It starts with a cough. Next comes a fever. Then you hear the dreaded words, “I don’t feel good.” Your child is sick and you have a feeling that you need to see a doctor.
You call or go online to make an appointment and find one available with a nurse practitioner. But can a nurse practitioner diagnose and treat your child? To some people’s surprise, yes, a primary care nurse practitioner can handle nearly all of the same things as your pediatrician.
To help you navigate your next visit to the pediatrician’s office, we are bringing you behind the scenes to meet your local Atrium Health Levine Children’s team. From your initial call to make an appointment, to the person helping you feed your baby or care for your child during a sick visit, meet a few of our teammates bringing your children the compassionate care they deserve.
Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner
If your child likes playing outside or riding dirt bikes, they have a lot in common with McCoy Goforth, a certified pediatric nurse practitioner at Atrium Health Levine Children's Suburban Pediatrics. Goforth loves ensuring his patients are feeling well so they can enjoy all the fun parts of being a kid. But rest assured, he will also remind them to put safety first, like wearing protective gear.
Spending the past 10 years in both the hospital and primary care setting at Levine Children’s, it’s safe to say that Goforth is more than an expert at this point. But when he first started his career, he learned that not everyone understood exactly what a nurse practitioner does.
“As a primary care nurse practitioner, we do practically all the same things the pediatrician can do,” says Goforth. “We conduct well visits from birth to college age, while caring for sick patients ranging from mild acute illnesses to complex chronic illnesses. We’re able to diagnose and treat to make our patients as healthy as possible.”
He reassures families that while Levine Children’s certainly has a great team of pediatricians, they shouldn’t be nervous to schedule an appointment with a nurse practitioner – health care professionals who generally have a strong history of bedside nursing experience that in turn benefits the patient by providing an added level of compassion.
“I have always enjoyed growing with my patients and their family as we navigate illness and health,” says Goforth. “I have learned so much from my patients, especially how resilient pediatric patients are despite their circumstances. This is what helped motivate me to become a nurse practitioner, as I was able to have a greater impact on their health.”
Care Connection Center Supervisor
Whether your child is well or sick, contacting your pediatrician’s office is easy with both online and over the phone options. If choosing the latter, you’ll be connected to 10-year veteran Heather Skipper or one of her teammates.
Skipper is a supervisor for Atrium Health Levine Children’s Care Connection Center. In her role, she assists patients and their families with their care when they call into their pediatric office.
“I help to bridge communication between our center and the family’s pediatric office,” she says. “Our leadership team works with each individual office to find areas where we can improve and ensure our patients are getting the best care possible every time they call.”
The Care Connection Center team – all located in and around North and South Carolina – is the first point of contact with patients.
“It’s a huge privilege and honor to be the person that is representing that office,” Skipper says. “Our primary goal is to help facilitate getting the care our patients need and want. We strive to resolve the needs of our families on the very first call by providing top-notch customer service.”
For Skipper, each patient interaction is personal.
“I took on this position because I love children. For some reason or another, children flock to me – maybe it’s because I am a big kid myself,” Skipper jokes. “Being an aunt of three boys, I constantly think of my nephews when patients are calling in. ‘How would I want Mason to be treated if he was calling? How would I feel if this was Landon? What if this was Owen’s request?’ So, I strive to treat all our patients like they are my own family.”
Lactation Consultant
If you’re a first-time parent, you might find yourself in a state of information overload during the first few weeks. Both you and your baby are figuring out what life is like together and you might have a lot of questions. We promise your questions are always welcome with the care teams at Levine Children’s. We also promise to help you grow your confidence in comfortably and safely caring for your baby at home. And when it comes to feeding, particularly breastfeeding, our lactation consultants do just that.
Tahysha ‘Ty’ McClain, IBCLC, is a lactation consultant at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Midtown Pediatrics and Atrium Health Women's Care Charlotte OB/GYN. In the outpatient setting, her role is to provide support, education and feeding guidance to parents by collaborating across multiple disciplines to ensure families meet their breastfeeding goals.
“More specifically in our outpatient lactation appointments, we will assist the parent that is breast feeding with proper latch technique, explore different breastfeeding positions and help the lactating parent build and maintain milk supply,” says McClain.
She shares that lactation consultants can even help families with any pumping needs or concerns, such as proper flange fit or how to operate their pump(s). Whether families choose to feed via breast, bottle or a mixture of the two, lactation consultants are able to work directly with the family to develop a plan.
Families who choose to breastfeed can find peace in knowing that their lactation consultant shares in their passion for a successful breastfeeding journey.
“Something people don’t know about lactation consultants is that many of us come from all walks of life,” says McClain. “Some of us have been art majors, worked in corporate America, insurance, fashion design, tourism or as stay-at-home parents. All valuable careers traded in to follow our passion in
supporting families during this personal breastfeeding journey. Feeling drawn to this path helps us meet families where they are to provide compassionate support and guidance.”
Practice Manager
Though you may not see them, the practice manager at your child’s pediatric office plays an essential role in making sure your child’s care is not just personal, but also safe.
Sandy Carrigan, practice manager for Atrium Health Levine Children's Indian Trail Pediatrics and Union Pediatrics, spends her days ensuring practice operations, team members, and providers are knowledgeable and in compliance with corporate, agency, and state and federal requirements.
Carrigan emphasizes that an important part of ensuring patients’ safety and care is promoting effective communication between providers and the staff.
While she admits practice managers do not have all the answers, she acknowledges that it’s OK to not know everything, as long as the team works together to provide the best outcome for patients.
“A tremendous advantage of working with an organization like Levine Children’s is the endless resources to support each other.”
Stay tuned to our blog for an inside look at some other special teammates who are dedicated to providing the best care for your family.
Read more about the services offered at our child's pediatric care office here.
