CONTINUITY CLINIC | uclapediatrics

Continuity Clinics

Introduction

Your residency training includes a core longitudinal general pediatric outpatient experience. Each resident is assigned to a continuity clinic site, allowing for the development of long-term relationships with pediatric patients. During +1 clinic weeks, you are scheduled for an average of 4 continuity clinic sessions, seeing about 4-8 patients per half-day. Each site offers unique learning opportunities with its patient population and culture.

General Principles

Although each clinic site has its own workflows, there are some general principles that apply across all clinic sites.

Arrive on time. Arrive on time to ensure smooth clinic flow. Always double-check your schedule on Amion for accuracy.
Be efficient with your charting. Prioritize orders, prescriptions, referrals, etc. and how these are completed at each clinic site to improve patient flow. It is expected that your patient notes are signed, and encounters are closed by the end of your +1 clinic week.
Be your patient’s doctor. For most sites, continuity relies on your efforts. Foster continuity by sharing your upcoming clinic dates with families. Consider offering appointments during your next +1 clinic week. Your experience (and their experience) will be more rewarding through continuity of care. Share your business card so patients and families know how to contact you.
Work as a team. Consider yourself part of the clinic’s group practice. If you notice another resident falling behind, offer to help see their next patient (especially if you have a gap in your schedule or finish early). No one likes to keep patients waiting. Seek help by checking in with your senior residents or attendings.
Communicate professionally. Engage in close loop communication with your clinic staff. Remember, you are all on the same team for your patients.
Know your resources; and if you don’t know, ask. Each clinic has its own network of resources (e.g., social workers, care coordinators, clerks, schedulers, attendings, laboratories, etc.) If unsure, ask for clarification. We don’t want you to waste your time looking for a form or waiting on the phone unnecessarily.

Scheduling

Emergencies: If you have an emergency, page the Chief Resident on-call for coverage arrangements.
<Hard Stop> Less than 1 month in advance, the Chief Residents will NOT accept scheduling requests for non-emergency issues.
Advance Notice: Non-emergency scheduling requests must be submitted at least one month in advance; otherwise, they may not be accommodated. If you request a scheduling change, and your patient panel already has been scheduled, the Chief Residents may not be able to honor that request. This is due to patient care concerns (i.e., the clinic should not be cancelling patient’s appointments for non-emergency scheduling changes).
Requesting Changes: First, email Chief Residents at pedchief@mednet.ucla.edu, and explore potential swaps with co-residents. Once your scheduling request has been approved by the Chief Residents, email your approved scheduling request to your continuity clinic site director. See contacts under clinic site-specific information.

Clinic Site-Specific Information

UCLA Westwood Pediatrics Continuity Clinic (PCC)

Location: Children’s Health Center, 200 UCLA Medical Plaza, Suite 265, Los Angeles, CA, 90095

Phone Numbers: (Appointments) 310-825-0867; (Fax) 310-794-1556

Site Contact(s): Dr. Kiran Masood, Dr. Christine Thang

EMR is CareConnect (Epic).
Residents are empaneled in EMR. Patients are scheduled directly under each resident.
Share clinic dates via a SmartPhrase note template in patient instructions (AVS) to promote continuity of care with patients and families.
Follow up on lab results and patient communications via CareConnect in-basket. Send to attendings for co-signing.
Complete notes and close encounters by the end of +1 clinic week. Route to attendings for co-signing.
For more information about PCC, please see the resident website section (https://www.uclapeds.com/pcc)

UCLA West Los Angeles Pediatrics (WLA)

Location: 11318 National Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90064

Phone Numbers: (Appointments) 310-231-9150; (Fax) 310-268-9319

Site Contact(s): Dr. Candice Ho and Dr. June Liu

Residents see patients off the WLA attending pediatricians’ schedules.
Residents are encouraged to use the “blue post-it notes” function in CareConnect within the patient’s chart to note their continuity of care.
Inbox and lab follow-ups are done during the resident’s +1 clinic week.

Olive View Medical Center (OV)

