Chelsea Adolescent & Pediatric Practice

Overview

As part of the MGH Chelsea Health Center, we serve families from birth to age 21. We do urgent and routine care; do physical exams, provide all recommended immunizations, lab tests and X-rays; we offer some mental health counseling and can connect you with community mental health partners. We help new parents prepare for the birth of their baby and we see newborns at MGH. For adolescents we have a variety of special medical and counseling services. We can take care of adolescent parents and their children during the same appointment.

Your Family-Centered Medical Home

The Medical Home… is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective care. We strive to make you know that you and your child are the most important part of the health care team. See "About this Program" for more information.

How to Get in Touch with Us

Our practice would like to be available when you need us, 24/7. Sign up for our online patient portal: Patient Gateway. You can send us secure questions, check lab results, pay doctor’s bills, and request refills, referrals, and appointments all via Patient Gateway: accessible through computer or smart phones. Our staff will help you sign up – please ask! Learn more about how to enroll in Patient Gateway.

Most of our staff speaks Spanish, and we have access to interpreting services, including sign language.

If Your Child Is Sick – Please Call Us!

We reserve appointments every day for sick visits. Please call 617-889-8520 as early as possible; a nurse will get back to you within 1 hour.

We also have 24-hour coverage after hours and on weekends, with nurses available to answer questions and offer medical advice. There is always a pediatrician on call for back up as well. Call our main number 617-889-8520 and you will be connected to our answering service.

For Routine Appointments

Call 617-889-8520. Contacting your child’s provider: Please remember that she/he may not be in the office every day, but a member of your child healthcare team will get back to you within one working day.

To Obtain a Referral

Call 617-889-8520 (8:30 am – 5 pm) if your child needs a referral to a specialist. Indicate your child’s problem or reason for the visit, the specialist name, the practice location, and the date of the appointment.

When to Schedule Appointments

Your baby should be seen for a first visit within 2-3 days from the discharge from the hospital.

Additional physical exams will be scheduled for when your baby is 2 weeks old, and every few months after that until the age of 3 years.

After 3 years, your child needs routine physical exams once a year to make sure he/she is growing and developing well.

Day of Appointment / Registration

Please arrive 15 minutes prior to your appointment to complete the registration paperwork. Bring your child’s insurance card and any co-pay required by your insurance. Co-payments are due at the time of the visit.

If you arrive more than 15 minutes late for an appointment, you may be asked to reschedule.

Please call 24 hours in advance to cancel or reschedule an appointment.

3 missed appointments will impact your ability to schedule further appointments.

School, Camp, Job, And Other Forms

You will be given a physical exam form – that is good for one year – at every physical exam visit. You can make copies to use for school, sports programs, and camps.

Please call us or use Patient Gateway to request another copy.

If you need a specific form filled out, drop it off at our clinic. Your form will be ready within 1 week.

Prescription Refills

Call 617-889-8520 or use Patient Gateway and leave:

• Your child’s name, date of birth, and medication requested
• Pharmacy telephone number or name and location
• Your call back number
• How soon you need your refill

What Is a Family-Centered Medical Home?

The Medical Home… is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family-centered, coordinated, compassionate, and culturally effective care. We strive to make you know that you and your child are the most important part of the health care team.

We work as a team to deliver the highest quality of care. Your health care team will include a primary care provider, nurse, medical assistant and administrative assistant. Together we will take care of your medical and developmental needs. We might invite other practice members to help take care of your family, like our Health Beginning Infant and Parent Specialist, Asthma Coach, Teenage Advocate or Social Worker.

You can ask any member of your team questions and each member will ask you different questions to make sure your child and family receive the best medical care possible. We all work together!

As your Medical Home we will also help you find needed information and resources, like:

• Pediatric Specialists
• Health Conditions
• Community and Social Resources
• Counseling

As Your Medical Home We Will:

• Take care of your child when he or she is sick and well and help you all to stay well
• Help you plan your child’s care and/or set goals for care, now and in the future
• Talk with you about any testing or treatment that your child needs
• Work with you and other care providers to coordinate care

We Will Ask You:

• How is your child doing (at play, at school, sleep, etc.) and how are you all doing as a family?
• May you please write down and bring your main questions and concerns?
• Will you bring in a list of any other providers who your child sees with their contact information?
• Would you bring in your child’s medications so that we can review them?
• May you partner with us to take care of your child, come, be on time and ask questions?
• Help Us to help you and your family!

Healthy Beginnings

The Healthy Beginnings program combines two models, Healthy Families America and Healthy Steps, for young children, and expands home visiting services to vulnerable, high-risk mothers and families and embeds child development specialists into well-child visits for children under 3 to support all parents.