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After Hours Care

After Hours Care


When you have concerns about your child’s health when the office is closed, after-hours care ensures you get timely answers and guidance. Virginia Pediatric Group offers 24-hour on-call answering services for patients who usually come to their offices in Fairfax, Great Falls, Herndon, and Aldie, Virginia. If you need after-hours care, call the practice to get connected to a clinician.

After Hours Care Q & A

What is after-hours care?

After-hours care is quality health care offered outside of regular office hours. If your child has an illness or injury, after-hours care provides guidance or treatment when your pediatrician is not available. 

After-hours care may include over-the-phone medical advice, a telemedicine visit, or referring you to an urgent care clinic or the emergency room, depending on the severity of your child's health issue. At Virginia Pediatric Group, an on-call clinician is available after hours to help you determine which type of care would be best for your child. 

While most pediatric health concerns can wait until regular office hours, the on-call clinician can direct you to a trusted facility if your child needs an urgent evaluation.

How do I access after-hours care?

For their after-hours on-call clinician, call your Virginia Pediatric Group office and follow the prompts. The answering service collects your child's name, date of birth, and a brief description of your question or concern. Typically, a provider returns your call in 5-30 minutes. 

If you haven't heard back within 30 minutes, please call again. While infrequent, some messages are not transmitted correctly, and a clinician may be unable to reach you. 

When should I seek after-hours care? 

If you have any concern about your child's health that you don't feel can wait until regular office hours, it's appropriate to contact the on-call clinician. They may refer minor illnesses or injuries to a trusted urgent care clinic.

They may recommend you visit the pediatric emergency room if your child has: 

  • Severe abdominal pain
  • Continuous vomiting or diarrhea 
  • Concussion symptoms, especially with a loss of consciousness 
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Trauma with broken bones or severe bleeding
  • Severe drowsiness, difficulty waking, or confusion 
  • A stiff neck with fever and headache
  • Suspected overdose or poisoning
  • An animal bite

If you need medical guidance during regular office hours, call the office to access the Virginia Pediatric Group advice nurse phone line. They can give you over-the-phone advice, schedule an appointment for your child, or direct you to seek other treatment.

For 24-hour on-call access and expert after-hours care every day of the week, call Virginia Pediatric Group today.