Location: Womens and Childrens Center, 14445 Olive View Drive, Sylmar, CA 91342

Phone Numbers: (Clinic) 747-210-4301; (Fax) 747-210-8121

Site Contact(s): Dr. Neil Gholkar, email: NGholkar@dhs.lacounty.gov

EMR is ORCHID (Cerner).
Residents are empaneled in EMR. Patients are scheduled directly under each resident.
Inbox and lab follow-ups are done via EMR remote access. Residents are expected to check their EMR inboxes every 1-2 weeks and respond to messages, E-consults (referrals), and check for lab results.
For Labs, please CC your attending on the order so results also populate in your attending's inbox.
Nurses are assigned to providers. You will have a nurse who will be paired with you during your time. All messages (e.g., no-shows, follow-up requests, patient care issues) should go to your assigned nurse.
Pre-charting (or pre-rounding) is an expectation for clinic. Arrive to clinic prepared with knowledge of patients you are seeing. Suggested pre-charting is at least 1-2 days prior to your clinic.
Charting specifics: please see guides sent to you by Dr. McCoy prior to starting your rotation, also available on Microsoft Teams Account - under resident continuity clinic.
If you call a family outside of clinic time for lab results or referrals (i.e., during your admin time), you need to document a free-text note, so others are aware of what was discussed. This does not need an attending to co-sign, but if you discussed with an attending, do add them.
Clinic schedules are set 3 months in advance. If you have specific requests for time off, you must give at least 3 months notice, or arrange coverage for your scheduled patients, unless of a medical or personal emergency. There will be rare exceptions to this rule. Requests should start with Chief Residents and then messaged to Dr. McCoy to ensure academic requirements for clinics are met.
For more information about OV, please see the resident website section (https://www.uclapeds.com/olive-view)

Simms-Mann Health & Wellness Center Venice Family Clinic (SIMMS)

Location: 2509 Pico Blvd. Santa Monica, CA, 90405

Phone Numbers: (Appointments) 310-392-8636; (Administration) 310-392-8630; (Fax) 310-392-6642

Email: VFCinfo@mednet.ucla.edu

Site Contact(s): Dr. Cambria Garell; Dr. Elle Campbell

The pediatrics clinic is located on the second floor. The door code is: 2514*
Parking is free in the clinic’s parking lot. If full, you can park in the SGI-USA Buddhist Center (2601 Pico Blvd)’s parking lot next door to Simms Clinic.
Filtered water, refrigerators, microwaves, vending machines, are available in the breakroom located on the 3rd floor.
Residents sign up for patients as they arrive to the clinic.
EMR: Epic OCHIN. Remote access through remote.ochin.info and log-in using your VFC log-in such as yourusername@community-health.org and VFC password. Contact VFCESA@Mednet.ucla.edu for EMR support.

For more information about Venice Family Clinic (Simms/Colen), please see the resident website section https://www.uclapeds.com/vfc

Lou Colen Children's Health & Wellness Center Venice Family Clinic (COLEN)

Location: Braddock Square Shopping Center at 4700 Inglewood Blvd Ste 101, Los Angeles, CA 90230

Phone Numbers: (Appointments) 310-392-8636; (Nursing line) 310-664-7785

Site Contact(s): Dr. Michelle Aguilar

Residents see patients off the staff pediatricians’ schedules.
We are the patient’s medical home, please remember to address/ follow-up on chronic problems/ preventive health services due at every visit
In order to build up your panel, know your continuity clinic schedule ahead of time and schedule patients for follow-up / Well Child Care visits when you’re back in clinic whenever possible
EMR: NextGen, Epic transition anticipated May 2025
Additional info here for Colen Children’s Health Center Continuity Clinic Guide: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18EO1EmRLdTqxqKF5yDM6WWRyaBSQ-qA8/edit
For more information about Venice Family Clinic (Simms/Colen), please see the resident website section https://www.uclapeds.com/vfc

South Valley Health Center (SV)

Location: 38350 40th St E, Suite 100 Palmdale, CA 93552

Phone Numbers: 661-225-3030

Site Contact(s): Dr. Amelia Walker - 925-788-4604 or awalker2@dhs.lacounty.gov

Overview: South Valley Health Center (SV) is a DHS-affiliated community outpatient pediatrics clinic serving a medically underserved population in the Antelope Valley. The clinic sees a mix of well-child visits and general pediatric urgent care issues. Residents play a key role in providing continuity care and may serve as the primary medical doctor (PMD) for their own patient panel.

South Valley Continuity Clinic Resident Guide

Clinic Logistics:

Clinic Hours:
- Monday: 8 AM – 4:30 PM
- Wednesday AM: 8 AM – 4:30PM (Olive View Case Conference 8-9 am)
- Friday: 8 AM – 4:30 PM (South Valley Case Conference or UCLA Grand Rounds 8-9 am)
Support Staff:
- Medical Assistants (CMA) for patient intake
- Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) support during visits
- Registered Nurse (RN) – charge nurse, nurse visits, parent calls
- Pediatric Care Manager (CM) – care management for complex patients
Onsite Services:
- Basic lab services
- X-ray and ultrasound
- Urgent Care (may be adult provider coverage)
EMR System: Orchid

Clinic Resources: Interpreter services, therapy services (speech, OT, PT), Community Health Navigators, Social Work, specialty care referrals, community resources through One Degree.

Preceptors: Residents are supervised by a dedicated group of pediatric faculty.