Oshawa – Six new paediatricians have joined the team at Lakeridge Health. Those new doctors means a popular clinic that keeps kids out of the ER is now open seven days a week.
“Our community is growing and we are caring for more and more children and youth closer to home,” says Kevin Empey, President and CEO of Lakeridge Health. “Growing our team like this helps us treat more kids faster, and help families avoid unnecessary trips to the ER.”
Expanding the hours of the successful Paediatric Acute Referral Clinic (PARC) is key to helping avoid unnecessary trips to the ER. The PARC provides appointment-based care for children and youth under 16 who have a medical condition that needs prompt, but not emergency attention.
“An ER can be a busy and scary place for a child. That’s why we’re creating options to keep our kids out of the ER as much as possible,” says Dr. Tony Stone, Chief of Staff at Lakeridge Health. “This clinic is now open, and our aim is to see people within 24 hours of being referred to us.”
Children and youth treated in the PARC include those with a variety of medical issues, including unexplained fever, poorly controlled asthma symptoms, and pneumonia to name a few. The team sees children who are referred from the Emergency Department, urgent care/ walk-in clinics, or family doctors’ offices, as well as youngsters recently released from our Paediatric Inpatient Unit.
The additional doctors will also allow for more children with severe health issues to be brought back from other hospitals sooner, to be closer to home. “There will still be some reasons why a child will need to be seen at Sick Kids,” says Empey. “But now we will be able to bring them back here sooner, to continue their care closer to home.”
Paediatricians are specialized doctors who care for children of all ages - from babies in need of specialized treatment in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) up through teenagers. Dr. Stone noted some of the Lakeridge Health paediatricians are also opening practices in the community and are accepting new patients. For more information on Lakeridge Health paediatricians, visit the Lakeridge Health website.
Fast Facts:
- Lakeridge Health’s brand new Paediatric unit is bright and full of toys, games and entertainment. Each single room has a flat-screen TV and plenty of room for the family.
- Each year Lakeridge Health sees over 23,000 visits to our ERs from children and youth under 16.
- The Lakeridge Health PARC clinic has now had almost 3,000 visits.
