Fort HealthCare Pediatrics Offers Evening Appointments

Access to your healthcare provider when you need them is often a priority for people – especially when medical attention is required for your child. Many of us have been in a situation where we get home from work or pick our child up from school, and they are ill and need to be seen. When this happens after the standard business day ends, many families find themselves taking a trip to the emergency room for an often expensive and time-consuming visit.

Fort HealthCare Pediatrics understands this challenge, and while not offering walk-in appointments after hours, they have responded to this community need by keeping their doors open for same day sick appointments for non-emergency issues (or certain types of scheduled visits) on most weeknights. This is in addition to their Saturday morning office hours for similar appointments.

The clinic, located at 500 McMillen Street in Fort Atkinson, has announced their new hours as:

• Mondays – 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
• Tuesdays-Thursdays – 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Fridays – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Saturdays – 8 a.m. to Noon

Patients may contact the clinic at (920) 563-5571 to schedule an appointment.

If non-emergency symptoms arise later than when the extended office hours are available, patients are encouraged to message their provider’s triage staff through the secure messaging function of the MyCompass patient portal (if enrolled), or call the clinic and leave a message. Staff will review the message(s) and your concerns during the next business day and contact you with next steps, comfort measures you can offer your child, or available times to schedule an appointment if necessary. Visit FortHealthCare.com/IMP for more information about the providers and clinic.

In general, you should contact your healthcare provider right away if:

• Your infant is two months old or younger and has a fever.
• Within 24 hours if your child is between two months and two years of age and shows signs of the flu, or if your child is of any age and has another diagnosed health condition such as asthma or diabetes.
• If symptoms change or persist beyond the normal timeframe for a cold or the flu, as the illness may have developed into an ear infection, sinus infection, or pneumonia.

And of course, if you or a family member is experiencing a medical emergency (shortness of breath, unresponsiveness, unconsciousness, heavy bleeding, severe injury, chest pain, etc.), call 911 for help or get to the nearest emergency room for assistance.

Antibiotics are not for all illnesses

When you or your child is not feeling well, the impulse to get a prescription for an antibiotic – quickly! – seems like the best course of action, offering the most immediate relief for illnesses. Many of us have grown up believing antibiotics are a “cure-all,” having experienced success when using them in the past. But, depending upon what ails you, an antibiotic may not be the proper course of treatment. Or it may even do more harm than good. The CDC provides these guidelines through their “Get Smart” campaign. To learn more, visit: CDC.gov/getsmart.

Fort HealthCare is committed to improving the health and well-being of our communities, with a vision to be the healthiest community in Wisconsin. As the leading healthcare provider in the region, it is our goal to reach as many members of the community as possible with health and wellness messages, providing tools and resources to help individuals improve their health and quality of life, while collaborating with several partners to positively improve the population’s health overall on a long term basis. For more information, visit FortHealthCare.com.