Not all that long ago, an overwhelmed mom didn’t have to load up the car and drive their child to the hospital with every medical concern.
With one call, a pediatric provider would soon appear at the door with a smile and a medical bag.
Courtney and Jonathan Salazar of Care on Call Pediatrics are reviving the model, bringing it out of black-and-white movies and into the present.
“As a new mom, I was incredibly grateful to have Jonathan by my side through all the constant worries that come with a new baby,” Courtney said. “But I realized that’s a luxury most new parents don’t have. Every family deserves that level of personal care, like back in the day when house calls were the norm.”
Rather than rue that bygone comfort, Courtney and Jonathan — an experienced physician assistant — hatched a business plan.
The Nocatee husband and wife first met in 2012 while both serving as educators in the Teach for America program in Jacksonville.
Jonathan spent 2 years teaching high school science and 3 years leading elementary education classes in low-income communities.
Tears and tummy aches, he said, were a near constant of his time in some of the area’s most challenging classrooms. Soothing those sobs would become an essential skill.
He applied that experience after transitioning to health care in 2017, becoming a pediatric physician assistant and putting in countless hours in urgent care environments.
But those cold and clinical settings, he told The Citizen, are often less than hospitable to nervous youngsters.
“Kids get freaked out by an ER. The best care you can give a child is in their home, with their parents nearby,” he said. “That’s what we provide and that’s why we started Care on Call. We just felt there is a real need for this service.”
Courtney handles all of the marketing and booking for the business, and said the phone has already been chiming — at all hours.
“We want to get back to how health care was,” she said. “And we’ve been overwhelmed by the response.”
Engagement with a client begins with a telehealth call to determine the nature and severity of the issue.
“Is this something we can handle at the house or is this something you need to go to the ER for?” Jonathan said.
Parents, he noted, are often forced to choose between an onerous and time-consuming visit to a hospital or ignoring an issue and hoping for the best.
“This model of care is more than just convenient; it’s personal,” he said. “We are able to take the time to really get to know your child, work with you to create a wellness plan that fits your family, and give your child the care they need and deserve without the rushed visits or juggling schedules.”
From strep tests to treating lacerations to diagnosing the seriousness of that sudden 2 a.m. fever, the Salazar family phones are activated around the clock.
“All you have to do is call,” Jonathan said. “And we’ll be there.”
