It is early morning and you are making the nearly one-hour trek to the neighboring county to get your children their well physicals. In your travel you pass a number of health clinics that see children, but when you called them they told you all appointments were all booked. This is a situation your friends have experienced too.

You find making this trip exhausting and exasperating because the kids are antsy in the back seat and are losing time from school. Furthermore, the lengthy drive makes you later for work then if you had a local pediatric provider. The only thing that makes this drive worse is when you have a sick child. Sometimes the drive is not even practical because of the late hour so you choose to use the emergency room even though you know this is not a true emergency.

The above scenario is all too common for parents in Charlotte County, whether or not they have health insurance. What’s more, the problem is getting worse because the population in Charlotte County is getting younger. Between 2000 and 2006 the median age decreased from 54 years old to 51.2 years old, and the percentage of children less than 18 years old increased by 8.4 percent. Also, the birth rate is steadily climbing with 1,029 births in 2000, and 1,357 in 2007.

A pediatric health care provider shortage is another cause of the problem. In 2005, there were 695 children under age 15 for every pediatrician or family practice physician in Charlotte County, while the state ratio was much better with a ratio of 553 children under age 15 for similar physicians. We predict that the shortage in Charlotte County will get worse. What’s more, the number of licensed pediatricians and family practice physicians in Florida has dropped.

For parents in Charlotte County, locating a local pediatric health care provider is becoming more difficult. As such, this is forcing them to travel to neighboring counties. This is resulting in greater expense and inconvenience for all parents, and greater difficulty in keeping appointments for those without a vehicle. These problems are compounded when their children are sick.
 
The excessive distance to a pediatric health care provider can also result in children inadequately immunized, delays in early identification of poor growth and development, and unnecessary and excessive utilization of emergency rooms. Secondary consequences mean greater loss of time from work for parents, and missed time from school for children.

The challenge on Charlotte County’s health care system is the growing demand for basic pediatric health care services that far outpace the growing number of pediatric health care providers. This is especially true for those without health insurance, or on Medicaid.

We have board-certified practitioners and see pediatric patient at all of our clinic locations.We accept Medicaid, and for those who are uninsured or prefer to pay out-of-pocket, we accept cash, check, and credit cards on a sliding scale fee basis. The amount that you pay is based on your ability to pay. For additional information or to schedule your appointment, contact any of our clinics. See clinic locations and phone numbers.

All childhood immunizations are free at the Charlotte County Health Department. Visit our pediatric page.