Dr. Ginny Gottschalk and Dr. Carol Steltenkamp discuss UK Twilight Children's Clinic at Turfland.
Transcription:
UK Twilight Children's Clinic Now at Turfland
Melanie Cole (Host):Welcome to UK HealthCast with the University of Kentucky Healthcare. I’m Melanie Cole and I invite you to listen in as we discuss the UK Healthcare Turfland location and also home to an Urgent Care Clinic which has extended hours. Joining me in this panel Dr. Ginny Gottschalk. She’s the Medical Director of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Kentucky Healthcare and Dr. Carol Steltenkamp. She’s the External Chief Medical Officer for UK Healthcare and a Professor of Pediatrics who works with and in the UK Twilight Children’s Clinic Turfland. Ladies, that you so much for joining us today. Dr. Steltenkamp, I’d like to start with you. What is the UK Twilight Children’s Clinic?
Carol Steltenkamp, MD, MBA (Guest):Melanie, the Twilight Children’s Clinic is a pediatric specific clinic for afterhours urgent care because we all know children don’t get sick when it’s convenient. This year marks it’s 25thyear and we have a new location with our colleagues out at Turfland Clinic. And that’s why we’re very excited about it. our regular hours are Monday through Friday 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday, Sunday and holidays from noon to five.
Host:What a great program. So, Dr. Gottschalk, what are some of the conditions that parents might bring their children in for? What are some of the services that you can provide at the clinic? What can they expect?
Ginny Gottschalk, MD (Guest):We offer a variety of services for acute illnesses and injuries. So, if your child has developed a fever, if they are complaining of sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, any of the routine sicknesses that we see in children commonly as well as injuries. If they’ve had a fall, maybe a sports injury with a sprained ankle. We can also take care of those here. We do have radiology on-site. So, x-rays can be taken while you wait after seeing your provider. It’s really very exciting because we’re being able to take the Twilight Children’s Clinic and move it in with the Urgent Care Center that Dr. Gottschalk runs is a real economy of scale so that we have pediatric providers alongside their family medicine and family community medicine providers. So, we are able to see all ages.
Host:Well Dr. Steltenkamp, if you would expand a little on Dr. Gottschalk’s mention of testing and services. She mentioned x-rays. So, lab services and testing like strep tests, rapid and the longer one. Tell us a little bit more about the services that parents can expect when they bring their kids in.
Dr. Steltenkamp:Sure Melanie. We are really proud of the fact that we are a one-stop Urgent Care shop. As Dr. Gottschalk had mentioned, we have radiology available during those hours. We have some point of care testing available as you noted. Things like strep tests, urinalysis, and some other things like that. We can check to see if you have the flu or other testing. We can gather samples on-site but then those are sent to our main lab. But that doesn’t hold us back. We get what the patient needs at the time that they need it.
Host:That’s so reassuring for parents’ doctors. And Dr. Gottschalk, can the child’s pediatrician obtain their records? How does communication with their primary care provider work?
Dr. Gottschalk:Any of our patients who are already seeing a primary care provider within the UK system have automatic access to their records, as our providers in the Urgent Care Clinic and the Twilight Children’s Clinic document in the same electronic record that all of our providers at UK Healthcare use. And they will actually get a letter from the Urgent Care or Twilight provider to the PCP letting them know that the patient was seen in the Urgent Care Clinic. If the patient does see a provider outside of the UK system, then those records can be requested through our medical records department.
Dr. Steltenkamp:Melanie, parents can either let their provider know if it’s not a UK provider but we also through the Twilight Clinic will fax them a notice that their patient was seen.
Host:So, Dr. Steltenkamp, how have you and your team been evolving care right now for your patients during this pandemic? What’s been happening as far as visits, in-person visits. Are you using Telehealth to bridge the gap for non-COVID associated injuries and illnesses and how are you separating them?
Dr. Steltenkamp:Very definitely, Melanie. What we’re doing is when the patient calls in, if they are amenable to Telehealth, we absolutely will provide that and can do that through our general pediatrics clinic. Regarding Urgent Care, we are suggesting that they come in and we are prepared. We have adequate personal protective equipment. We take every precaution. If a child is ill, we ask them to wait in the car, we call them in so that they go directly into an exam room. So, we are observing all necessary precautions during our after hours and holidays and weekends, we are asking that they come in and we are not doing quite as much Telehealth, but Dr. Gottschalk might want to comment on some of the other things that are offered through the Urgent Care Clinic.
Dr. Gottschalk:Yes, thank you Dr. Steltenkamp. So, the Urgent Care Clinic is seeing patients of all ages from the hours of 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday with some limited hours on most holidays. We actually do have in-patient or Telemedicine visits available all days that we’re open. Any patient who needs to be seen in the Urgent Care Clinic can simply walk in. We’re not scheduling appointments. We’re just adding them to the schedule as patients come in. And when they call, they can certainly request a Telemedicine appointment if it’s something that would be appropriate to be handled in that way. And that is for any of the hours that we are open.
Host: Then Dr. Gottschalk if you are using Telehealth in that way, and they’re calling first even though they don’t have to; are parents allowed to accompany their children at this time?
Dr. Gottschalk:Yes. Parents are certainly welcome to come in with the children when they have a visit either in Urgent Care or the Twilight Children’s Clinic.
Host:Is there anything else Dr. Gottschalk you’d like to add?
Dr. Gottschalk:I’d just like to say that we’re really excited to have the Twilight Children’s Clinic here in the same location with us at Turfland. I think everyone who has been around UK Healthcare is familiar with this clinic as Dr. Steltenkamp mentioned, it’s been around for a long time and has an excellent reputation. The Urgent Care Clinic here at Turfland is a much newer venture. We’ve been open for almost 18 months. So, we’re excited to have our colleagues in pediatrics here to lend some expertise in seeing our pediatric patients.
Melanie:And Dr. Steltenkamp, summarize it for us if you would. Please reiterate and reassure parents what UK Healthcare is doing to keep the community safe and to let parents know that it’s safe to get the healthcare that their child needs, why this continuum of care is so important.
Dr. Steltenkamp:At UK Healthcare, our goal is to be the healthcare provider for all Kentuckians. And Kentucky Children’s Hospital, Twilight Children’s Clinic is part of Kentucky Children’s Hospital, helps to lead that along with our colleagues in the Urgent Care Clinic on the frontlines. It is absolutely mandatory that we cannot postpone our necessary care in light of the pandemic. As I mentioned earlier, we’re doing everything that we can to keep our patients safe so that we can provide the best care for them when they need it, where they need it. Whether that’s in their own home through Telehealth, whether that’s in one of our Urgent Clinics or our Emergency Room or if it’s in a regular scheduled clinic appointment. UK Healthcare through – with the Twilight Children’s Clinic, with Urgent Care and just our everyday are happy to be providing services for the Commonwealth.
Host:Thank you Doctors so much for coming on and reassuring parents, encouraging them and letting us know what you’re doing to keep the community safe. Thank you so much for joining us today. For more information on the UK Twilight Children’s Clinic Turfland please visit our website at www.ukhealthcare.uky.eduto get connected with one of our providers. That concludes this episode of UK HealthCast with the University of Kentucky Healthcare. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other University of Kentucky Healthcare podcasts. I’m Melanie Cole.
