Pediatric Urgent-Care Clinics Filling a Gap

Dana Dickey could tell something was wrong with her normally energetic 4-year-old son, Devon, as soon as she arrived at his day-care center on a recent afternoon.

“His eyes were swollen, his nose was running and he had a fever,” the Northridge mother said. “The teacher said he was lethargic all day.”

Clearly, the preschooler was coming down with a cold. With her pediatrician’s office about to close for the day, Dickey drove Devon to the Pediatric Express urgent-care clinic at Northridge Hospital Medical Center.

The pediatric urgent-care clinic on Roscoe Boulevard provides after-hours care for children like Devon who are not seriously ill or injured but can’t wait until morning to see a doctor.

While the pediatric urgent-care clinic is a new service at Northridge, other Valley health-care providers offer similar programs.

“The most appropriate care for kids is to be treated by a pediatrician in an office, but I think this is a worthwhile service,” said Dr. Alan Nager, director of the division of emergency medicine at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dickey agreed, saying the service fills a gap in the health-care system.

“If you go to the emergency room, there are people there who are really sick who have to go in front of you and you have to wait a long time,” Dickey said.

“They are on a fast track when they come in here,” said Dr. Maureen McCollough, one of 12 pediatricians who staff the clinic. “They get in and out quickly.”

McCollough said she typically treats kids with runny noses, broken bones, insect bites, rashes and stomach aches. Severely injured or ill children go to the emergency room where they are stabilized and then transferred to another department or hospital.

The clinic is open Monday through Friday from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m., hospital officials said.