provided by the various teams. The nurses who work with each physician are also important team members. You will develop a bond with your physician as well as with their nurses, who are deeply committed to all aspects of patient care. Our physician teams include: Dr. Bush, Dr. Howard and Dr. Periard. Dr. Wood, Dr. Larson and Dr. Downs. Dr. Mike, Dr. Olgren and Stephanie M. Krauchunas, P.A.C.