Washington Pediatrics Illness Handout
If you are uncomfortable with your child’s condition after reading about possibilities or consulting the nurse then you need to have  your child examined.

 

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FAQ

Quick Answers to Common Questions

Smoking and Your Child

What do you do when your child is sick?  For some people it’s an automatic call to the doctor either the next morning or that night.  For some it’s a planned visit the next day no matter what is causing the illness.  For some it is a long night of worry fretting over whether a trip to the emergency room is warranted or whether to wake their sleeping doctor.

The purpose of this handout is to help you sort out what can be done at home and when your child needs to be examined either in the office or the emergency room.  This is not an exhaustive book of instruction.  There are already several fine books by The American Academy of Pediatrics and American Medical Society which serve as fairly complete references.  A Guide to Your Child Symptoms published by the American Academy of Pediatrics is a  excellent reference.  The purpose of this book is to provide a quick reference for several of the more common pediatric problems and put forth your doctors’ beliefs as to how they can be managed.  Although this is a guide, whether you read this guide, consult another reference book or even call the doctor, ultimately it is the parent who is there with the child trying to observe and relate what is being learned to the child’s symptoms and it is the parent who has to feel comfortable with any attempt at home management.

Calling the After Hours Exchange.

                There may be times that you need to speak to a physician after office hours--nights or weekends for example.  There are several different sources  where you can seek help.  Both St. Louis Children's Hospital and Cardinal Glennon Children's Hospital have searchable website for health information.

Click here to search St. Louis Children's Hospital.

Click here to search Cardinal Glennon

One is the St. Louis Children's Hospital KIDS line.  This free service is staffed by pediatric RNs at St. Louis Children's Hospital that can provide answers to many of your routine questions.  For more urgent situations and when the KIDS line is not open, the doctors at Washington Pediatrics have provided a nurse triage service.  Again staffed by pediatric nurses from St. Louis Children's Hospital these nurses are there to meet your emergency needs.  To meet these patient needs the doctors have an answering service. Please try to restrict your calls to those situations which really cannot wait until the next business day--if the office or exchange  received one unnecessary phone call from each patient once a year, there would be over 25 unnecessary phone calls per night.  Both our phone nurses and our nurse triage line are free services, please use them wisely so that they can continue to be offered without cost.

                Whenever you call the exchange, the operator takes your name, your child's name, a brief description of the problem, and your phone number.  The physician is only given the phone number.  Please identify yourself, your child's complete name and age, as well as which doctor you usually see.

                Unless it is a 911 Emergency  the nurse triage line should call back within 30 minutes.    Please keep your line free.  If you do not hear from the nurse line please call the exchange again, verify your number, and keep the line clear--one frequent cause for delay in calling patients back is a busy signal on the other end.

                Finally, phone calls can be very difficult for both patient and physician.  Face to face you can see the extent of each other's concern, alarm, fatigue, or frustration.  These aspects are not always evident over the phone.  A picture is truly worth a thousand words.

 

Washington Pediatrics

390-8555

Same Day Appointments Option 1  from 7-10 am.

       Nurse Advice             Option 1 10-12 & 1-4:30

Closed During Most Noon Hours

Refill Request  Option 2

Referral Option 3

Billing Option

Emergency Numbers

911

 

St. Louis Children's KIDS Line

1-800-678-KIDS

 

Washington Pediatric Exchange

1-800-350-0252