By Bonnie Mentel
Dr. Heather Thole is originally from Highland, Ill., but completed a six-year medical program in Kansas City before moving to Florida to escape the cold.
“I started my own practice in October 2004 because I wanted to practice good medicine and individualized care and not have to jam too many patients in a day. I wanted to be able to spend time with my families rather than just try to get them in and out the door really fast,” she said.
Wee Care for Kids is now celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Although the practice started out on Big Bend Rd., Dr. Thole moved to the current Riverview location in 2007.
“We’re trying to make our practice feel accessible to everybody. The Affordable Health Care Act and extended hours help make this possible. We have individualized care; we try not to schedule too many patients in a day,” she said.
Currently accepting new patients, Wee Care for Kids recently started offering evening hours on Monday to help out working families. It plans to continue this and possibly open another evening.
“We want our practice to be patient-oriented, rather than number-oriented. We like to take time with our patients. We make sure that our appointments are scheduled so that we don’t double or triple book, which a lot of different places do. We end up usually having less than a 20 minute wait in our office,” Dr. Thole said.
Adding Dr. Krystle Balduzzi, a board certified pediatrician, to the practice this year also helps cut down on wait time. She joins Dr. Thole, a physician’s assistant, and a pediatric nurse physician on staff. Same day sick appointments are also offered.
“Another unique aspect of the practice is that we allow families to have an alternative vaccine schedule. This goes back to individualized care and allowing families to discuss their concerns and their children with the providers before treatment and therapies are done. We also accept families that deliver their babies at home or labor centers. We would love for the families to come meet us before the baby is born. These prenatal visits are free. We are happy to have new families come tour our office and meet the staff before coming for their first visit,” she added.
Visit www.pediatricsriverview.com or call 236-9000 to schedule an appointment. Wee Care for Kids is located at 11948 Balm Riverview Rd. in Riverview.
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