Associated Pediatricians offers extended hours Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday

When working to address the health of one’s child, parents have many contending factors to consider. Work, school, and plain busyness can make scheduling checkups difficult, especially if free time falls outside of traditional clinic hours. Additionally, illness in a child might go unnoticed until after a clinic is closed, leading parents to have to take their children to urgent care or other medical facilities outside of their family practitioner.

One way Associated Pediatricians works to combat these conditions is through its extended hours, offering appointment slots for established patients who find themselves outside the scope of conventional time frames.

While both the Valparaiso and Portage Associated Pediatricians clinics are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, each clinic has specific extensions throughout the week. For the Valparaiso clinic, the extended hours occur on Tuesday and Wednesday, extending the closing time to 8 p.m. For the Portage clinic, extended hours occur on Thursday, also extending the closing time to 8 p.m. Additionally, the Valparaiso clinic is open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. until noon.

Pediatrician and Practice Owner Dr. Dianna Brogan spoke further about the thought process behind the extended hours.

“We considered what the needs of our patients were, and that factored into what we have now,” Brogan said. “It’s nice for families who have an unexpected sickness or families who prefer to come in after hours or on a weekend due to their work schedules or their transportation needs.”

These extended hours are currently only open to established patients of Associated Pediatricians. They serve as a way for patients who receive care from the provider to continue visiting the clinic, even outside of typical hours.

Extended hours visits must be set up as appointments in advance. These appointments can be regular checkups or wellness visits for children who are ill. In the case of the latter, a triage telephone conversation allows clinic nurses to work with parents in order to offer the best option for medical care, ensuring timely and appropriate services. In the event of same-day visits, the clinic often stays open later than posted times in order to serve the needs of patients who require these appointments.

“If your child needs to be seen that day as assessed by our nurses, we do our very best to get you an appointment that same day,” Brogan said. “By my own experience, when you’re sick yourself and you call your doctor, it might be a week or two before you can see them, or they automatically tell you to go to urgent care. I think in that way, how we operate is remarkable and different.”

While the clinic has maintained Saturday hours for many decades, the more specific weekday hours came about recently, following a need that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“A lot of people had dual work once they got back to work. Both parents couldn’t take time off, and a lot of times, after school or after daycare, they noticed that their child had a new and evolving illness,” Brogan said. “They would call us, and we said, ‘We could plan around this. We can find a way to allow them to stay in their medical home.’”

The decision to offer extended hours also came from the organization’s dedication to provide consistent, well-rounded healthcare.

“It’s nearly always more appropriate to stay in your medical home because they have your entire medical history,” Brogan said. “If you have had all your care with us, we know your antibiotics history, we know your allergies. A lot of parents forget those details when they’re stressed and sleep-deprived and their kids are sick.”

Brogan elaborated on the structure of the organization, a system that allows for adaptation and personalization in terms of healthcare solutions.

“We are a group-owned practice. We’re not owned by a hospital or a corporate system,” Brogan said. “That gives us a lot more flexibility in making decisions and real-time pivoting that’s best for our families.”

The extended hours program exists as part of a larger system that emphasizes a strong environment of patient-centered care.

“We want to be your medical home. We want to provide an entire holistic medical care for you and your family, and we do try to listen very carefully to our patients’ desires, needs and wants,” Brogan said.

Extended hours have been met with community support, reinforcing the decision to extend the time available for parents and their children.

“Parents thank me all the time for this because it makes such a difference that they’re not stuck in a big waiting room for hours to have their child’s needs addressed,” Brogan said. “We’ve had some very positive responses, and that’s always a pleasantly happy surprise that I get over and over.”

Outside of extended hours, Associated Pediatricians also offers a 24/7 hotline to address minor emergencies, such as mild sprains, lacerations, cuts, or fractures, should they arise after hours. This allows pediatricians to communicate with parents over the phone in order to guide them through whatever the minor emergency requires. Parents can get in contact with a pediatrician by calling the number of the main office, (219) 462-0555. From there, they will be directed to an on-call physician.

If parents are unable to reach a physician at the main office’s number, they can call the operator at Porter-Northwest Health at (219) 983-8300 for help paging.

In the event of life-threatening emergencies like seizures, loss of consciousness, or severe bleeding, parents should call 911.

If you are an established patient looking to schedule an appointment during extended hours, you can call the Valparaiso clinic at (219) 462-0555 or the Portage clinic at (219) 364-3250.

For more information about scheduling appointments, you can visit this page. For more general information about Associated Pediatricians, you can visit its website.