Because kids get sick at the worst times

The doctor’s office is closed, but junior has a spiking fever and a

terrible cough. The emergency room would take too long, and who wants

to be around trauma patients when the little one may very well just

have a severe earache? Where do parents turn?

The answer is urgent-care facilities, and there is a new one in

Costa Mesa that caters specifically to children. It is called

Urgi-Kids, and it is run out of the same building as Hoag Hospital’s

Family Care Center, on Baker Street in Costa Mesa.

Urgi-Kids after hours care center is the brain-child of Dr. Andrew

M. Blumberg, who -- with the help of Hoag and Children’s Hospital of

Orange County -- has created a nice little space where parents can

bring their feverish, aching, stuffy-headed, cry-because-it-hurts

children for quick, loving, quality care.

Columnist Lolita Harper sat down with Blumberg to find out more

about this kid-centric facility.

Can you explain to us how the place runs?

This concept actually arose from a need from several aspects of

the community. The most important need was from the community and

from the patients and the parents. This is a centralized clinic that

is dedicated just to the care of children when their regular doctor’s

office is closed. And it is really important that we emphasize that,

because we don’t want people to think that this is something in place

of their regular doctor.

So we are open every day of the year, Monday through Friday from 6

to 9 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays -- and all holidays -- from 9

a.m. to 9 p.m.

Typically in the past, even before the advent of all the urgency

care centers in the community, after hours, when a patient was sick,

and they would call their physician, and he would say, “OK, meet me

at my office.” They would go down, have to open up the building, and

there was no staff and no backup. And it wasn’t too convenient

because it was back and forth, back and forth. Or the child would be

sent to the emergency room, where they would have to wait for hours

and also sit in a room with a lot of older, very sick adults, who

really didn’t appreciate a lot of screaming kids going around.

What is the greatest benefit of having this sort of urgent-care

facility in the Newport-Mesa community?

I thought that this is something that would meet this need for the

pediatricians, for the emergency rooms -- which are overcrowded at

this point -- and even the insurance companies. The insurance

companies love this type of concept because the children are seen by

highly qualified pediatricians and therefore the children get very

efficient care.

What is also important in this concept is that it is a

collaboration of Hoag Hospital, Children’s Hospital of Orange County

and close to 40 pediatric practices, serving more than 75,000

children. We are all working together to make this a success, and

again, the children don’t have to go after hours to all different

types of urgent cares -- where they do receive very good care -- but

at any one time, children can be all over this part of the county.

Here, all the pediatricians work together. We all know each other,

and there is one place where the kids can go. And follow-up is very

important. We communicate with the private physician everyday and

send them faxes.

What is your role here at Urgi-Kids?

I am the founder, and I am also the medical director. So I attempt

to coordinate the relationship between the clinic, Hoag Hospital --

which is incredibly cooperative -- and also with CHOC, which has been

incredibly cooperative also.

What is your educational background?

Grew up in Brunswick, N.J. and attended private school back there.

I matriculated at the University of Wisconsin and after graduation

attended med school at George Washington University in Washington,

D.C.

Then made my way out to California and, like most easterners,

never returned back East. I was fortunate enough to do my three-year

pediatric specialty training at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Is this in any way connected to the Children’s Clinic that CHOC

was trying to open at Rea Elementary School?

No, no. This clinic is available for any child, or any parent who

wants to bring their child here. The children do not necessarily have

to be part of one of the participating practices. So we are open to

almost all kids, and we accept most insurance. You know, in this day

and age, with all this managed care, it is hard to say we accept all

insurance.

We’ll even take Trojan fans. Now, I went to the University of

Wisconsin, so we are Big 10. I just threw that in. Are you a Trojan

fan? Some little bird told me that.

Of course I am. Go SC. So I could possibly bring my son here?

Yeah, but we charge double for Trojans.

What about people with no insurance?

At this point, we aren’t able to provide care for those without

insurance. And that is a problem all over the state: How do we serve

these kids that don’t have insurance? Unfortunately, the cost of

providing the care is so high that pro-bono care is difficult to give

when you start to deal with a lot of kids.

We are in the process of applying for CAL-OPTIMA, which is the

Medi-Cal for children, and that is because we are associated with

CHOC. The application process is long, and that may take nine months

or so. But eventually, we will be able to see children with that type

of insurance.

Do the recently proposed state budget cuts worry this type of

clinic?

It has no effect on us. Now, if and when we start seeing patients

with CAL-OPTIMA, it will, but right now, it is not an issue.

What is your favorite part about providing this type of service

for children?

One of the most rewarding parts of running this type of clinic is

to see the cooperation of those that are involved. As I mentioned

before, that includes Hoag Hospital, CHOC and almost 40 pediatric

practices. And we are all working toward the same goal, which is to

give the optimal care for the kids. When a parent comes in and they

are so satisfied and happy that they are at a place that is dedicated

to children, it makes it worthwhile.

What drew you initially to pediatrics and to working with

children?

You know, when I was 7 years old, I decided I wanted to become a

pediatrician. What I remembered is that I loved my pediatrician. And,

for some reason, when I used to walk into the pediatrician’s office

-- believe it or not -- I loved the smell of the office.

I always had an interest in science. We all have interests in

different things, but mine never really changed. I never considered

anything else. I love kids. I love how they respond, even when they

cry. It is so nice to see a kid smile. It is also very rewarding when

you are dealing with a sick child and you see them in follow-up, and

they are so much better.

The only problem with kids is that they grow up.

I have three kids of my own, the oldest is Jeremy. He is 25 and a

third-year med student. The second son -- he’s 23 -- graduated and is

in the entertainment business. My daughter is a senior and she will

graduate this year. And they all attended the University of

Wisconsin. They didn’t even think of USC. Is that where you went to

school?

That’s right.

Well, you did have the best football team this year. I do admit

that.