Patient Information

Welcome Letter and FAQ

Thank you for choosing Stages Pediatrics as your child’s Patient Center Medical Home (PCMH). Our doctors are thrilled for becoming your child’s pediatrician and are looking forward to assisting you in raising your kids in good health and becoming good citizens of the world. Any comment that help us to serve you better are always very welcome. A good relationship and trust between doctors and patients, including their parents or guardians, is fundamental to work together on behalf of the wellbeing of a child.

Our PCMH Responsibilities to You:

To listen to your questions and concerns and to explain disease, treatments and results in an easy to understand way.
To coordinate your overall care, sending you to qualify specialists if needed.
To provide Same Day Appointments whenever possible.
To provide instructions on how to access the care you need and your patient portal when the office is closed.

Your Responsibilities to your PCMH:

To ask questions and be active in your care, following up labs results and recommendations posted in your patient portal.
To provide your health history and any changes in your health.
To call us FIRST before going to ER Departments or Urgencies Center unless it is an emergency.
Informing us if any specialist has been seen or any ER/Urgency center has been visited.
To let us know how we can help you to achieve your health goals.

Accessing Your Child Health Care Information: Your Portal

Parents/patients with an email address can be enabled to access their medical record information, request refill and appointments and receives alerts and reminders for scheduled preventive visits. A temporary password can be obtained during the time of visit or contacting front desk. You may access you portal following a link received after being web enabled by your Doctor, or through our website.

Stages Pediatrics Website

Our website is a very useful tool to make appointments, request refill and consultations; log in to “Your Portal,” and update your personal data, review immunizations, procedures and labs. Browse helpful links and know more about us and products we endorse. Like us on Facebook/Twitter, if you believe that others that you love may also benefit visiting this page.

For New Patients

Expecting a baby? Congratulations! Children are a gift of our God to love and nourish, guiding their path with His help to become healthy and good children of the world. We invite you to schedule an appointment to meet us. Please call our office to schedule.

Prescription Renewals

Prescriptions are renewed during normal office hours. In some instances, we may require that patient be seen in our office prior to medication renewal. Please allow up to 3 business days for our office to complete a refill authorization request done through your patient portal (preferably) or by phone.

School/Sport Forms

There is no charges for School and Sport Forms when filled out on the SAME day that the exam is done. Please ensure to request it before leaving the office; allow one week to pick up School/sport certificates if requested in a different day from day of service; in those cases, a copay or out of pocket fee may be required, subject to your health insurance terms. We charge a $5 fee to cover the costs of completing these forms and require four (5) business days to fill them out. For forms that need to be filled out on the same day there will be a $20.00 charge if 1-3 pages or $30.00 if more up to 5 pages. Forms will be filled out after payment has been posted; These fees may change from time-to-time. School forms that are requested ON THE SAME DAY of Physical/School exam are exempt of charges. This is because the process of reviewing medical records, filling out and signing forms is not covered by most health insurance and responsibility is therefore delegated to patient. You may pick personally your certificate or/and request to be fax. Please send us a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) if you need your certificate to be mailed to you. Certificates not pick up in a term of 4 weeks, would be discarded. MD certificates for non-medical purposes, for example, for Proof of Address etc., are done for your convenience upon request; please note that there is a personal assigned to do that service; the cost per letter is 10.00 dollars, maximum 20.00 per family in the same address.

Co-Payments and Billing Information

All co-payments or visits are payable at the time of service. It is YOUR responsibility to know how much your copay and deductible is; Previous balances need to be pay off too or establish a payment plan. We accept cash, checks, and most major credit cards and debit cards. We are also setting up to accept secured online bill E payments via your patient portal. Please contact our billing office at billing.stages@gmail.com, should you have any financial questions or concerns.

Hours of Operation

Hours of Operation vary depending on day of the week but because we are an open clinic, which means that we will do our best to accommodate your appointment request in the same day that is requested, especially sick visits. Call us for Same Day appointments and just walk in for vaccination any day of the week.

