Frequently Asked Questions for Orange Pediatric Care, P.C.:
1). Do you take my insurance? ... We do take most insurance plans. There are so many different insurance plans that it is hard to say we take them all. The best way to find out is to call our main office (845) 561-5227 and ask us. We can also add different plans if we get a lot of requests.
2). Do we have evening hours? ... Yes, Thursdays we are open until 6:00 pm.
3). Do we have weekend hours? ... Yes, We are open every Saturday 9:00 - 1:00
4). Is the doctor Board Certified? ... Yes, Dr. Bernardez is a Board Certified, FAAP pediatrician.
5). What is FAAP? ... It stands for "Fellows of the American Academy of Pediatrics".
6). If I call after hours do I get the doctor or an answering service? To reach us after hours - Please call (845) 561-5227. From there the call will either be forwarded to the practitioner on call or to an answering machine which will direct you where to call. PLEASE call ONLY if you have an urgent MEDICAL question. If you have a billing question, scheduling issue/question, appointment issue/question and or a medicine refill request, please call during our normal receptionist office hours, (8:45 - 5:00). The after hours on call staff member does not have access to your files, our scheduling computer, or the billing and can not help you. Thank you!!
7). If I want to see just one doctor can I? Yes, We believe that if the patient is only comfortable with one doctor they can make the choice and see that doctor, (for physicals, well check ups, asthma follow ups etc.) However if your child is sick the practitioner on that day is the one who is available and is fully capable.
8). Are you accepting new patients? YES! we are , we also appreciate referrals. Please refer your friends, neighbors, and any others.
We like to meet expecting parents for a free consultation and answer any questions they may have. It also gives them a chance to meet us and get to know us before they have their baby. We also have now taken over for Dr. Rita Sharma as she has retired, so we welcome all of her patients to our practice and hope to make the transition as easy as possible.
9). What Hospitals do are you associated with? As a patient you can go anywhere. In Orange Regional and in Vassar they have a "hospitalist" and you are seen by the hospital Doctor after which you can follow up with us. If you want to go to St. Lukes you will be seen bu the doctor who is on call as they have no dedicated Hospitalist.
10). How is the new Health Care Law affecting you? The insurance landscape has changed somewhat. The types and amount of different plans has grown. A lot of people do not know if they have a deductible, a copay, or a percentage. Some plans have changed, others have been discontinued and replaced with something new. It has become a bit more complex. Through it all however, your babies and your children s' health is most important. Please do nothesitate to call us in order to confirm that we take your insurance. We will work with you no matter what your insurance situation but you may be responsible for the payment. Please always make sure that Dr. Maria Bernardez is listed as your PCP, (primary care physician).
11). Does your practice serve the towns of Fishkill, Cold Spring, and Wappingers Falls? Yes! We also love meeting new families and children from Beacon, Wappingers, Fishkill, Glenham, Cold Spring and the other communities on the Putnam / Dutchess side of the river. We are less than 10 miles/ 15 minutes South from the Beacon / Newburgh Bridge.
12). Does your office speak Spanish? Yes, Some of our staff is fluent and Dr. Bernardez is conversant on a medical level.
13). Here are the numbers for the poison control center and the CDC.
poison control centers, (1-800-222-1222 Emergency. Information. Prevention.)
CDC, 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) Contact CDC-INFO
See our blog for additional emergency numbers.......and of course don't forget 911!
14). What do I do when my insurance gets cancelled or changes? Unfortunately the new "landscape" is that insurances are changing all the time, the insurance companies are dropping plans and even some are pulling entire plans out of certain areas. At that point you will have to join a new plan either with that companies other current plans or with another insurance carrier or the health exchanges. When you do please make sure that you still list us as your primary care physician and once the new insurance becomes effective, that the insurance company actually did list us as the primary care physician, (often even if you requested us their system will default to other doctors).
15). What are your contact numbers after hours? Please call us at (845) 561-5227 You may get an answering machine which will direct you to the nurse who is on call, (please listen to the message and follow the directions) or the phone will bounce directly to Dr. Bernardez when she is on call. If you have received a call during the day it may not be from the correct number to reach us, the doctor or staff may have called from another phone if our normal one was being used, so PLEASE DON'T JUST REDIAL THE LAST NUMBER YOU WERE CONTACTED WITH, it may not be one which is forwarded to our after hours phones.
Please only call after hours for a medical issue or question. The on call staff can not help with a non medical question such as a billing question, forms, or changing or scheduling an appointment. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
16). Is Dr. Latonero still with you? No, Dr. L has retired. He is away for the winter and also is spending more time with his new grandson.
17). Why do I sometimes see new people working with Dr. Bernardez? Well, several reasons actually: A). As we grow we have hired more staff to help meet the needs of our patients. B). Dr. Bernardez believes in offering people chances to learn, grow and improve. She often accepts students who need to fulfill their curriculum's requirements for hands on clinical hours of training. Dr. Bernardez believes in helping to train the next generation, whether they be medical assistants, doctors, or nurse practitioners. C). Sometimes when one of our staff needs a day or more off we get another experienced doctor to help cover. D). We are a small practice our employees learn many aspects of the job and multi task well. However we also can not offer the resources of some of the larger groups and sometimes to further their careers we need to let people go on to bigger and better things for themselves. We hate to see them go but it is like watching your kids graduate, leave the nest and grow. 18). Please note: ---- Copies of medical records from our office are at the price set by New York State of $0.75 / page. Such releases and any other correspondence needed such as copies, forms filled out, or letters written can not be done overnight. Please allow 5 - 10 business days. Thank you!
19). Do you have Flu Shots yet? - No they manufactures usually ship them near the middle or end of August. This year however we may be getting them a bit earlier, but it is really up to the manufacturer, their shipping schedule and availability.