What to do when your child needs a doctor

Can your baby’s labored breathing at 1 AM wait until morning? Do you head straight to the emergency room with your child’s sports injury? Will a doctor check out your child’s sudden new rash after hours?

And as if the situation with an ill or injured child isn’t stressful enough, the recent COVID-19 further clouds decisions about when and where to seek care.

Since the pandemic’s early days, emergency rooms across the country have experienced sharp declines in inpatient visits. Parents are worried about the added risk of exposure to themselves or their children by going to a hospital or clinic caring for infected patients. Healthcare experts are concerned that delays in getting necessary medical care can lead to more severe health conditions.

“These days, kids who come into the emergency room tend to be much sicker,” says Dr. Robert Kregenow, Medical Director of Emergency Services at Mary Bridge Children’s. He worries that fears around COVID exposure may mean that parents put off seeking medical care for children who need it.

Dr. Kregenow wants parents to know that delaying care for a child’s symptoms may result in an even more dangerous health situation. “Certain symptoms can often affect children differently than in adults and need to be addressed more quickly as well,” he explains.

For example, a high fever or continued vomiting can quickly cause dehydration in babies and younger children, even if their symptoms don’t appear to be noticeably severe. Children need to be evaluated by a doctor before extreme dehydration leads to serious complications.

Pediatric specialists at Mary Bridge Children’s for safe emergency care

Fortunately, newborns to teenagers who need immediate medical attention have access to the very highest level of pediatric specialty care.

Whether your child is treated at the emergency room or at one of our Pediatric Urgent Care Clinics, our team of physicians and surgeons have advanced training in every field of pediatric medicine.

Our pediatric specialists provide emergency expert medical and surgical care for children across the South Puget Sound region, from performing surgery for an appendicitis or treating a painful ear infection. See a complete list of our pediatric emergency and urgent care locations.

How do we keep patients safe?

Mary Bridge Children’s is committed to the health and safety of patients and families when they visit the emergency room or urgent care clinics. That means taking the necessary precautions to minimize exposure to COVID-10 and other infectious diseases, including:

• No crowded waiting rooms, as patients instead wait in their cars or are quickly moved to separate examination rooms
• Curbside testing for COVID-19 and strep (ordered by provider at a virtual visit)
• Extra cleaning for patient areas and equipment to prevent cross-contamination
• Ample supplies of personal protection equipment (PPE) such as N-95 masks, gloves, and surgical gowns to protect both patients and staff
• Mary Bridge Children’s Virtual Urgent Care means your child’s symptoms can be evaluated by one of our providers without leaving home.

Your child’s urgent care visit – virtually!

In addition to our Pediatric Urgent Care locations in Gig Harbor, Olympia, and Puyallup, we’ve added a Pediatric Virtual Urgent Care option for young patients who need medical care outside regular office hours.

“Virtual healthcare for kids has really taken off during the COVID-19 crisis,” says Dr. Christine Bozich, Medical Director for Mary Bridge Children’s Urgent Care clinics. “Parents love the option of not having to venture out with a child who doesn’t feel well or worry about COVID-19 risks and safety precautions.”

Seeing a doctor by video over the internet – also called telemedicine – also removes other hassles like time off from work or navigating traffic and parking.

The addition of virtual visits to Mary Bridge Children’s emergency and urgent care services has been growing in popularity and not likely to go away any time soon. But pediatric telemedicine can be more challenging than adult virtual care. Kids often can’t describe what hurts over video, and the doctor can’t use special equipment to look inside the ear canal or down the throat.

Dr. Bozich says virtual visits are especially helpful in advising parents who don’t know if their child’s symptoms are severe enough to need treatment or to be seen in person. For example, she can quickly see if a child has difficulty breathing and needs to go to the emergency room.

Pediatric virtual care is also a convenient option for minor health concerns that can occur after hours or on weekends, such as:

• Cold or flu symptoms, such as fever, cough, or sore throat
• Minor burns and bruises
• Diaper rash
• Superficial lacerations, abrasions, or wounds
• Eye conditions, like pink eye
• Wheezing
• Sprains

Emergency room or urgent care?

Mary Bridge Children’s urgent care clinics provide after-hours care for:

• Fever
• Ear infection
• Croup
• Rashes
• Coughs & congestion
• Allergies
• Minor injuries

• Severe respiratory distress, or problems breathing,
• Life threatening trauma, such as injuries from a car accident
• Complex fractures, or broken bones
• Head injury
• Heavy bleeding

Learn more about emergency and urgent care services at Mary Bridge Children’s or make an appointment.