Helen Dandurand (Host): Welcome back to the Well Within Reach podcast. I'm your host Helen Dandurand and today I'm going to be joined by Dawn Willbarger, Vice President of the Riverside Medical Group, to talk a little bit about the pediatric care continuum here at Riverside.

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Host: And we're back with Dawn Willbarger. Thanks for joining me today. Can you start off by telling us a little bit about yourself and your background?

Dawn Willbarger, MBA: Thank you, Helen. My role at Riverside is Vice President of Riverside Medical Group. I have the role and responsibility of a focus on primary care and medical specialty clinics, which includes women's health and pediatrics.

Host: Awesome. So let's jump right in talking about the pediatric care continuum, but really before we can do that, pediatric care really starts with good women's health services, and a safe birthing experience. What does Riverside have to offer in this arena?

Dawn Willbarger, MBA: From our experienced Riverside Medical Group OB GYNs located at two locations, Bourbonais and Kankakee, to our very skilled nursing staff within the clinics and Riverside inpatient pediatric trained nursing staff, Riverside provides comprehensive services from time of pregnancy through delivery at Riverside.

At time of birth, a Comer's pediatrician is ready to start care for our newborns 24/7.

Host: So can you provide then an overview now that we're here at the Pediatric Care Continuum on what that looks like at Riverside?

Dawn Willbarger, MBA: Yes, the Riverside Medical Group and Comer's Children's Hospital provide services for outpatient care to inpatient care. Riverside Medical Group Pediatricians will provide care in the clinic, from prevention to treatment of acute and chronic diseases, and if a child requires an inpatient stay at Riverside, Comer's Children's Hospital Pediatricians are on staff to treat the patient.

Host: How does Riverside HealthCare ensure a seamless transition then for pediatric patients from labor and delivery to ongoing pediatric care?

Dawn Willbarger, MBA: At Riverside, we encourage every new parent to select their pediatrician prior to delivery. This time allows the parent to select a pediatrician that best aligns with the parent's goals and understands the preventative plan that will start from the very first visit with the pediatrician. Since our inpatient Comers pediatricians will be documenting care in our electronic medical record; the Riverside Medical Group pediatrician will be able to view the documentation and continue care upon discharge for that very first visit.

Host: That's great how it's all so connected and it seems very seamless and easy. But when you do say, that we have pediatricians from Comer Children's Hospital here, what exactly does that mean and what does that partnership look like?

Dawn Willbarger, MBA: Riverside aims to keep our patients in the community, but we know there are times due to the patient's condition that may not be possible. Our relationship with Comer's allows for a seamless transition to Comer's Children's Hospital in Chicago if the need arises.

Host: That's really awesome. That's good to know. I think something that not a lot of people know, so good thing to know. We're going to take a quick break to talk about finding a primary care provider. Riverside knows that health is your greatest asset and that your primary care provider is your partner in health.

Find a primary care provider that fits your needs at riversidehealthcare.org/primarycare. All right, and we are now hopping back in, and my question for you is, what makes Riverside stand out from other organizations with its pediatric care?

Dawn Willbarger, MBA: Really just a depth of the experience of our pediatricians. They're very experienced. Also, one of our newest physicians, Dr. Herrara, is also bilingual, so that brings an additional touch to the community to help access. And our pediatric trained nursing staff, and also again our relationship with Comers in case the little one or the young adult ever needs to be admitted to the hospital.

Host: Great, that's awesome. I mean it really kind of shows from each of these topics that we've discussed, that Riverside is a great place to have your pediatric patient because no matter what the issue is, we have something that is for them that can help them and allow the patient to have an easier experience. Is there anything else you want to add?

Dawn Willbarger, MBA: Yes, what I'd like to add is that Riverside identified that we had a gap in access for our care for our community. So we now accept some health plans that we did not accept in the past. So I'd like to talk a little bit about those because that will actually improve the care again of our community. Such as Aetna Better Health Medicaid plan. We now accept that plan. Blue Choice Options, Blue Choice Select, Blue Choice Exchange Preferred. Again, our goal is really to provide access to our community and hopefully so that patients don't have to leave the community.

Host: Yeah, that's awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Dawn, and thank you listeners for tuning into the Well Within Reach podcast brought to you by Riverside HealthCare. For more information, visit riversidehealthcare.org.