Fall 2025
President's Message
I hope you had a relaxing summer, with long sun-filled days and a lot of R&R! Now that schools are in session, we in urgent care anticipate busy days, taking care of injuries and the inevitable acute illnesses that come with the cooler weather ahead. As urgent care physicians, we strive to offer excellent, evidence-based episodic care to our patients, while supporting the medical home. Our role also extends to timely reminders to our patients about preventive care, whether it is asthma, Halloween safety or communicable diseases. Read more…
Background
Acute laryngotracheobronchitis, or croup, is one of the most common respiratory illnesses in young children and a common cause of emergency and urgent care visits. There are clear recommendations for treatment with glucocorticoids and racemic epinephrine if indicated, but studies have shown variance in treatment across hospitals. Often, children are being hospitalized after one or more treatments of racemic epinephrine and then do not require any additional treatments once hospitalized. Read more…
Background and rationale
In 2024, data showed that out of all Nationwide Children’s Hospital Urgent Care visits, there was approximately a 4.4% rate of patients who returned to the Urgent Care system within seven days. This equates to just over 2400 visits per year. Additionally, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Primary Care network has noted underutilization of acute care visits of their patients. Many of the return visits to the Urgent Care were also noted to be patients who were either asked to follow up with their Primary Care Provider or for concerns that would be better suited for PCP visit. Read more…
A 14-month-old partially vaccinated male with no significant PMH was brought in by his parents for intermittent periorbital swelling for 3-4 days, associated with intermittent fussiness, decreased appetite, and difficulty sleeping. Periorbital swelling was worse in the mornings and got better throughout the day, although it never went away. There was no swelling in other parts of the body such as the hands, feet, or diaper area. There were no fevers, respiratory symptoms, emesis, diarrhea, rashes, or similar swelling in the past. No history of trauma to the face or eyes and no new exposures (such as new skin products or new foods). Read more…
Please visit our “Reading Corner” – a helpful resource to keep us updated on the most relevant and timely journal articles, new guidelines, and editorials on Pediatric medicine. This edition we highlight some of our academic work.
Complimentary CME Webinars
Members! FREE CME and MOC II for Bi-Weekly Webinars
These popular educational webinars feature experts in the field of pediatric urgent care and offer free CME and MOC Part II credits per calendar year upon achieving 60% or better on the post-webinar surveys.
See upcoming topics and on-demand content here.
Mike Moran Scholar Award
A founding member of the Society for Pediatric Urgent Care, Mike Moran MD was a phenomenal educator who took every opportunity to guide colleagues and trainees in patient care. Throughout his career, he was dedicated to continued improvement of pediatric health care. Embracing evidence-based practice, Dr. Moran often catalyzed new innovations to improve quality and efficiency of patient care in the pediatric acute care setting.
The Mike Moran Scholar Award is presented annually to a pediatric resident, fellow training in, or recent graduate of, the field of pediatric urgent care (MD/DO, NP, PA) with the goal of enhancing clinical research within the specialty.
Read more about the Mike Moran Scholar Award here.
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March 12-14, 2026
Seattle Children’s Research Institute
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Precourse Leadership Summit
on March 11
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