About Us > About Our Office Telephone Policy

Emergency Calls (Day or Night)

	Call 911 (Emergency Medical Services) for any life-threatening emergencies for which your child might require resuscitation (e.g. your child is not breathing, is severely choking, has been knocked unconscious, or is having a seizure).
	Our practice is always covered for minor emergencies (e.g. dehydration, difficulty breathing, suturing or fractures).
	When you call in, always state clearly, "This is an emergency." Do not let either the answering service or office staff put you on hold.
	For poisonings, call the Poison Control Center toll-free at 1-800-222-1222.

Calls About Sick Children During Office Hours

We see sick children by appointment only. Our office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. If your child is sick and you want the physician to see him or her, call ahead for an appointment so you won’t have to wait. We keep appointments open every day for sick children. If the office staff is busy and can only take a message, ask for an approximate call-back time. While waiting for a call back, try to keep your line open. If your call isn’t returned within 60 minutes after the predicted call-back time, call again. The physician will be calling between patients, so there may be a delay.

We are happy to provide you with the health information you need to be a better parent. However, please place calls about behavior issues or other well-child issues during weekday office hours. For problems that take more than a few minutes to discuss, we may ask you to come in and discuss the problem in person.

We refill prescriptions only during office hours because we need your child’s chart handy to check on dosages and disease status. Plan ahead so that you don’t run out of important medicines. Always have the phone number of your pharmacy available when you call the office.

After office hours, calls should be made only for emergencies or urgent problems that can’t wait until morning. Calls about mild diseases can usually wait until the next morning. After office hours, your calls will be received by an answering service who will page the physician on call. The physician will usually return your call within 15 minutes. If you do not receive a call back within 1 hour in a non-emergency situation, please call again. The physician is covering emergencies in the hospital and might not be able to respond right away. Sometimes our phones may malfunction. If you call our office and there is no answer, please call LeFevre Answering Service at 802-463-5200 or Brattleboro Memorial Hospital at 802-257-0341 and ask for the doctor on call.

The doctors from Brattleboro Pediatrics, Just So Pediatrics (Brattleboro) and Cornerstone Pediatrics (Bellows Falls) share after-hours coverage. Some children are too sick to wait until they can be seen during regular office hours. The doctor on call will either arrange to see the child himself or herself, or to have the child seen by the Physician in the Brattleboro Memorial Hospital Emergency Room.

If your child becomes ill or injured during a weekend or holiday, call our answering service. If possible, call between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m. After that, limit calls to emergencies or other urgent problems that can’t wait until morning.