After 30 years, pediatric care will return to Erie Shores HealthCare with a new specialist, and a new clinic.
Erie Shores announced the return of pediatric services to the hospital, with the addition of Dr. Olusegun Oyedeji as its first pediatrician in three decades.
According to the hospital, Dr. Oyedeji brings extensive expertise in pediatric care and will play a pivotal role in supporting Maternal Newborn and Obstetrics department and leading the after hours pediatric clinic.
Erie Shores HealthCare has also launched a new after hours pediatric clinic to provide specialized care for children during the flu season. The clinic will help address increased healthcare demands and reduce the burden on the hospital's emergency department.
Rashoo Brar, Vice President of Clinical Services at Erie Shores, says the hospital wanted to ensure there was specialized care offered for youth.
"As we've recruited a pediatrician we wanted to make sure that our families and their loved ones are receiving care in a timely manner for our pediatric patient population - that is 18 and younger. So, we established this respiratory clinic up until March 31st supporting our community needs."
She says parents would bring their child to the clinic for non-emergency concerns.
"They would bring them through emerg, and the emerg nurse would triage them, and once they triage them they will reassess and then direct them to the pediatric clinic. The reason we wanted to have this pediatric clinic is to support the flu season so that there's less pressure on our emergency rooms."
Brar says they wanted to ensure a clinic was open in the evening.
"You know when kids come back from school, 4 o'clock all the primary care clinics are closed and we thought we should do it after hours. So our hours of operation are from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday's and Thursday's, and I think we will see a lot of support from our community as well."
The clinic will be open on Tuesday's and Thursday's from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., effective immediately until March 31, 2025.
It is located on the first floor, separated from the Emergency Department, however parents and their children should first visit the ED triage area, where they will be assessed and directed to the clinic.