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Pediatric Alliance is proud to announce the creation of a new service,
On This Page...
| Overview | Pre-Adoption Medical Reviews - What's Involved | Why Do We Do Pre-Adoption Medical Reviews? |
| Patient Services | Domestic Adoption | Statement of Non-Discrimination | Speaker Services | Contact Us |
Services include pre-adoptive consultation and review of referral information and videos, as well as comprehensive new-arrival medical, developmental and psychosocial evaluations. Post-adoption family support and educational outreach for families, adoption professionals and health care professionals are also provided.
Dr. Sarah Springer at the Southwestern Division serves as Medical Director of the program. Diana Schwab, M.Ed., LSW, Developmental Specialist works with Dr. Springer to provide a range of services for adoptive families and foster children.
4070 Beechwood Boulevard
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
24 hour phone: 412-697-0887
During business hours: 412-521-6511
Fax: 412- 521-6512
Services include:
- Pre-adoption consultation
- Pre-adoption medical review of referral information and videos
- Travel preparation for families
- Availability for consultation while abroad
- Comprehensive new-arrival medical, developmental, and psychosocial evaluations
- Ongoing primary pediatric care
- Consultation with other primary care providers
- Referral to specialty services and coordination of care
- Ongoing post-adoption family support
- Educational outreach for families, adoption professionals, and health care professionals
For those early in the process of deciding to adopt:
- We are happy to talk with you about the general medical, developmental, and psychological needs of adopted children, as well as about specific concerns of children in institutional care or in specific countries or regions of the world.
- We do not endorse specific agencies, although we are happy to talk with you about how to find an agency that will best meet your needs.
- Please feel free to contact us with your questions.
Note: Some of the documents found on this page will be in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. To download, read and print these documents you will need to have the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader installed in your browser. Click here to get the required software from the Adobe web site and then return here after it is installed and download the document you need.
Please contact us first to schedule a review of your information, sign a release form (PDF-35K), and arrange payment. If you live in or near Pittsburgh and have a video with your referral, we can arrange to review the information together in person. When there is written and/or photographic information only, or if you live outside the Pittsburgh area, please send us COPIES of everything you received, with EACH ITEM DATED AND INITIALED by you. PLEASE DO NOT SEND ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. INFORMATION REVIEWED CANNOT BE RETURNED. Along with the referral information, please completely fill out and send our cover letter (PDF-34K).
We are usually able to review your information within 2-4 days of receiving it, although circumstances may occasionally make the time slightly longer.
What we provide:
- A thorough review of all available information
- A telephone call back to discuss the information in detail
- A list of what additional information would be desirable or essential in order for you to make an informed decision
- Articles and information on adoption health concerns in general, and for your specific circumstances
- Ongoing review of additional information about the child as it becomes available
- Travel preparation for you and your child
- Assistance in planning for your child's transition needs
- Availability for consultation while you are traveling
Fees:
Fees are based on the average amount of time spent on the initial review of information as well as on all follow-up information. All fees are one-time, flat fees which cover all of the services listed above. Information on additional children reviewed for the same adoption will be charged half of the usual fee. Payment is expected at the time of service, and can be made by check, money order, MASTERCARD, or VISA. Please contact us for current fees.
We believe that children being adopted are best served when the families who adopt them are totally prepared to meet their unique needs. We are committed to helping prospective adoptive parents to understand the predictable needs and possible future issues of children who they consider adopting, so that they may realistically assess their abilities to meet these needs.
We are NOT trying to:
- Screen out "bad kids" (there is no such thing!)
- Help families to "pick a good one" (ALL children deserve the love of a family)
We DO want to:
- Help prospective adoptive families to understand in general how the experiences of deprivation, abuse, neglect, prenatal substance exposure, etc impact children over both the short and long term
- Help families to understand the medical, developmental, and psychosocial information given to them with the referral of a particular child
- Help families to know what additional information needs to be gathered in order to develop a reasonably complete picture of the child's potential needs
- Help families to assess their capabilities to meet the foreseeable needs of a particular child
- Begin to connect families with community resources which will help them to help this child to thrive
Primary Care or Consultation Services:
Once you have your child home with you, we provide a variety of services, and are happy to work with you in whichever way is most helpful to you.
