115.3 million visits were made to hospital emergency rooms in 2005.
National Center for Health Statistics
Saturday night was one of those up all night with sick kids times for the Zavisin family of Western Springs. But instead of heading to the emergency room or enduring another night with two crying boys, their parents, Amy and Nick, were relieved to find out they could visit a pediatrician who was open on weekends.
Helping parents find an alternative to ERs is the reason Dr. Stephen Roth opened a Pediatric Instant Care office in Lombard. On Saturday afternoons and evenings and all day Sunday and holidays, Roth sees kids like Jack and Nick Zavisin, who are sick enough to need a doctor’s care but not sick enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.
“My policy is, I won’t leave someone with a sick child,” Roth says."And that’s how house calls started.” Roth found he would often be leaving the office and he’d have parents call wanting him to look at their child. Instead of going back to the office, Roth would do what doctors did years ago—head to the patient’s home.
“I like house calls because I can get cooped up here, so I really enjoy going out and seeing people in their homes,” Roth says."It’s more relaxed and parents don’t have that rushed feeling. They don’t see the person waiting to go next, so sometimes they bring things up that they might not have if they were rushed.”
Because Roth runs the practice himself, he can offer house calls and same day office appointments. He treats everything from ear infections to asthma, all for the cost of an office visit. He also has an orthopedic surgeon on his staff who comes to the office on the weekends to see patients when needed.
“I have tremendous flexibility. I can operate things the way I want to,” says Roth."The parents like it, the insurance companies like it because it’s cheaper than an emergency room and the doctors like the quality of care—kids are being seen by a pediatrician.”
For Amy Zavisin, being able to take her kids to Roth’s office meant the boys could get the antibiotics they needed for their ear infections and cough and Amy and her husband could get what they needed—a good’s night sleep.
For more information on Pediatric Instant Care, call (630) 915-KIDS (5437).