Morning hours and Evening hours require appointments. Watkins for sick visits are always welcome from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM every day. Stages is closed during the following holidays: New Year’s Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas/End of the year Festivities, including the 24th, 25th and the 31st of December. In case of a medical urgency, you may still contact us 24/7 calling our main line; for non urgent medical concerns, visit our Child Health Library section.

Appointments

You may request appointments calling us by phone, through your portal (at least 2 days in advance), sending an email, or contacting us through our website. Same day appointment available. Please allow 72 hours to schedule non-emergency visits. Sick visit may walk in without appointment Mo, Wed and Fri from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM. Upon arrival, a medical assistance will evaluate the need of how soon the child needs to be seen, regardless of order of arrival.

Missed Appointments

Circumstances happen, and we understand that sometimes you cannot make your appointment. Please call us at least one day in advance to cancel or change your scheduled appointment. No call/text/email to our office equals a ‘No Show’ and we reserve the right to charge a $25.00 fee to cover some of the cost of that unfilled appointment slot.

Can my teenager come to your office alone?

Yes, if 15 y/o and above and you have consented for it; however, we cannot give any vaccinations without a note from a parent or legal guardian for our patients that are under 18 years old. Please make sure your child brings his/her most recent insurance card and any co-payment due to their appointment.

Can I send my child with relatives, friends or babysitters to be seen?

Yes, as long you approved by telephone, mail, text or hand-written note with your signature those persons to bring your child; Please note that when authorizing others to bring your child(en) to see the doctors, you are authorizing us to discuss any health matter that pertain to that visit with that person.

Up to what age do we see patients?

We typically see our patients from birth through age 21.

Telephone Consultations and Email Encounters

You may request a consultation with your child’s pediatrician via secured email (though your portal or our website), or by telephone. A consultation over the phone might be subject to copays as well it happens with office visit; During office hours, urgent calls (child is sick and needs directions about bringing the child to the office or to Emergency Department for evaluation) will be answer within 30 min. Non-urgent matters will be answered between 1-3 PM and 5-9 PM during office hours. Labs results, med refill request or other non- urgent matters will be handled after office hours.

After office hours or weekends, call 212-923-5050 and your call will be forwarded to the physician on call. If prompt to leave a message, provide the name of the child, your contact number, and the nature of the urgency. Urgent matters will be answer within 30 minutes. The doctor may also contact you via secure emails readable after login in your portal.

Complaints

We strive to bring excellent service in every encounter made with our doctors. If at any time you feel that we may serve you better through the implementation of new standards of care, please speak to us or email us at: info@stagespediatrics.com before giving us bad reviews; Any comments that help us to serve you better are indeed welcome. We appreciate your help.

We will put any effort needed to satisfy your needs if conform to the standard of excellence. If not serviced as desired or expected, you are always free to request or look for a second opinion, or a change of provider. A good relationship and trust between your child’s doctor and you, the parent or guardian of our patient, is essential in order to work together on behalf of the wellbeing of your child.

What to Expect

The Front Desk attendants will welcome you asking the reason of the visit (this help us to allot the time needed for the consultation), insurance and any copay related to the visit. Any existing balance should be paid in full before proceeding to see the doctors or a payment plan should be set up. A medical assistance will take the clinical intake and take vital signs and measurements; If patient is due for any service, the doctor will offer if bringing up to date those services during the encounter or schedule another visit. We are open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Some slots are reserved daily for same day appointments. Walk-ins are welcome Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays from 1:00 PM to 4:30 PM (Dr Rosa Gamundi-Joaquin). Extended hours are available until 7 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday, with an appointment only. Call us for more information or to schedule an appointment.

128 Fort Washington Avenue #1J
New York, NY 10032

Phone: (212) 923-5050

Important Numbers to Have Handy:

Emergencies: 911
City of NY: 311
Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222

(212) 923-5050 Request Appointment Patient Portal