Ahead of the Curve
Although Susan Urbanski does not live especially close to Kids First Pediatric Partners, she insists the additional driving time is worth it to ensure that her three children receive top-notch medical care. Urbanski has been with the practice since her first son was born six years ago, and she says that in that time they have had nothing but positive experiences with all of the doctors, nurses and office staff. As a working mom with a busy schedule, she especially appreciates the accommodating treatment they receive – whether it’s walking in during sick hours or calling the office to speak to a nurse or doctor during after hours, she appreciates that the office is consistently responsive.
Urbanski works as a breastfeeding counselor, so she is particularly impressed with the practices’ Chicago Breastfeeding Center, featuring IBCLCs (International Board Certified Lactation Consultants) on staff. Noting that this is fairly rare among pediatric practices, Urbanski say she feels grateful to have had extra support with breastfeeding. “I’m thrilled to have found one of the few offices with IBCLCs on staff,” Urbanski says. “For me personally, Dr. Shepherd was really helpful in getting me started on breastfeeding in the hospital, but it was the fact that Kids First was making a noticeable and real effort to support breastfeeding moms that really impressed me. Not all pediatric practices are doing that.”
There have also been plenty of times that Kids First doctors have demonstrated to Urbanski the important practice of keeping up to date with the latest pediatric guidelines. She says that in the last six years, the general recommendations for when to begin solids for babies has changed with each of her children, so it reaffirmed her trust in the doctors to discover that they were always up to date with the latest information. “When I met with Dr. DiVincenzo with my third child who was six months old and about to start solids, we talked about how the recommendations for when to start solids had changed again. Kids First had also updated their recommendations, which I think is awesome,” Urbanski says. “It was great to see that the information they were telling me was consistent with the information I had read.”
Urbanski adds that she believes a large reason for the doctors’ dedication to their patients and families is derived from their honest experiences as parents. She enjoys hearing about their own tales, which makes the visits and doctor/patient relationship feel more real and personal. “I like hearing about the doctors’ own kids and just knowing that they’re real people with families,” Urbanski says. “They understand the situation not just on a medical level but a personal one, too.”
Connecting with Kids First families over the years is part of what makes our work as providers so meaningful. We are launching a new series of posts featuring some of our families who want to share their experience with our practice. If you’d like to share your thoughts with us, please do be in touch. We always value receiving families’ feedback. You can leave a review (hint, hint!) on our Google page or on our Facebook page, or you can email info@kidsfirstpediatricpartners.com