Dr. Hilary Stempel looked at the computer screen and studied a graph that contained information about her patient, 11-month-old Jayden Atancio.
“This shows he is going to be a very healthy gentleman,” she told the child’s mother, Elizabeth Tapia.
Tapia brought the infant to the Child Health Clinic at Colorado Children’s Hospital because he had been wheezing, and she was concerned he might have asthma.
“I think today what is going on is he has a cold,” Stempel said after examining the boy.
Jayden, a wide-eyed and placid baby, is Tapia’s fifth child. All have been treated at the clinic, a full-service pediatric practice that provides primary and outpatient care for infants and children from low-income metro-area families who have little or no health insurance.
Another son, who is now 14, was diagnosed at the clinic with a problem that required cranial surgery when he was 4 months old, Tapia said. Surgeons at Children’s Hospital Colorado, directly across the street, performed the delicate surgery.
Her children have received speedy and excellent treatment at the clinic, she said through an interpreter. “They have a lot of patience with my son, and all my children.”
The clinic treats kids from newborns to age 18 — about 27,000 visits a year. It is funded by the Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation, a past recipient of the Post’s Season to Share campaign.
The clinic focuses on disease prevention and health maintenance. Services include hearing and vision screening, nutritional counseling and laboratory testing. Mental health services, including consultations with behavioral health and psychiatry specialists, are also available.
While the parents of many children who receive treatment arrive with an appointment, some are walk-in patients, said Dr. Christina Suh, the clinic’s medical director.
Many come in for check-ups or immunizations and the clinic treats common childhood ailments like colds, ear infections and asthma, Suh said.
“If we see a child that we feel could benefit from seeing a sub-specialist at Children’s we do make a referral,” she added.
A phone line staffed by nurses is available for parents around the clock. Physicians also are on call 24 hours a day. “If a parent calls at 2 a.m. on Saturday and can’t figure things out with a nurse, they can get a phone call from a physician,” Suh said.
In 1978, Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation was established as a separate charitable organization dedicated to advancing the mission of Children’s Hospital Colorado. The Foundation works to meet the needs of families in a seven-state service area.
Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation
Address: 13123 E. 16th Ave., Aurora and locations in Metro Denver and Colorado Springs
Year it started: 1908 (Children’s Colorado Hospital); 1978: (Foundation)
Number of employees: 6,560 (within Children’s Hospital Colorado Health System)
Annual budget: N/A
Percentage of funds that goes directly to client services: N/A
Number served last year: Nearly 225,000 children were treated in 2016
