We are dedicated to meeting the needs of our patients and families. In an effort to make sure we have adequate openings for all children, we require a twenty-four (24) hour cancellation notice. No-showed appointments or same day cancellations (including same-day urgent appointments) will result in a $25.00 cancellation/no-show fee. The fee must be paid in full prior to the child’s next appointment.

Please note that insurance companies do not cover these fees, therefore you will be responsible for payment.

After three no-call no-shows the office may choose to terminate the provider-patient relationship. 

In order to decrease our wait times, we ask that all patients be present and checked in at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled appointment time. If the patient arrives late, next available appointment time will be offered. Please note, this may result in an extended wait and we cannot guarantee the availability of same day slots. We encourage parents to call if the patient is running late, so we can communicate these available times prior to arrival to our office. If the patient is sick, every effort will be done to accommodate the needs.

After three late arrivals that result in rescheduling of your child’s appointment, the office may choose to terminate the provider-patient relationship. 

If you want to have an additional family member seen during a scheduled trip with a sibling, you must call in advance to see if there are any openings that we can use to accommodate your request. We cannot guarantee any open same day slots. We will make every effort to find a timely appointment. Any applicable copays, coinsurance, and deductibles will be collected for each additional patient seen that day.

If you have a concern or question about your child and would like to speak with a member of our care team during office phone hours (8:00am – 9:00pm), please call the office directly. Your message will be sent to the provider on staff. If there is no available receptionist to take your call, please provide a detailed message and a call back number. We strive to return all calls by the end of the business day. Please be aware that certain symptoms and illnesses require an office visit in order to be properly assessed.  Therefore, you may be advised to schedule an appointment by a member of our front desk team at the time of your initial call in order to prevent delays in getting your child seen.

We are available for urgent questions and concerns after office hours. Please call the office at (708) 422-6569 and follow the prompts. Please be aware that there is a fee of $25.00 for non-urgent calls to the on-call clinical team member at the provider’s discretion. If there is no answer, please leave a detailed voicemail with your child’s name, birthday, and callback number.  Our policy is to return your call within 30 minutes. Therefore, if you do not hear from us by then, please try again.

Our office email address is not a means of secure and confidential communication, therefore we ask that you do not email any medical information, questions or concerns. Instead, all communication should take place through the patient portal. Neither email nor the Patient Portal are adequate means for urgent questions or concerns. Any response needed in less than 48 hours should be addressed by calling our office directly.

You may request a copy of your child’s medical records at any time. This request must be completed in writing by filling out our Medical Release of Information Form by the patient’s parent or legal guardian. Records can be faxed directly to other physicians free of charge.  There is a $25.00 fee for printed copies. All outstanding balances must be paid in full before records are transferred to another office.

-We believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.

-We believe in the safety of vaccines.

-We believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

-We believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines, including thimerosal, a preservative, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

-We believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health-promoting intervention we perform as healthcare providers, and that you can perform as parents/caregivers.

-The recommended vaccines and the vaccine schedule are the results of years and years of scientific study and data gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

-Please recognize that by not vaccinating, you are putting your child at unnecessary risk for life-threatening illness and disability, and even death.

We are committed to protecting the health of your children, as well as all of our patients and their families. Therefore, we require all of our patients to be fully vaccinated. In order for us to provide full protection, we cannot honor any personal or religious exemptions.

We highly encourage our patients to follow our standard recommended vaccination schedule, but can work to honor split/delayed vaccine schedules with the following guidelines:
We ask that infants receive all age-appropriate recommended vaccines by three months of age. We ask that additional recommended vaccines as well as booster doses are given by two years of age.
-We ask that children receive the additional recommended booster doses by the time they are six years old.
-We ask that your preteen (11–12y vaccinations) are given by the time they are 13 years old.
-We ask that your 16-year old teen vaccinations are given before the child’s 17th birthday.

Thank you for taking the time to read this policy. Please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines with any one of us.

We are happy to provide a school, daycare or sports physical form during your child’s well visit or within 30 days after a well child visit. We highly encourage you to request one at the time of your well visit as these are valid for 365 days. If a physical is needed 30 days after your child’s well visit, another physical exam is required, and therefore a separate appointment must be made. These visits are not covered by insurance so a $25 office fee will be due at time of service. Physicals cannot be given at the time of a sick visit for a separate ailment. There are no exceptions.

We are happy to complete your child’s school/daycare forms during your child’s visit to our office. Please be aware that these forms should be submitted to the front desk upon check-in. If you do not have an appointment, your child must be up to date with his/her well visit along with any other pertinent visit as determined by our providers and a 48 hour return window will apply.

FMLA forms require a scheduled office visit every time they are to be completed. There is a $25 fee each time FMLA paperwork is filled out by one of our providers as this is not covered by insurance. There are no exceptions.

• We ask all parents and caregivers to treat our staff and others with respect. We will not tolerate verbal or physical abuse toward anyone of any kind. Parents or Guardians who do not respect this policy will be officially dismissed from the practice. Please let our management know if someone is making you feel uncomfortable during your visit, safety and comfort is our priority.
• Please refer to our Cancellation/No-Show, Late Policy, and Vaccination Policy for dismissal criteria.