
Redesigning care, with your safety top of mind.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, GBMC Health Partners will continue to offer telehealth video visits for anyone who prefers that option. Please call your provider or login to MyChart to schedule an in-person or telehealth video visit today! If you have an existing appointment that you'd like to reschedule, please do so directly from your MyChart account.* Please expect delays as our staff endeavor to assist all patients with their needs and questions. Do not send multiple MyChart messages or walk in to GBMC Health Partners locations without an appointment. We understand that patients are eager for access to care, and we are doing everything possible to respond to each patient as quickly as possible.

Greetings,
The following practices are experiencing issues with their phone lines due to a service interruption with an outside vendor:
- GBMC Health Partners Eye Center at Joppa Road
- GBMC Health Partners at Jonestown
- GBMC Health Partners at Hunt Manor
- GBMC Health Partners at Hunt Valley
- GBMC Health Partners at Jarrettsville
- GBMC Health Partners at Owings Mills (Family Care and Internal Medicine)
- GBMC Health Partners at Padonia
- Dr. Caren Craig's office
- Ambulatory Testing Center
- The Sandra and Malcolm Berman Cancer Institute at Crossroads
- West Road Business Office
If you need to reach your medical provider, please use the MyChart patient portal at gbmc.org/mychart. MyChart can be used for secure messaging with a provider, prescription refills, accessing test results, and more!
If you have tried using MyChart and still have an urgent need, please call 443-849-8556 for assistance. If this is a true medical emergency, please dial 911.
GBMC will be sending out additional communications to keep you informed as we work to address the vendor's service disruption.
Yours in good health,
GBMC Health Partners

Keeping You Safe
Hospitals and medical offices are now permitted to see patients for all types of care, including elective surgery. We have been working hard to ensure that the hospital and physicians' practices are ready for you. We have redesigned the way we provide care with your safety in mind.We will continue to offer telehealth video visits for anyone who prefers that option. However, we want to reassure you that we are taking the necessary steps to protect your safety when you need to come to the hospital, a primary care office, or one of our specialty practices.
Some of the measures GBMC Health Partners is taking to protect patients include:
- GBMC Health Partners is seeing patients in person and via telehealth video visits. Using video visits allows you to talk with your doctor without leaving home. This reduces the number of patients coming through the office and decreases the potential for inadvertent exposure of patients and staff to COVID-19. Thus, in-person visits can be done safely for those who need them. We encourage you to utilize MyChart for your telehealth needs, and you can also call your doctor if you need help. We are ready to assist you.
- Extensive cleaning of all work spaces and patient areas is performed between encounters and throughout the day.
- All patients, providers, and staff members attest to COVID related symptoms upon arrival and must wear masks (along with other appropriate personal protective equipment "PPE" if necessary).
- All patients are asked COVID-19 screening questions when they make their appointment and again when they arrive. Patients are given specific appointment times to limit the number of people in the offices at one time, and are kept in private exam rooms during their visits.
- To allow for safe distancing, our office hours may be adjusted during this time, and offices themselves have been rearranged. In certain locations, there may be physical barriers in place, and in some cases, family members may be asked to wait in their vehicles. One family member or friend may accompany a patient to the appointment.
- All surgical patients are tested for COVID-19 pre-operatively.
- COVID-19 positive patients and patients under investigation (PUIs) who require hospital admission are sequestered in the hospital. Outpatients who are COVID-19 positive or PUIs are encouraged to utilize telehealth video visits to determine whether in-person care is needed.
COVID-19 Resources:
- Tips for a Great Telemedicine Visit
- COVID-19 Parenting: One-on-One Time
- 10 Tips to Help Keep the Calm at Home
- Working and Learning from Home
Children’s e-story books
- "My Hero Is You - How Kids Can Fight COVID-19"
- "Something Strange Happened in My City - A social story about the coronavirus pandemic for children"
Video
Partnering with families to create a healthier community
Our team will work with you to provide the best possible care for your child. We provide comprehensive medical care for children up to 18 years of age. This includes routine check-ups, childhood immunizations, treatment for chronic medical conditions as well as care when your child is sick.COVID-19 UPDATE - April 23, 2020
Dear Families of GBMC Pediatric Group,
We hope your family is well during this challenging time. We also hope that there has not been an increase in injuries as your children are homebound, but instead that there has been a burst of more creativity as they have more unscheduled play time! We reassure you that we remain your medical home and sanity/mental health support through this new world. Our goal is to keep your family healthy and safe to the best of our ability. We continue to closely monitor the coronavirus situation with up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Maryland Department of Health (MD DOH).
Please keep in mind that children are at very low risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from coronavirus (COVID-19 is the illness and SARS-CoV-2 is the scientific name of the coronavirus itself). Of the over 3,000 deaths in the US through the end of March, there was only one death of a child and of the 80,000 cases in China, only one pediatric patient under 19 years of age died. Children can be asymptomatic carriers of the virus. Hence, they can pose a significant threat to spread the virus to others, especially those over 60 years of age. To minimize the potential spread of the virus, please remember to encourage frequent hand washing with soap and water for 20 seconds and to wipe frequently used surfaces with household cleaner or bleach. Also, we encourage limiting visitors to your home and, of course, no play dates.
Thank you for your patience and cooperation as we navigated through the first few weeks of procedural changes to ensure the utmost safety for all- patients and staff. We are delighted to report a smooth transition to this new pediatric care landscape.
First, we decreased patient traffic in the office so no one waits in the waiting area; patients are directed to an exam room immediately upon office arrival. Staff now perform all check in procedures prior to the scheduled appointment. In office well child visits are currently limited from birth through 15 months of age, 4 years and 11 years of age due to critical immunizations. CareFirst and Cigna provide coverage for virtual video well child visits; we hope other insurers will follow suit. If you have one of these insurances, we encourage you to call and schedule a video well child visit. In person sick visits have been mostly converted to virtual video visits. Families report relief that we continue treating their sick children and keeping children up to date with preventive care without having to come to the office. We strongly encourage you to sign up for MyChart to enable virtual video visits and to email non-urgent questions to your primary care provider.
If a sick visit for respiratory symptoms or fever is necessary, you and your child will be given a mask to wear upon arrival and asked to use hand sanitizer. Per GBMC policy, we are limiting all in office visits to patient and one parent or guardian. The only exceptions are the first office visit following nursery discharge and the two-week well child visit, as mothers may not be able to drive yet.
We have discontinued late evening hours and Saturday morning sick visit hours for the time being. Our office is currently open from 8am to 5:30pm, Monday through Friday. If your child needs evaluation during Saturday morning sick visit hours (8am-11am), please call the regular office number and you will be directed to a number where a provider will arrange a virtual video visit for evaluation.
At this time, we are not performing COVID-19 tests in our office. We also are limiting unnecessary testing for influenza and strep, as both procedures risk spread of respiratory droplets to those in close contact.
In order to limit the spread and exposure to the Coronavirus, we urge you to avoid going to the emergency department unless you or your child is experiencing a life-threatening emergency. If you are unsure, please contact us. We are dedicated to supporting your family in this brave new world. As always, it is an honor to care for your family.
Sincerely,
GBMC Health Partners Pediatric Group —
Timothy F. Doran, MD
Theresa T. Nguyen, MD
Rachel F. Plotnick, MD
Bethlehem L. Abebe-Wolpaw, MD
Erin K. Hong, DO
Abigail V. Adams, CRNP
Our Team

