FAQs

A pediatrician is a medical doctor who specializes in the care of children. Pediatricians have undergone special training in the health and wellness of, and illnesses in infants, children, teens, and young adults. Pediatricians are certified by the American Board of Pediatrics after passing a comprehensive exam.

Pediatricians and pediatric nurse practitioners provide preventive health care for children in good health and provide medical care for children who are acutely or chronically ill. 

They also support parents with and advise them on any concerns they may have in order to foster a lifetime of good health. Such topics may include growth and development, safety and prevention, nutrition, and emotional wellness.

Yes, we are welcoming new patients to our practice! Please see the list of insurances that we accept here on our Insurances page.

While it is not required in many circumstances, you may want to ensure that all your child's healthcare records are shared with us. Medical records give us valuable insight into your child's medical history, past treatments, and ongoing health needs, so receiving them in a timely manner helps us facilitate a seamless transition and deliver the highest standard of care tailored to your child’s needs.

At DV Pediatrics we have 3 providers:

♦  Vicki Knight-Mathis, MD

♦  Brooke Sipe, FNP-C

♦  Katarina Garland, CPNP-PC

♦  Acute Illness Care/Sick Visits

♦  Preventative Care, Well-Child Visits,& Medication Management

♦  Immunizations

♦  Sports Physicals

♦  Chronic Care Management(e.g., Asthma)

♦  Mental & Behavioral Health Care(e.g., ADD/ADHD, Anxiety & Depression, Autism)

♦  Obesity

♦  Adolescent Gynecology

Our office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, closed noon to 1:00 PM for lunch.

As our schedule is subject to change, you may check our socials for any updates or give us a call to confirm our office hours.

The best way to make or reschedule an appointment is to call our office. For established patients who are registered on our portal, you may submit an appointment request on the portal.

Please refer to our Insurance page to review a list of accepted insurance carriers. Call our office if you have insurance questions.

Our dedicated pediatric team is available 24/7 to provide pediatric after-hours urgent care. You can call our main number after close, and even on weekends, to reach our after-hours answering service, which will allow you to speak with a nurse for triage and, if appropriate, page our on-call provider to call you back.

We also encourage you to check our child health resources before calling for after-hours urgent care. 

For non-urgent matters, such as mild illness, scheduling appointments, or refilling medications, please call during regular office hours. 

IN THE EVENT OF A LIFE THREATENING EMERGENCY, CALL 911.

We make every effort to arrange your child's care and follow-up visits with the provider of your choice. However, when your child is ill and needs to be seen the same day, you may be scheduled with any one of our care providers.

Our routine well-child visits schedule follows the guidelines of the 'periodicity schedule' put forth by the American Academy of Pediatrics and their Bright Futures initiative.

To help protect your child from many serious infectious diseases, we recommend the immunization schedule recommended by The American Academy of Pediatrics. Please discuss any immunization questions and concerns with any of our providers.

Immunizations are vital shots given to children at various ages to protect them from serious, potentially fatal childhood diseases. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that vaccinations have decreased infections from vaccine-preventable diseases by over 90%.  As such, ensuring your child receives these immunizations on-schedule is the best way to safeguard their health. 

If you have any questions or concerns about vaccinations, feel free to contact our office. We're here to help!

As your child's primary care provider, we want to be involved in all aspects of care coordination for your child, including when they need to see a specialist. As such, most referrals will be provided after an office visit with one of our providers.

Once you have discussed the referral at an appointment, we may send the referral and supporting documentation directly to one of our trusted specialists as soon as possible. For urgent matters, that could mean before you even leave the office.

On other occasions, we may give you a list of providers for the requested specialty. In that case, we expect you to contact some of those locations to confirm who may take your insurance and check how soon you could get an appointment. Once you choose a location, give us a call and share that information with us so we can send them the referral and documentation.

We pride ourselves on our communication, especially regarding labs or test results. 

Once we receive a lab report, we will call you immediately with any lab results that require urgent attention.

Other abnormal lab results will be addressed promptly by the provider who ordered the labs or tests. Normal values are reviewed and addressed by the provider who ordered them.

In other words, we will call you regardless of what the results say, but we may take a bit longer to contact you about negative and non-urgent results.

For medication refills, please ensure there are no refills available by calling your pharmacy. If there are no refills available, your child may be due for a follow-up appointment. Call our office and our team will assist you. We are dedicated to ensuring your child’s medications are available when needed.

Yes, we promote breastfeeding. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends breastfeeding babies for the first 12 months of life. Breastfeeding helps defend children against infections, prevents allergies, and protects against many chronic conditions. 

While experts believe that breast milk is the best nutritional choice for infants, breastfeeding may not be possible for all women. Some women have specific considerations that impede breastfeeding. In these cases, an iron-fortified, milk-based infant formula is a good alternative. 

We will gladly discuss your diet and feeding concerns at your child's well-care visit.

Yes, in fact we strongly encourage parents-to-be to visit our office for a prenatal appointment. This is a great way to get acquainted with our office and our providers. Visit our expecting parents page for more information.

We recommend that your newborn be seen in our office 1-2 days after discharge from the hospital. Our staff understands the importance of this first visit and will make every effort to schedule this visit promptly.

As all children are different, we advise following several appropriate steps to advance your child's diet based on age and development. Please discuss these steps with a provider at your child's well visit.