Ashley Miller, pediatrician and owner of South Royalton Health Center - The Doctor is in for Kids in the Middle of the Night

I am originally from southern NH, moved to VT in 2004 and never looked back. I left a large multispecialty practice affiliated with an academic medical center in 2014, where I often had never seen the patient or family I was providing care for while on call, or in the office, to be able to provide more connected care to a smaller group of patients at South Royalton Health Center. Now, as a small business owner I am thrilled with my choice. At SRHC we work very hard to embody the patient-centered medical home, we feel strongly that it improves the health of our children and their communities, which is why I am highlighting why Vermont needs to invest in primary care now.

I will start off with a story from a recent call night. I was paged shortly after midnight. On the other end of the phone was a tearful mother that I knew well. Her 2-year old daughter had just woken her with a scream. Her daughter has what are known as febrile seizures, and during a seizure she lets out these blood curdling screams. After about 30 minutes on the phone, helping this mother evaluate her daughters current health and stability and we were able to decide together she didn't need to go to the Emergency Room.