We've been with this office for 1.5 years since we moved to the area, but until this year we've only had well-child visits so I didn't have much to write. Last month, my 5yo was diagnosed with pneumonia so we've had a lot of interaction, and it's been excellent.
My 5yo went to school on Monday feeling great. She went to bed Monday night feeling great, but she was tired when she woke up Tuesday. No fever or any other indication she was getting sick, just a bit tired. A few hours later, the school nurse called and her temperature was 103.5 so we picked her up. I'm a big fan of "let the fever do its job" so we made her comfortable, gave her some homeopathic help, and gave her a lot of rest and hydration. Over the next 3 days, her fever would break, she would feel good, and then it would spike in the afternoon/evening/night, so we made an appointment to see the doctor. They tested her for a UTI (no), influenza (no), and Dr. Stanford listened to her breathing. She had a minor cough that would come at night, and she'd had some nasal congestion like most 5yo do during winter, but nothing that was out of the ordinary. Dr. Stanford suggested a chest x-ray to test for pneumonia. I've heard pneumonia can be difficult to diagnose in children, and now I see why: she didn't exhibit any of the signs I (as a mom, not a dr) would associate with pneumonia. Well, the chest x-ray showed she had pneumonia, and I'm so glad that Dr. Stanford suggested the chest x-ray.
After 5 days, her cough was worse and she still wasn't feeling great, so we went back to the doctor. Dr. Stanford was gone but we saw Hannah and Dr. Hedley, and they were also great. They came up with ideas of things we could try (including an inhaler), and the called the next day to see how she was faring. At one point, on a Friday afternoon, they proactively called us to check on her so we didn't go away for a weekend and have a new issue.
Other things I like: the on-call after-hours nurses are with Children's Hospital Colorado, and Centennial Pediatrics responds quickly to non-urgent emails. Our family is on a high deductible PPO, so while routine preventative care is covered all of these tests and visits are out of pocket until we meet our very high family deductible (which we hope we never meet). Dr. Stanford was great about telling me roughly how much things would cost so we could decide what to do, which I appreciate when things are nonessential and perhaps expensive.
I see some of the other reviewers complained about scheduling routine appointments, but I didn't dock a star for that. Excellent medical offices are busy (I'm trying a new PCP for myself and the earliest appointment for a new adult patient was 6 months out), and scheduling can be tricky. It's clear to me that Centennial Pedicatrics leaves holes in the schedule for urgent issues, like a 5yo with pneumonia, and I appreciate that. read more
