Make the Nearest Pediatric Practice Your Home: The Benefits of Home Visits with Zest Pediatrics

The truth is being a parent is stressful. Doctor appointments can easily add to that stress by being major time commitments, rushed, and impersonal. It takes time to get the kids ready and in the car. Time is wasted in the waiting room (not to mention the exposure to countless germs). And then the doctor always seems rushed to get to the next patient - and not able to answer all of your questions.

Wouldn’t it be much more convenient if the doctor came to the patient? At Zest Pediatrics, your membership includes home visits by the patient’s pediatrician. The nature of these visits can vary from newborn visits, prenatal visits and sick visits.

Home Visits for Newborns

Getting a newborn to a doctor’s office can be a major challenge for parents. Instead, Zest Pediatrics’ doctors offer home visits for newborns. Zest pediatrician Dr. Meghan Lynch Ljubi often conducts home visits for her patients and states that “they can be of great benefit to the exhausted family of a newborn. No need to pack up the baby, the baby supplies, and siblings when I can simply come to the house.”

But home visits aren’t only convenient for parents, they help pediatricians too. Zest pediatrician Dr. Mike Perisa expressed that seeing the family in their home environment helps him ensure he is giving the best, individualized care to address the family’s specific needs. He explains “if families have questions about what bottles they should be using, which sleep sack or swaddle is best for their new baby, or concerns about feeding, it’s nice to be in their natural environment to be able to best view and talk through [those] concerns.”

This comprehensive view of the family and patient also eases the pediatrician’s challenge of monitoring development and addressing any potential issues. “In a traditional office environment kids are usually upset and sitting in a parent’s lap during the visit, then crying while on the exam table,” explains Dr. Lynch Ljubi. “Seeing kids in their homes makes them much more comfortable and they can show a lot more of how they are progressing developmentally.”

Prenatal Home Visits

Zest now also offers prenatal home visits where the family’s pediatrician visits the house to help parents prepare for the new baby’s arrival. During the visit, Zest doctors will discuss all things baby-related. Topics can include such things as car seat assessments, addressing potential safety concerns in the nursery, and what to expect for the baby’s first few weeks. One family described the prenatal home visit as invaluable as they prepared for the arrival of their son: “Prenatal visits have afforded my husband and I a much higher level of confidence entering parenthood than classes or research ever could.”

Home Visits for Sick Children

Home visits do not necessarily end after the newborn stage of life. The flexibility of Zest’s direct pediatric care model allows Zest pediatricians to also perform home visits for sick kids at the doctor’s discretion. With few exceptions, Zest doctors can address most parental concerns just as easily at the patient's home as they can in the office. “Whether it be strep throat testing, or listening to the lungs for pneumonia, we can pack up our needed gear and meet the families at home to complete our assessments,” explains Dr. Persia.

For children, having their pediatrician come to their home can make the doctor less scary. As one Zest Pediatrics family explains: “Our youngest has complex medical needs, generating a lot of trauma and fear from past medical experiences in clinics and hospitals. Dr. Perisa’s willingness to listen to a cough, check a sore ear, or deliver a vaccine at home has not only helped our child lessen their stress and fear about medical providers, but it also helps us, as parents, logistically and emotionally support our kiddo in getting the care they need.”

Another family also stated that after receiving their vaccinations and flu shots at home, their children are less nervous about seeing the doctor: “They truly feel as if their friend is visiting.”

Zest Pediatrics is dedicated to removing the barriers of traditional healthcare models to provide convenient and personal patient-and-family-focused care. Home visits are one of the ways they are increasing patients' access to their pediatrician. Dr. Lynch Ljubi loves “when the kids answer the door and are excited it’s me… It is truly an honor to be welcomed into families’ spaces and be trusted to care for them.”