Timothy F. Doran, MD
Chairman, Department of Pediatrics
Pediatrics

Timothy F. Doran, MD
Chairman, Department of Pediatrics
Pediatrics

Theresa T. Nguyen, MD
Assistant Chairman of Pediatrics
Pediatrics

Theresa T. Nguyen, MD
Assistant Chairman of Pediatrics
Pediatrics

Rachel F. Plotnick, MD
Pediatrics

Rachel F. Plotnick, MD
Pediatrics

Bethlehem L. Abebe-Wolpaw, MD
Pediatrics

Bethlehem L. Abebe-Wolpaw, MD
Pediatrics

Erin K. Hong, DO
Pediatrics

Erin K. Hong, DO
Pediatrics

Abigail V. Adams, CRNP
NP-Pediatric

Abigail V. Adams, CRNP
NP-Pediatric

Harold Kuwazaki
Practice Manager
Our Services
Our pediatrics staff of 5 Board Certified Physicians and 1 certified registered nurse practitioner offers a broad spectrum of pediatric and youth services.
- "Well Child" visits - for routine check-ups
- Immunizations
- Newborn Care
- Pre-natal Counseling
- Lactation Consultations with Abigail Adams, CRNP
- Sick visits and 24-hour call line
- Routine physicals for school, sports or camp
- Video visits

Kids & Media: How much is too much?
Dr. Timothy Doran, Chairman of Pediatrics at GBMC, talks about the effect of too much media exposure on kids and what parents can do to help.
Watch NowWell Child Visits

- Identify and address concerns of parents and patients
- Identify and address possible concerns in the child's environment that may affect parenting and the child's well-being
- Identify and address developmental, behavioral, and health concerns that are identified through measurements, screens, tests, history, and physical examination at the visit
- Follow up on prior concerns and ongoing conditions
- Provide information, guidance and resources
- Based on your child's age, we may perform screening tests, such as blood tests or hearing and vision tests, to look for potential problems
- Your child's growth and vital signs will be obtained and evaluated
- Your provider will perform a thorough history and physical examination
- Any concerns identified through the above processes will be addressed
- A personalized plan of care and follow-up will be created between you and your child's health care provider
Video Visits
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