Pediatric Urgent Care celebrates its first anniversary

For parents whose children need medical attention outside the hours of their regular doctor, Pediatric Urgent Care opened in November of 2009, during the crescendo of the H1N1 epidemic. The business was founded by Dr. Paul Thomas. Seeing the tents that were being erected in the parking lot of the hospital to hold the overflow of patients, Dr Thomas realized that for many children, the emergency room was not an inviting environment. There were patients there of all ages, some for relatively minor things, and some for more serious issues. But the triage of an emergency room simply meant that those with respiratory infections would be the last to be treated. Dr Thomas knew that this was a miserable situation for young children. That is when he came up with the idea for Pediatric Urgent Care. His regular daytime practice closed at regular business hours, and then sat empty until the following mornings. Why not use the existing office to offer help to those that needed it?

Assembling a team of key support staff, Dr Thomas launched the idea of an after-hours clinic that would be open 365 days a year, including holidays. The clinic would be staffed by pediatricians, and see patients from newborn through 21. No appointments would be necessary because of its "urgent" designation; walk-in patients only. Within a few short weeks, Pediatric Urgent Care was able to open its doors.

That was just over a year ago, and Pediatric Urgent Care is still moving ahead. They continue to get patients in the clinic every night. The hours of the clinic are ideal for working parents, 7-10 pm Monday through Friday, and 1-9 pm on weekends and holidays. So many times our little ones seem to come down with a bug after dinner, just between bath and bedtime. Pediatric Urgent Care is there for those times, offering help when the regular doctor's office is closed.

With onsite lab equipment, and full communication with patients' PCPs, Pediatric Urgent Care fills an important need and brings peace of mind and better care to families.

If it's urgent, take them to Pediatric Urgent Care, located at 11790 SW Barnes Rd., Suite 140. For more information, visit pediatricurgentcareonline.com/ or call 503-597-KIDS.

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