Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the doctors?
Richard Feuille, Jennifer Hartstein, James Henry, Bradley Bursch and Esther Ariathurai (learn more here).
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Where do you have hospital privileges?
Our physicians have privileges to attend your newborn infants at Glendale Adventist Medical Center and Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale, Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena, and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank. In addition, if your child needs to be admitted to a hospital, our doctors attend at both Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in Hollywood.
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What are your hours?
We are open Monday through Thursday from 8:45 am to 12:30 pm and 1:45pm to 5:30pm, Friday 8:45 to 12:30 pm and 1:45pm to 5:00 pm and Saturday 9:00 am to 11:00 am for urgent visits only.
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Up until what age can we bring our kids to your office?
We see children from birth through adolescence to age 21 years.
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How do you schedule your appointments?
Same day sick visits, follow-up appointments, and physical exams can be scheduled with our friendly front office staff. When calling to schedule these appointments, please inform our staff of the complexity of your visit so that appropriate time can be scheduled.
Our physical exams are often scheduled weeks in advance. If you need a physical exam for your child earlier than we can routinely schedule, you may choose to be placed on our waiting list. If a patient cancels an appointment we can offer those on the waiting list an earlier appointment.
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Do you accept walk-ins?
While we do not accept walk-in visits, we always leave daily appointment time available to accommodate your urgent needs. Always call ahead.
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Do you have same day appointments?
We start every day with numerous open appointments for urgent visits. If your child requires urgent attention we will do whatever is necessary to see him or her. Please call ahead.
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Is there a nurse we can talk to?
During business hours, we have licensed nurses to help you with your questions and concerns. All have many years experience both as nurses and mothers themselves.
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What happens if I call after hours?
If you call after hours you will be given a list of options. We will check messages left on the machine the next business day. If you have an emergency you will be able to call the answering service to speak with the on-call physician. If you need the doctor paged immediately please inform the answering service and they will page the doctor on call. For other non-emergent inquiries, please allow an hour for the physician to call you back.
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Will we be able to see our primary physician for all appointments?
We will always try to give you an appointment with the doctor of your choice, but this is sometimes not possible. When your child’s doctor is out of the office, or has no availability that fits with your schedule, we will offer you an appointment with one of the other doctors, so that your child can be seen on a timely basis.
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Do you double book appointments?
We do not double book appointments. This practice only increases waiting time and is not fair to our patients. We occasionally have patients come in immediately, such as in an asthma attack, but we book out time to catch up. We have pre-scheduled catch-up time that we do not ever book in order to minimize waits; however, sometimes if visits become unexpectedly complex this will put us behind.
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What is your cancellation policy?
We ask that you give us 24 hours notice for cancellations so that we can fill the appointment, since we do not double book. We reserve the option to charge for no-shows and late cancellations.
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What happens when we arrive late?
If you arrive late, you appointment time has passed. Since late patients are the most common reason that we get behind, you might need to be rescheduled if it is not an urgent appointment, or wait until we have time if it is a relatively urgent problem.
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What is your fax number?
Please fax us at 818-502-9247. If it is very important, please call the office as well to make sure we received the fax. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to address your fax the same day we receive it.
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Do you take our insurance?
We accept many different insurance plans. We primarily take PPO and EPO insurance plans. To confirm that we accept your specific plan please call our office and speak with our staff to get our group ID number.
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What are your thoughts on immunizations?
We believe immunizing your child is the most important step you can take to avoid the preventable infectious diseases of childhood. We endorse the current schedule of vaccines recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Committee on Immunization Practices, and the United States Centers for Disease Control. This schedule and answers to many commonly asked vaccine questions can be viewed at the following websites.
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When can we introduce solid foods?
We advise our parents to introduce solid foods at six months of age. Children introduced to foods prior to six months have a slightly increased risk of developing allergies to those introduced foods. Also, despite a common misperception, solid foods will not help your child sleep through the night.
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Can we give water to our baby?
The AAP recommends that an infant be given only breastmilk or formula for the first six months of life. Once solids are introduced after six months of life, water can be introduced.
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What are your thoughts on circumcision?
Circumcision is rarely a medically mandatory procedure. There are pros and cons and there is no clear evidence of benefit. We do perform newborn circumcisions at the request of the parents in our office as well as the hospital.
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What are your thoughts about antibiotics?Most childhood infections are caused by viruses. Viral infections do not resolve or improve with antibiotics. Also, some bacterial infections will resolve equally quickly without antibiotics. Certain infections require antibiotics to get better, and for those it is extremely important to complete the prescribed course. We recommend that medications be used as little as necessary.
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