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Primary Care Services

From routine check-ups to treatment of an illness or chronic medical condition, the Catholic Health System primary care centers, conveniently located across the region, are designed to meet the needs of children, adults and senior citizens.

Our centers are staffed by skilled and experienced physicians, nurses and other professionals who are committed to providing high quality, confidential, compassionate care for the entire family. Most primary care centers offer same day appointments, evening and Saturday hours, wheelchair accessibility, laboratory services, family counseling, and substance abuse assistance. In addition, our primary care centers accept most insurances, including Medicaid and Medicare. Health care assistance on a sliding fee scale is available for those who are underinsured or uninsured.

Click here for our Primary Care Center Locations.

Pediatric Primary Care Services

Our goal is to provide the highest quality healthcare for your child from birth through age 18. If you are new to our practice, we suggest that you make a pre-natal (before delivery of your child) visit with one of our providers to acquaint yourself with our services. We encourage you to be educated about your child’s healthcare needs through an emphasis on health maintenance and "wellness" visits (well-child checkups). We want you to know about your child’s growth and development, and about routine childhood illnesses that may occur. Other opportunities for health education are available at our centers for patients, parents and their families, including nutritional counseling. All of these elements are designed to help keep your child healthy and to provide the best possible care in an efficient manner.

Click here to download our Pediatric Services brochure.

Office Telephone Policy

• Emergency Calls (Day or Night): Call 911 (Emergency Medical Services) for any life threatening emergency that requires immediate medical care (your child is not breathing, is severely choking, has been knocked unconscious, is having a seizure, etc.). For poisonings, call the Poison Control Center (716) 878-7654 or 1-800-222-1222.
• General Questions: Save these for routine office hours. Make a list of your concerns and bring them with you to the routine visit. If your questions cannot wait, please call during the late morning or early afternoon office hours. This allows us to give immediate attention to those who are in the office already and those families with sick children who might need to be seen that day.
• Minor Illnesses: Most can be treated at home until the office reopens. These include fevers less than 102.5^o F in children over 4 months (unless your child is lethargic or inconsolable - not acting as expected for being sick), cold symptoms, ear infections, most rashes, constipation, sore throat, colic and behavior problems. Refer to our booklet or a childcare book for home management. If a problem persists, we will be happy to see your child during regular office hours.
• Prescription Refills: Prescriptions will be refilled only during office hours because we need your child’s chart handy to check on dosages and disease status. Plan ahead so that you do not run out of important medicines. (Call at least 48 hours prior to your need to have a prescription refilled.) Always have the phone number of your pharmacy available when you call the office.
• After-Hours, Weekend and Holiday Calls: If your child becomes ill or is injured after office hours or during a weekend or a holiday, your call to the office will go through our answering service. Please limit calls to emergencies or other urgent problems that cannot wait until morning. Have the following information available when you call (except emergencies):
  • Your child’s main symptoms
  • Your questions (please write them down)
  • Your pharmacy’s telephone number
  • Any chronic disease or health problem your child has
  • Your child’s temperature if he or she is sick
  • Your child’s approximate weight (for calculating drug dosages)
  • The names and dosages of any medicines your child is taking
  • Always have a pencil and paper handy to take down instructions, and have your child nearby in case you need to check something about his or her condition.

Normal Newborn Features

In The Nursery

Your newborn should be able to hear your voice. All hospitals are required by New York State law to perform hearing tests on every infant in the nursery. Newborns may follow your moving face or a bright object, and see best at 12 to 15 inches, the distance from being cradled in your arms to your face. They especially notice the contrast of patterns, even on your clothes, and have many facial expressions, including "practice smiles," and with time, will smile responsively to your face.

All babies sneeze, yawn, burp, have hiccoughs, pass gas, cough and cry. They may occasionally look cross-eyed. Sneezing is the only way a baby can clean his/her nose. Coughing is baby’s way of clearing his/ her throat. Crying is his/her way of saying I’m hungry, wet, thirsty, or I want to turn over. Crying can also mean I’m too hot, too cold, I have a stomachache, or I’m bored. Even a "well baby" will probably cry for a little while each day and could cry for an hour or so occasionally without doing himself/ herself any harm.

Feedings

Feedings should be on a semi-demand schedule. Breast-fed infants will tend to feed more frequently than bottle-fed infants. During the first week, your infant should not go more than 3 or 4 hours without a feeding. Repeat feedings as often as every 1 or 2 hours at certain times may also be beneficial in consoling your infant. If the baby is not "spitting up," then he/she is probably not being overfed.

Additional water is not necessary or encouraged, but 1-2 ounces of water at room temperature may be given if the baby is fussy soon after a feeding. Supplemental water should not significantly reduce the volume of feedings.

No other foods or liquids should be given to the infant during the first few months of life unless otherwise specified by your health care provider for a specific reason. Baby cereal at this age has not been shown to increase infant sleep time and therefore should be avoided during the first 3-4 months of life.

Immunization Schedule

For a copy of an Immunization Schedule to help in keeping track of your child's immunizations, please click here.