Special Attention
HOLIDAY HOURS
MERRY
CHRISTMAS! Our office will
close at Noon, Friday, December 23, and will
reopen on Tuesday morning, December 27.
HAPPY NEW YEAR! -- We will
close at noon on Friday, December 30, and
will reopen Tuesday, January 3.
Our office will always have a provider "on
call" over the holidays -- just like all
after-hours situations -- for times when our
parents need to speak with a doctor for
medical advice. Just call our clinic number.
VACCINE NEWS
Starting in
January 2012 we will only be allowed to
administer state-provided
Prevnar and Rotavirus vaccines for free to
"VFC"-eligible patients -- those who are 1)
Medicaid/Denali Kid Care eligible,
or 2) Alaska
Native or Native American,
or 3)
Uninsured. We will definitely
purchase our own stock of those
vaccines to give to our private insurance
patients, but we will have to charge for the
vaccines to recoup our costs.
Most, but not all,
insurances cover vaccines very well. Parents
may see their out of pocket costs rise a bit
to cover coinsurances for these privately
purchased vaccines with some insurance
plans. We encourage you to contact
your insurance carrier to become familiar
with your plan benefits.
VFC =
"Vaccine For Children" -- a federally funded
program with money given to the various
states to increase vaccination rates and
promote healthy children. Restricted
vaccines can only be administered to
patients who meet one of the VFC criteria
mentioned above.
Menactra and Gardicil
are already VFC restricted in Alaska.
Prevnar and Rotavirus will be restricted in
January 2012. We have been warned that "flu"
vaccine will also be added to that
state-restricted list next July.
Please take a close look at our
appointment page!
As we get busier, it
becomes more important for us all to work
together to help your visit run smoothly!
Ptarmigan Pediatrics saw it's
first patient on September 18, 2008. Since then we've added
numerous staff and expanded our suite. We are proud to be a successful, thriving, and
rapidly growing practice serving the now world
famous population of Alaska's Mat-Su Valley, yet we're committed to
offering that hometown, small-clinic, personalized service that
our patients find so appealing. If you are looking for
a pediatrician, our friendly staff will gladly
answer any questions you may have. Call 907-357-4kid (4543).
Ptarmigan
Pediatrics is always just a phone call away, 24/7, through our after-hour answering service.
(Set your cell phone to accept
calls from "blocked numbers" if you expect a return call from us
after hours).
OUR PROVIDERS: Ptarmigan
Pediatrics has been the brainchild of US Air Force pediatricians
Dr. Laura Peterson, M.D. and
Dr.
Bruce Hess, D.O. for several years. Dr. Peterson
separated from active duty in 2008 and started the practice. Dr.
Hess followed in the summer of 2009. Together they have over 21
years active duty military service in pediatrics, most recently at
Elmendorf AFB Medical Center in Anchorage. Their service to our
country continues as flight docs in the USAF Reserve.
Drs. Peterson and Hess are excited to continue providing medical
care to the children of southcentral Alaska in private practice.
Pediatric nurse practitioner
Randy Twenhafel joined
Ptarmigan Pediatrics in December 2010. Nurse Twenhafel
served with distinction alongside Drs.
Peterson and Hess at Elmendorf AFB Medical Center where he was often
the most requested provider. His strong work ethic, excellent
bed-side manner and patient care priorities help Ptarmigan
Pediatrics meet the immediate needs
of a growing patient population. Randy continues to be a very
popular provider in our clinic.
Pediatrician Dr. Elowyn Smith, D.O. joined our practice in late August. Dr. Smith most
recently served the valley as a pediatrician with Providence
Matanuska Health Care, and we are pleased to bring her expertise to our clinic.
Family nurse practitioner Lea Anne Abernathy,
also from PMHC, joined our practice in mid August. Her
experience with older patients will certainly be greatly appreciated
by the parents of our teenage pediatric patients. We are certain
that you will appreciate the addition of these new providers to our
clinic.
SERVICES:
We provide routine, acute, and well-child exams, school &
sports physicals, immunizations, and immunotherapy injections (for
both adults and children in coordination with the Allergy, Asthma,
and Immunology Center of Alaska). We also have in-house
laboratory tests for strep, flu, mono, rsv, and simple urinalysis.
More extensive lab tests can be drawn here and sent outside for
analysis.
We can provide in-patient and
delivery / nursery services at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center in Palmer
if you specify one of our doctors as your child's personal pediatrician.
Are you expecting? We will gladly arrange a complimentary prenatal
visit in our clinic so you can meet with either of our doctors and
get a tour prior to delivery.
Ptarmigan Pediatrics uses state-of-the-art electronic medical
records for keeping our patients' files. Any prescriptions you may need are electronically
submitted directly to the pharmacy of your choice (there is even one
right across the hall from our clinic). Be watching for a new
"Patient Portal" which will allow our patients to have secure online
access to their medical records, lab results, etc., day or night if
desired. We look forward to this possibility in the near future.
We
are pleased to share our suite once a week with the Anchorage-based
Allergy,
Asthma and Immunology Center of Alaska.
Doctors Melinda Rathkopf and Eric Meier see Valley
patients in our facility, saving them that long drive to Anchorage.
We continue to be an immunotherapy injection site for their patients
of all ages during our regular business hours. Allergies acting up? You can find the local
pollen counts on the municipality of Anchorage website.
Why Choose Ptarmigan Pediatrics?
- Three board-certified pediatricians; two pediatricians with 21 combined years pediatric
experience in the USAF, currently in Air Force Reserve.
- Highly skilled Pediatric Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse
Practitioner available for exceptional
same-day acute as well as long-term routine care..
- Accept Tricare and
Denali Kid Care / Medicaid.
Preferred provider for Blue
Cross/Blue Shield, CIGNA, and
AETNA. Other insurances
courtesy-billed for you. Self-pay discount available
with payment of our billed charges in full.
- Tricare patients accepted for
well child care and immunizations without a
referral.
- Friendly, helpful, and supportive staff.
- Sick appointments available TODAY in most cases.
- 24/7 answering service. Just call our office.
- Engaging, entertaining clinic where children and parents feel
comfortable.
- Convenient location near Wasilla High
School.
- Electronic medical records. We use "e-MDs".
- Plans for "Patient Portal" providing parents access to their children's
medical records via a secure web portal.
HOURS: Our office is open Monday - Friday 8 AM to
6
PM, with limited appointments available Friday after 3 PM. You can call
for appointments as early as 7:30 AM. We are closed Saturday and Sunday, as
well as some major federal holidays -- all holiday and any other irregular
closures are announced on our
Facebook page.
LOCATION: Our clinic is located in the Mat-Su Regional Outpatient
Center at the corner of Bogard Road and Crusey Street in Wasilla, Alaska. Enter the main door from the Bogard
Road entrance and you'll immediately notice our well decorated clinic on the
left across from "My Doktor's Pharmacy." We are in the old AIC / Urgent Care
suite which has now moved downstairs.
_______________________________
Did you know that Willow Ptarmigan is the state bird of the
great state of Alaska? We hope you enjoy the ptarmigan and other Alaska
wildlife photographs throughout both the clinic and this website. The
Alaska
State Website can tell you more about our state's symbols, such as the
state tree (Sitka Spruce), state insect (Four-spotted Skimmer), etc.