- If our office is geographically convenient for you and you do not already have a primary care physician (PCP) for other children in your family, we would be delighted to be your child's primary care pediatrician. We are accepting new patients, and accept most major health insurance plans. Contact us for further details.
- If our office is not convenient for your ongoing primary care, or if you already have a pediatrician or family doctor, we are happy to work in consultation with your child's regular physician to meet his or her new arrival health needs. If you need a pediatrician closer to home but do not have one yet, we will work with you to find a physician in your community.
New Arrival Visits:
- SCHEDULE NEW-ARRIVAL VISITS AS SOON AS YOU KNOW YOUR TRAVEL DATES, in order to have the appointment time most convenient for you. Call 412-521-6511 to schedule your child's appointment.
- If another physician is to be your child's PCP, you may need a referral for this visit to be covered under your health insurance. Talk with your PCP about this prior to the visit.
- New arrival visits are ideally scheduled 7-14 days after the child's arrival home. This timing gives parent(s) and child to catch up on sleep, and to have a bit of time to get to know each other. Both of these things make the visit much more productive!
- New arrival visits provide a detailed, thorough review of the child's medical, developmental, and psychological needs, a comprehensive physical exam, laboratory testing, Tuberculosis testing, and vaccines as indicated, and coordination of any necessary referrals or additional testing. This visit is very comprehensive, usually lasting 60-90 minutes. Please plan accordingly.
- Children who are ill upon their arrival home should be seen sooner by their PCP. If that is to be us, call us at 412-521-6511 to schedule a sick visit. If another physician will be your child's PCP, call their office to schedule a sick visit. In either case, we will still use the pre-scheduled visit for a thorough new-arrival assessment.
- Children who have known urgent medical concerns prior to their adoption may need to have the new-arrival assessment scheduled sooner after their arrival home.
Consultation Visits for Children with Ongoing Special Needs:
- As a result of malnutrition and deprivation early in life, some internationally adopted children continue to struggle with medical, developmental, behavioral, and/or learning difficulties over time.
- A consultation visit around these concerns can help families to tease out the underlying causes of their child's particular difficulties, and link families to appropriate evaluation and treatment resources in the community.
- Call 412-521-6511 to schedule a visit.
- Depending upon your insurance, you may need a referral from your child's PCP for this visit. Contact your PCP about obtaining any necessary referral.
- If your child has already had other professional evaluations for these problems, please let us know that at the time that you schedule your appointment. Please send us copies of the reports prior to your visit, so that we may make the most of our face-to-face time.
While the majority of our inquiries come from families who are adopting internationally, we are also happy to work with families who are considering or planning a domestic adoption. Please feel free to contact us with your questions, including for a pre-adoption medical review.
International Adoption Health Services of Western Pennsylvania does not discriminate based on race, religion, gender, disability, or sexual orientation. We believe that children can and do thrive with families of all descriptions, and are happy to work with singles and couples from all walks of life.
Our staff frequently speaks on adoption health related topics (medical, developmental, behavioral, and psychological issues) to agency groups, parent and culture groups, schools, professional organizations, and physician groups.
Please contact us for further information.
Please feel free to contact us with any questions you might have about international adoption, the health needs of internationally adopted children, or the services we provide. One of our staff members will be happy to get back to you as quickly as possible.
If you have non-urgent questions about a child who is already home with you, please call us at 412-697-0887. If your child is ill and possibly in need of medical care, do not send a message here! Call your child's primary care physician (call our office if we are your child's PCP). THESE MESSAGES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED HERE.
If you wish to have Dr. Springer review referral information, please indicate this in your message, or call us at 412-697-0887 to schedule a review. REFERRALS WILL ONLY BE REVIEWED AFTER WE HAVE MADE THESE ARRANGEMENTS WITH YOU. INFORMATION SENT HERE WITHOUT PRIOR AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED FOR REVIEW!
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