Clifton Park is home to the Capital District’s first Pediatric Urgent Care Center with the opening of a Community Care Physicians, PC office on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
“Just last night someone came in and said they couldn’t believe there was something like this in their area,” said Mary Beth Dollard, pediatric regional manager for Community Care. “The response has been wonderful.”
Community Care Physicians is a multispecialty medical group with about 35 practices throughout the greater Capital District that offer services in family medicine, pediatric medicine, obstetrics, gynecology and more.
The group also has four urgent care centers that treat all ages in Delmar, Niskayuna, Latham and Schodack, but this is the first center in the northeastern portion of New York State that caters specifically to children from infants to 18-year-olds.
“There is nothing like this within at least 100 miles,” said Dollard. “There are pediatric urgent care walk in sites in southern New York but nothing in northeastern New York. We thought this would be a great opportunity for us to open this as part of Community Care Physicians.”
The Pediatric Urgent Care Center is located at 1735 Route 9 and is open Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. and weekends from noon to 8 p.m. The fact that it’s open after usual doctor offices close is convenient and needed, said Dr. Barbara Morris, chief medical officer and pediatrician for Community Care Physicians.
“Busy, working parents no longer need to take time off from work or rearrange their daytime schedules to bring their child to the doctor,” said Morris.
The center will offer treatment for conditions like cough, cold, infection, gastrointestinal complaints, rash, headache, flu symptoms or minor injury.
It’s an alternative to busy emergency rooms or other venues that might be uncomfortable for children or families, said Dollard.
“We wanted to be there with a child-friendly environment and board-certified pediatricians to help parents and children when they’re ill,” said Dollard. “We’ve had a lot of parents tell us that they don’t like bringing their child into an urgent care where there are adults or an emergency room with long wait times.”
The medical group chose Clifton Park because of its great number of children.
“We did some demographic research and Clifton Park demonstrates that it has large school districts; their demographics show that the number of children from newborn to 18 is higher in that area than in any of the surrounding areas,” said Dollard.
Anyone can utilize the center, regardless of his or her primary care physician.
“They don’t have to be a Community Care patient, we take anyone,” said Dollard.
The center is also be able to do basic lab work like urine analysis and blood counts and accepts most major insurance plans. Documentation of treatment can be easily transferred to the patient’s primary care physician for continuity of care, said Dollard.
For more information about Community Care Physicians, PC or the Pediatric Urgent Care Center, visit www.communitycare.com.