Parenting Today brought to you by Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic & Seattle Children’s Hospital
Knowing where to go and what to do when your child or teen is sick can be stressful. Should you visit your child’s primary care provider or go to an urgent care or emergency room?
Dr. Kenisha Campbell, medical director of Seattle Children’s Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic (OBCC), answers common questions to help you find the care you need, when you need it so you can spend less time stressing and more time helping your child feel better.
Q. What should parents and caregivers do when their child is sick and they aren’t sure if they should see a doctor?
As a general rule, you should contact your child’s primary care provider first for most medical issues if you aren’t sure whether they need care. They know your child’s medical history best and can help manage your child’s health and coordinate their care. This does not include emergency situations.
At OBCC, we tell our parents and adult caregivers to call us at 206-987-7210 to get help on what to do next. We have triage nurses on the phones from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. We also have an after-hours nursing line. Families can call at any time to speak with a nurse who can help them decide what to do next. We don’t want families to make unnecessary trips to get care if it can wait until morning or if there’s a better way to handle the situation.
It’s important to call 9-1-1 or go to the nearest emergency department if it’s an emergency. Examples of emergency situations include when your child is not breathing or has lost consciousness, is having a seizure, is bleeding severely, or has suffered a life-threatening injury.
For most everything else, we want OBCC parents and caregivers to call us first.
Q. When should families go to urgent care?
Urgent care is a good option when your child has an illness or injury that is not a life-threatening medical emergency, and you cannot get into your primary care provider.
Seattle Children’s offers urgent care services in Bellevue, Everett, Federal Way and Seattle. Visit seattlechildrens.org/urgent care or call 206-987-2211 to make an appointment. Limited walk-in slots are available each day. Telehealth (video) visits are also available for certain illnesses and injuries through Seattle Children’s Virtual Urgent Care.
Q. Should families call their medical provider only when they need an appointment?
We want our OBCC families to call us anytime they have a question. If it’s a medical question and it’s not an emergency, families should call and speak to a nurse. If it’s a non-medical question, they can use the patient portal, MyChart, to communicate with their child’s provider. MyChart messages get routed to your care team, which allows your team to look at the messages and determine if they need to be seen by their healthcare provider.
About OBCC. Since 1970, OBCC has worked to uphold the vision of community organizer Odessa Brown: to bring quality healthcare with dignity to children in the Central District and beyond. OBCC’s team of expert, caring professionals reflects the diverse community we serve and provides medical, dental, behavioral health, nutrition, sports medicine and rehabilitation services to infants, children, teens and young adults, regardless of your family’s ability to pay.