Medical Home

What is a patient-centered Medical Home?

• A medical home is not a building
• A medical home is called a "home" because we'd like to be the first place you think of for all your medical needs.
• A medical home is a partnership between you, an informed patient or parent, and your doctor and his/her trained staff.

A Medical Home means we trust you to:

• Ask questions, share your feelings and be part of your care
• Be honest about your history, symptoms, and other important information about your health
• Tell your doctor about any changes in your health and well being
• Take all of your medicine and follow your doctor's advice
• Make healthy decisions about your daily habits and lifestyle
• Prepare for and keep scheduled visits or reschedule visits in advance whenever possible
• Call your doctor first with all problems, unless it is a medical emergency
• Respect us as individual & partners in your care.
• End every visit with a clear understanding of your doctor's expectations, treatment goals, and future plans

As always, our care is all about your child and your family

As we build your Medical Home you may notice some changes in the way we give you care, but we will continue to:

• Explain diseases, treatments, and results in an easy-to-understand way
• Listen to our patients' feelings and questions to help them make decisions about their care
• Keep treatments, discussions, and records private
• Provide 24 hour access to medical care and same day appointments, whenever possible
• Provide instructions on how to meet your health care needs when the office is not open
• Care for you to the best of our abilities based on our understanding of current methods available
• Give our patients clear directions about medicines and other treatments
• Send our patients to trusted experts, if needed
• End every visit with clear instructions about expectations, treatment goals, and future plans

The following services are available to you:

Handbook on Illnesses and Injuries:   This brief booklet answers many common pediatric questions.  If you are still concerned about your child, we encourage you to contact our office.

Phone Nurses/Appointments:  Nurses are available to answer questions and to schedule appointments from 8:15 to 5 pm Monday thru Friday and 8:15 to noon on Saturdays.  The office is closed from noon to 1:15 for lunch.

Doctor on Call:  A pediatrician from Alger Pediatrics is on call 24 hours per day, seven days per week to answer urgent or emergent health care questions.  We will direct you to appropriate emergency care if necessary.  We can be reached at 776-7401.  If you do not receive a call back in 15 minutes, please call the service again.  Please turn off "Privacy Manager" or other call-screening programs from your phone so that a doctor may return your call.

Walk In Clinic:  From 7:30 to 8:30 am Monday through Friday one pediatrician will see patients on a first come, first served basis for acute illnesses and injuries.  You do not need to schedule these brief appointments.  Appropriate visits include fever, ear pain, rash, injury, or respiratory problems.  If your child has a chronic or more complicated problem, please schedule a regular appointment to allow adequate time.  We change the time in the fall/winter to 7:00 to 8:30 am Monday through Friday.

Holidays/Weekends:  The office is closed on Sundays and all major holidays.  Please see our website or call the office to check our schedule.  We are open Saturdays from 8:15 to noon by appointment only for acute illnesses and injuries.

Web Site:  Please visit algerpediatrics.com for health and office information.

Prescription refills:  Please allow 24 hours for routine prescription refills Monday through Friday.

Sports/School Physical/Green Forms:  We will complete this paperwork for you at scheduled appointments.  Otherwise, if you drop forms off at other times, please allow 48 hours for them to be completed.

Urgent Care:  We prefer that you do not use an urgent care facility without first calling our office.  These centers are usually not staffed by pediatricians, and they do not send us records of your visit.

Hospital/Emergency Room:  If you child has a life-threatening emergency, such that you cannot wait fifteen minutes for a phone call from your doctor, please go to:  Helen DeVos Children's Hospital - Spectrum Butterworth - 100 Michigan N.E.

Community Resources:  Michigan 2-1-1 Call Centers can put you in touch with organizations providing health and human services throughout Michigan.  The phone call is free and available to all residents.  Michigan 2-1-1 connects people with information and resources to build healthy, safe communities.