You’ve had a full and busy day, and you are finally home to make dinner and get ready for another day. You realize your little one has a fever and cough, and the doctor’s office is closed. What is a parent to do when you have a sick kid and your primary care pediatrician’s office isn’t open?

If you drive down any street in Dallas, you are likely to see a multitude of free standing urgent care or emergency care centers. It might seem like a good option for when the doctor’s office is closed but it does come with a word of wisdom and caution. The wisdom: if your child does need care after hours and Pediatricians of Dallas is closed, please choose an urgent care or after hours facility which staffs pediatric focused providers. The care of children differs from the care of adults in the way illness or injury is approached. Many of these general urgent care and emergency care facilities are staffed with general, emergency, or family type practitioners who are able to see children and do see children but will also see adults as well. The caution: you must know these places are considered urgent care or emergency care centers and you will be charged the co-pay for those levels of care which is often a larger copay than you would pay in a doctor’s office.

In addition, there are services which offer house calls and will come to your home to see and treat your child. These services are not usually covered by private insurance and will charge out of pocket fees. Again, some of these services are advertised with the word “children” in their business’s name—you are not guaranteed that a pediatrician or a pediatric focused provider will make the house call. Be wise and ask what type of provider will be sent to your home. Also, some insurance companies will offer telephone type visits and will offer treatment via the telephone. There are some illnesses or rashes that are best diagnosed with careful hands-on assessment, a peek in those ears, or a listen to your little one’s lungs in order to make a correct diagnosis and treatment plan.

Here at Pediatricians of Dallas, we are here for you and your child while we are not open around the clock, there are options we do recommend for deciding where to take your child when our office is closed. If it is a life threatening emergency, please call 911 first. If the situation is not life threatening, please call our nurse triage/advice line at 214-691-3535. The nurse will talk with you and will assess your child’s medical situation and offer the best advice for your child’s particular condition. It maybe recommended it is okay to wait to be seen until the office is open the next day. If it is decided your child needs urgent care after office hours, it will be advised you seek care at pediatric urgent care facility. We do always have a pediatrician on call for our office. If it is decided the situation is urgent and your child needs to be seen in an emergency room, we will refer you to either Children’s Medical Center of Dallas or Medical City Children’s Hospital.

As always, Pediatricians of Dallas strives to deliver the best and most appropriate medical care for your child and we want to partner with parents to raise happy, healthy children. Being mindful of all the after-hour options for medical care will hopefully help you to navigate the best health care options available for your child!