Well/Preventive Care

Well-child examinations are essential for monitoring your child’s health, growth and development. We will perform a complete physical examination, and discuss any issues pertaining to your child’s nutritional needs, sleep patterns, school progress or other concerns. We will also administer the appropriate immunizations for your child’s age. These visits are a good time to ask any questions you may have regarding your child’s health.

Immunizations are an important part of well-child care. The providers of North Shore Pediatrics firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives. We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines and require that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines per the Centers for Disease Control and American Academy of Pediatrics. Choosing not to vaccinate puts our other patients, our staff, and the community at risk. Our experience with patients and families tells us that if you are completely opposed to routine immunization or significantly disagree with our policy of routine immunization as described above, you and we may find it difficult to have a beneficial physician-patient/family relationship.

North Shore Pediatric well-visit and vaccination schedule can be accessed here

View vaccine information sheets by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention here:  Vaccine Information Statements (VISs)

Sick Care

Sick children need timely care. You can call anytime to discuss your sick child. One of our nurses will be available to speak with you during business hours. If your child’s illness sounds like it should best be cared for at home, we will give you tips on what to do and what to watch for. If your child needs to be seen, we will always try to bring you in the same day.

You can also gather some information about your child’s symptoms here: KidsDoc Symptom Checker

Asthma Clinic

North Shore Pediatrics has an asthma clinic in the office. Our hope is to provide those patients with diagnosed asthma, reactive airway disease or a history of recurrent wheezing with increased regular care and management. We perform pulmonary function testing (ages 5-6+) and peak flow testing to assess baseline lung function and control of symptoms. We spend additional time reviewing medication use and possible symptom triggers and/or allergies. At the end of the evaluation we will provide you with a printed asthma action plan to help manage any symptoms which may occur at home, school or elsewhere.

If your child has a history of this diagnosis they would likely benefit from a visit to our clinic. Please feel free to call our office to schedule an appointment on one of our clinic days if you would like to receive this service. Please consider contacting your insurance company regarding coverage and possible charges which could apply to a deductible plan as we are unable to know what your specific insurance plan will cover.

ADHD Management

At North Shore Pediatrics, we feel strongly that it is important to assist you in diagnosing and managing your child’s school and behavioral issues. This evaluation will start with a consultation with one of our providers. Depending on the concerns, the provider may complete the evaluation or refer your care for a more specialized service. Please talk to your child’s provider if you have concerns about your child’s behavioral health.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a disorder that can be a challenge to diagnose as physicians must rely on second hand information from parents, teachers and relatives, who may all have different impressions about the severity and impact of the symptoms. Therefore it is often viewed as a very subjective diagnosis.

ADHD symptoms are extreme forms of common behaviors such as: inattention (difficulty staying focused and on task) hyperactivity (inability to control movement and sit still while working) and impulsivity (inability to restrain inappropriate responses).
Potential treatment options for ADHD include medications, behavioral intervention strategies, therapy and parent training.

Deciding if a child has ADHD is a several step process. There is no single test to diagnose ADHD, and many other problems, like anxiety, depression, and certain types of learning disabilities, can have similar symptoms. Steps for ADHD diagnosis often include parent and teacher questionnaires, school testing, neuropsychological testing and/or developmental evaluation.

Mental Health

The pediatricians and nurse practitioners at North Shore Pediatrics are knowledgeable and committed to providing an appropriate level of mental health care to our patients who need it. We start with a consultation to determine symptoms and concerns. At this visit we typically will discuss if and how therapy can be beneficial and have recommendations for local quality therapists. A list of helpful counselors in the area can also be seen here.

For those patients whom we would recommend medical treatment, we are comfortable prescribing basic psychopharmacologic medications for anxiety and depression. For patients requiring more complicated psychopharmacological treatment, we have a psychiatric nurse practitioner, Carol Emerson, PMHNP, through North Shore Wellness Center with further expertise in these medications as well as additional recommendations for providers in the area.

Please call our office for consultation. You may reach North Shore Wellness Center directly at (978)406-4419.

Adolescent Care

During the adolescent years our patients and their parents are navigating the course from being dependent children to becoming independent young adults. During well child visits we discuss the expected and normal body changes of puberty, the nutritional needs of rapidly growing bodies, the impact of electronics and social media, and the academic and social challenges of school and extracurricular activities. We often initiate the sometimes difficult conversations around risk behaviors, sexuality and social stressors. Typically we request some time during the visit without the parent in the room to explore additional concerns and encourage older patients to advocate for their health care needs. During this transition to adulthood the goal is to balance the child’s need for parental support with his/her need for confidentiality around sensitive issues.

Injury Management

If your child or teen has an injury or illness that affects sport performance, exercise, or injury, providers at North Shore Pediatrics know how to examine and treat them for their youth specific condition. In growing children and teens, injuries and medical conditions in the bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints are often quite different from conditions seen in adults.

Our providers have expertise regarding common overuse injuries, simple fractures and sprains that require basic splinting, to those injuries that require further workup or referral such as to physical therapy or orthopedics.

North Shore Pediatrics also provides quality care for children and teens that have sustained head injury and/or suspected concussion. This includes a thorough examination and the option for cognitive ImPACT testing.

You can read more about the ImPACT program at https://impacttest.com/

Please call our office for an appointment at (978) 406-4234

Nutritional Counseling

North Shore Pediatrics offers nutritional counseling through Patricia Engel, M.S.R.D. Pat is a Dietician/Nutritional Consultant with many years of experience and offers after school and evening appointments here in our office for your convenience.

Medical Procedures

North Shore Pediatrics performs or offers a range of medical procedures. These include suture placement/removal, wart removal (freezing), ear lavage, umbilical cauterization, wound care, bladder catheterization, incision and drainage, nebulizer treatments, pulmonary function tests, peak flow meter tests, vision and hearing screening, vaccine/medication administration, lead screening, hemoglobin checks, PPD placement/assessment, nursemaid’s elbow reduction, splinting/bracing of appropriate injuries.

Important Numbers

Office:

Billing:

(978) 624-2896

Referrals:

(978) 777-3908