Frequently Asked Questions from New Patients and Expecting Parents
How many providers are there? How do I pick one?
In the pediatric department, there are eight primary care providers- four physicians and three pediatric nurse practitioners.
We also have a per diem pediatric nurse practitioner, Elyse Riegel, who runs the moms support group and does lactation consultation visits.
You can choose a physician or a pediatric nurse practitioner (PNP) to be your child’s primary care provider.
If you aren’t sure who you want to pick, that’s okay! You can meet a provider at that first visit, but are welcome to schedule subsequent visits with any other providers of your choice.
Our goal is to provide evidence based care and consistent medical advice no matter the provider you see. To do this, our group of pediatric providers are constantly consulting each other and reviewing the latest guidelines.
Are all providers accepting new patients?
Yes, but please see relevant details below.
Provider list in order of who has the most availability:
- Kailyn Saron, PNP (sees patients Monday-Friday)
- Brooke Schuman, MD (sees patients Monday- Friday)
- Christina Curtis, PNP (sees patients Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays)
- Amelia Fisher, MD (sees patients Tuesdays and Fridays)
- Nisha Thakrar, MD (sees patients Monday, Wednesdays, Thursdays)
- Thomas Schuch, MD (very limited availability, only sees patients Wednesday afternoons)
- Jocelyn Guggenheim, NP (very limited availability, sees patients Tuesdays and Fridays, typically ~ 3 month wait to get on to her panel)
We also have pediatric residents from Boston Children’s Hospital. They are with us for three years and would also love to be your child’s pediatrician during that time!
Can I register the baby before they are born?
No, babies have to have a birth date to be registered as patients.
Who sees the baby in the hospital?
The hospital pediatrician will see the baby while they are in the hospital. They will tell you when the baby needs to be seen for their first appointment and have you call and schedule this before the baby is discharged. Most often the baby needs to be seen within 48 hours of discharge. If your baby needs to be seen on a Saturday, a member of our pediatric team is always available to see newborns in our Saturday clinic.
How do I schedule a new patient appointment?
If you are scheduling a first appointment for a new baby, we will make sure you get an appointment within the time frame recommended by the hospital. This first appointment may not be with your desired provider, but we will try and get you with your desired provider after the first appointment.
What should I bring to the first appointment?
Please bring a swaddle to keep the baby warm; we weigh babies naked and then it’s easiest to swaddle them before the provider examines them.
What do I do about insurance?
Our insurance verification team can support you to ensure there are no issues with coverage.
Feel free to visit our Health Insurance Services page to learn more about enrollment assistance.
How often do you see the baby initially?
After the first visit, we see babies around 2 weeks old. Often we are seeing you in between the first visit and 2 week visit as needed for feeding support.
Well visits in the first year of life then follow the schedule below:
- 1 month old
- 2 months old
- 4 months old
- 6 months old
- 9 months old
- 12 months old
Do you have any support groups for new parents?
We have a moms group that meets weekly at the Health Center. See our Upcoming Events page to learn more about where and when the next meeting will be.
The group is free and does not require sign up ahead of time. All parents are welcome, even if you do not bring the baby for care at our health center.
What is your policy for vaccines?
We follow the AAP’s vaccine schedule.
While we accept all patients regardless of vaccination status, we strongly recommend against delaying or omitting any of the vaccines. Doing so puts children at risk for serious illnesses. Furthermore, when they do get sick, they may need more invasive testing if they have not been fully immunized.
Do you have urgent or same day appointments?
We always have slots reserved in the schedule for patients who are sick and need to be seen.
How do I get medical advice when the clinic is closed?
Please call our main number, 617-269-7500. We have an answering service who will page our experienced night nurse triage service. If the nurse has any concerns, they will reach out to the provider on call, who is always one of our pediatric team of providers.
Where do you refer to?
We can refer to anywhere that the baby’s insurance accepts.
What lactation support do you offer?
All of our providers can provide lactation support. We can refer internally to our lactation consultants for advanced lactation support.
Do you have students?
We have medical students from BU and NP students from Boston College who rotate through our department. The attending provider will always be involved in the care and will see the child as well.