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Office Hours
Centralia Office: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-5:00 pm
Saturdays 8:00 am-1:00 pm (urgent sick visits only) Centralia, Evening Urgent Care Hours (mid-September through mid-May):
Monday-Friday, open till 8:00 pm (urgent sick visits only)
Chehalis Office: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-5:00 pm
Rochester Office: Monday-Friday, 8:00 am-5:00 pm Making Appointments
We ask that you phone for an appointment so that we can plan the proper amount of time needed to address your child's concerns.
Appointments for all of our offices are made through our Centralia office. Note: If you call our other offices (Chehalis and Rochester), your call will automatically be routed to Centralia.
Call (360)-736-6778
Toll-free (877)-712-6800
If you are not sure whether you need an appointment, or if you simply need telephone advice, our Triage Nurse is happy to assist you. If you cannot keep an appointment, please be sure to call and let us know. This courtesy makes it possible for an appointment to be given to another patient. After Hours Emergencies (Evenings, Weekends, and Holidays)
One of our pediatric providers is on-call to handle emergencies 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you have a medical question or concern that cannot wait until regular office hours, you can reach our on-call physician or nurse practitioner by calling our main office number (360)-736-6778 or toll-free (877)-712-6800. Depending on the urgency and nature of the problem, we may want to see your child or instruct you to go your local Emergency Room or to the Pediatric After Hours Clinic at Providence Centralia Hospital.
Saturday Morning Clinic Every Saturday morning, our Centralia clinic is open from 8:00 am till early afternoon for same-day urgent care appointments only. Please note this is not a walk-in clinic. Saturday morning appointments can be made by calling our main office number at (360)-736-6778. Due to the nature of our staffing on weekends, we cannot accommodate well child visits, medication recheck appointments, or sports physicals on Saturday mornings.
Winter Evening Hours In the winter of 2005, we began offering extended evening hours in Centralia to accommodate the large number of sick children who need to be seen. Our winter hours in Centralia (open until 8:00 pm, Monday through Friday) begin in mid-September and run through mid-May. These appointments are for sick children only. Appointments can be made by calling our main office number. Medication Refills
If your child is on long-term medication and requires a refill, please contact your pharmacy; they will then notify us. (The one exception is if your child is on medication for AD/HD, ADD, depression or other mood disorder. You will need to request those refills directly from our main office at (360)-736-6778, because the receptionists will need to ask you some questions prior to turning in the refill request to our providers.) Given our large number of patients and the time it takes to ensure your child's medication is ordered correctly, all refills require a minimum of 48 hours turnaround time.
Telephone Advice
Your child may not always need an appointment when he or she is ill. Or perhaps you just have a question about Tylenol dosage or how to handle temper tantrums in your toddler. Our specially trained Triage Nurses can help walk you through most pediatric ailments and concerns. They can also help you decide if you need to make an appointment. You can reach them by calling our main office number and asking for Nurse Triage.
Well Child Exams
Well Child Exams are perhaps the most integral part of pediatrics. During these 20-30 minute appointments, we will address your concerns about your child's growth, development, and overall health. These are the times we talk about toilet training, behavioral challenges, nutrition issues, and immunizations, among other things.
We'll also offer anticipatory guidance, which is advice on what to expect in the coming months to years of your child's life. Because our Well Child Exams require extended time, they often need to be scheduled two to three months in advance. If you have additional concerns besides the usual Well Child questions, please inform the receptionist when you make your appointment so that we can give you plenty of time to discuss those issues with your provider.
Sports Physicals Summertime and sports physicals go hand in hand. While we do open up additional spots during the summer months for these exams, we respectfully ask that you call to schedule your child's sports physical as early in the summer as possible so that we can better accommodate your needs. Circumcisions
Some of our physicians perform circumcisions. We do these in our office, usually between two weeks and two months of life. Our preferred method is the Plastibell and we believe in using local anesthetic for prevention of discomfort during the procedure. As most insurance does not cover the cost of this elective procedure, we require payment in advance. Currently the cost is $250. Under certain circumstances, a payment plan can be arrangedin advance through our Billing Department.
What's With The Office Dogs?
One of the first things you may notice when you enter Northwest Pediatric Center is that we have dogs in the clinic area. It started with a Puppy-In-Training, which Dr. Lo was raising to become a Seeing Eye Dog. The puppy was an immediate hit with the kids, who started asking for her to sit with them during immunizations and blood draws. Then we started noticing normally shy and reticent children coming out of their shells once they began playing with the dog. Soon patients and parents began asking for the dog to come into the exam room with them. It's not surprising really because animal-assisted activities and animal-assisted therapy have proven to be powerful adjuncts to healing, particularly when it comes to children. Having a soft, furry animal to touch and hold can significantly decrease stress in a child who wouldn't normally want to come to the doctor's office. Now they actually look forward to it! In addition, because the temperaments of our office dogs are so mellow, sweet, and forgiving, they're perfect practice partners in teaching your child pet manners and how to interact safely with other animals. So that's why we almost always have two or three well-behaved, gentle, healthy dogs in the office for your kids to play with.
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