The parental version of Murphy’s Law—children always get better when they go to the clinic and then get worse when they get home. A corollary law is that your child can and will get ill or hurt at the most inconvenient time possible.

Unfortunately, Murphy was right.

Your daycare calls at 4:30 p.m. to tell you about your child’s fever and pink eye. Your child falls off the swing set right before dinner. What about that ankle sprain at the soccer game on Saturday? You then quickly calculate the number of hours of running around and waiting that will be involved finding the urgent care center or emergency room to get your child checked out. It is then you realize your night or weekend is shot.

Since we cannot change Murphy’s Law, we offer the next best thing—expanded hours at PIP After Hours Care at Maple Grove. Hours will now include Sundays all summer as well! The clinic is open to all PIP patients regardless of which office you normally go to and is staffed by PIP providers. Information from the visit is then part of your child’s normal medical record.

All manner of acute illness and problems that can be cared for during the day are handled at our after hours clinic. This includes colds, ear infections, fevers, sprains and strains, asthma flares, stitches and more. Some severe injuries—large lacerations, major broken bones may still need to be seen at the emergency room. Chronic medical problems are also best managed by your regular provider during the day.

Our nurses and support staff are available to help determine whether you may need an appointment, information or a referral if you are unsure. We also continue to recommend being seen by your regular provider. But with working parents and time constraints, we do offer a limited number of evening physical exams for children seven years and older who do not have chronic medical problems.

We now are open Monday through Thursday evenings from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday beginning at 9 a.m. Our switchboard opens on the weekends at 8 a.m. You can call us at 763-559-2861.

As much as we love to see our patients, we hope you don’t need to see us urgently. Until Murphy is proven wrong, at least there is After Hours Care.

—Andrew Larson, MD