At Growing Up Pediatrics, we are proud to be an independently owned practice with three board certified pediatricians and one certified family nurse practitioner. Being independent allows us to focus on what truly matters: building lasting relationships with families and providing thoughtful, individualized care without the limitations that can come from large hospital-owned systems.

When you call our office, you will speak with a real person who knows our patients and cares about your family. There are no complicated phone trees or call centers to navigate. We value being accessible and responsive, and we take pride in the personal connections we maintain with our families.

When we are in the room with you, we treat you as if you are the only family in the office. That level of attention and presence is at the heart of how we practice medicine. It allows us to listen fully, understand your concerns, and care for your child in a way that feels personal and unhurried.

Our families often share that they appreciate our openness, the time we spend with each child, and the supportive, compassionate approach of our team. Parents tell us they feel heard, respected, and confident in the care their children receive, whether it is a newborn check, guidance through toddler years, or help navigating the teenage stage.

Because we value this kind of relationship-based care, we have a few policies and expectations that help us serve all families well. Here is a brief summary for your convenience to asses our practice alignment with your family’s needs.

We’re a great fit for families who:

• Want a long-term relationship with a small, dedicated pediatric team that truly knows your family.
• Value direct, person-to-person communication.
• Prioritize well visits as an essential part of preventive care and lasting health.
• View vaccines as a vital part of protecting your child and community.
• Appreciate open, evidence-based conversations and thoughtful guidance.
• Prefer care that is relational, thorough, and grounded in trust.

We invite you to review the information below further to be sure our practice is the right fit for your family’s needs and values.

At Growing Up Pediatrics, we believe vaccines are one of the most important ways to protect children and our community. We also understand that parents may have questions and we welcome open, respectful conversations about vaccines and your child’s care.

Our team has developed basic vaccine requirements by age, based on medical evidence and thoughtful flexibility. These guidelines outline what we require for continued care in our practice and can be reviewed in detail in our Full Vaccine Policy.

We’re not a good fit for families who have chosen not to vaccinate. Protecting all children, including those who are too young or medically unable to receive vaccines, is a shared responsibility and we require that every patient meet our minimum vaccine standards.

We’re here to support and guide families who want to move thoughtfully and confidently through the vaccination process, in partnership with our providers.

We take antibiotic use seriously and thoughtfully. Our goal is to protect your child’s health now and in the future by avoiding unnecessary medications and reducing antibiotic resistance.

We follow evidence-based guidelines and take time to educate families about when antibiotics are, and are not, helpful. For example, ear pain or green nasal discharge does not always mean infection. Many childhood illnesses improve naturally with rest, fluids, and comfort care.

We believe good medicine requires a careful assessment and thus, we do not routinely prescribe antibiotics over the phone. When we recommend an antibiotic, it is because we have evaluated your child and determined that it is the right treatment for their specific situation.

We know it can sometimes be difficult to decide whether your child needs to be seen in the office. To help, we reserve appointment slots each day specifically for sick visits.

Our practice is a little different from many others. We pride ourselves on having registered nurses available to talk with you about your child’s symptoms and to help determine the best next step. There can occasionally be a short delay in returning these calls, so if you have an urgent concern, please call early in the day to schedule a same-day sick visit.

We do not offer weekday walk-in appointments, but we do provide Saturday walk-in hours from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. We recommend arriving as early as possible, as Saturday appointments are seen on a first-come, first-served basis and are for acute issues only.

At Growing Up Pediatrics, we believe well visits are one of the most valuable parts of your child’s care. These visits are more than a quick check of height and weight. They help us get to know your child and family and allow us to support healthy growth and development through every stage.

We schedule well visits intentionally to ensure your child’s recommended care stays on track. By planning ahead, we’re able to reserve time for thoughtful, unhurried visits and help prevent gaps in the schedule. For our newborn families, we encourage scheduling the 2-, 4-, and 6-month appointments during the 1-month visit so those times are set aside just for you. We also invite all families to schedule their next well visit at checkout to help ensure no appointments are missed.

For more details, please see our Well Visit Policy.

We understand that insurance can be confusing and complex. Every plan is different, and benefits can change without notice. Your insurance company is the most accurate source for confirming whether our practice is included in your specific plan and for determining your out-of-pocket costs for visits, vaccines, or lab work. We encourage every family to review their coverage in advance so there are no unexpected bills or surprises later on.

Please be aware that newborns are not automatically covered under the mother’s plan. Parents must contact their insurance provider soon after delivery to add the baby to their policy. This step is essential to ensure your newborn’s visits are covered and claims are processed correctly.  If this process is not completed appropriately, parents will be responsible for the costs of these visits.

While we participate with most insurance carriers, we are out-of-network with several plans. Most of these are tied to hospital systems, including certain Atrium and Novant–restricted PPO or High Performance Network (HPN) plans. We also do not participate with AmeriHealth Caritas or UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Medicaid MCOs.

Our staff is happy to help answer general questions, but because each plan is unique, we encourage you to contact your insurance company directly for the most accurate information.

We strive to be your family’s medical home, which means we want to be your trusted first point of contact for your child’s health and well-being. We are here not only for illnesses and injuries, but also to coordinate care and help you navigate the healthcare system with confidence.

Whenever possible, please reach out to us first before visiting an urgent care or specialist. Many times, we can address your concern directly in our office or guide you to the best next step.

If your child does see a specialist, please ask that their report be sent to our office. Keeping your child’s medical record complete allows us to provide the safest and most coordinated care possible.

When you call our main number after hours, your call will be directed to a team of pediatric triage nurses. These registered nurses are trained to give advice for a wide range of concerns and will contact the on-call provider when needed.  If a provider is contacted, it will be one of our own pediatricians or nurse practitioner.

For more information, please see our full After-Hours Policy.

We make every effort to stay on time because we believe everyone’s time is equally valuable. Missed or late appointments affect not only our staff but also other families who could have been seen during that time.

If you need to cancel an appointment, please provide at least 24 hours’ notice so we can offer the slot to another patient. Repeated missed appointments may result in dismissal from the practice.

As a courtesy, we send reminders by phone, text, or email. 

If you arrive more than 15 minutes late, you may be asked to reschedule. We do our best to accommodate families, but late arrivals create delays for everyone scheduled after you.