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2Aug

HD Pediatrics, a new pediatric practice in Stoughton, announces Dr. José Alberto Betances has joined the office.

Betances speaks both English and Spanish and graduated from Amherst College with a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and later earned his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in his hometown of the Bronx, N.Y. He spent his residency in social pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and has worked since 2014 as the attending physician in Pediatrics at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Cambridge.

HD Pediatrics founders Timothy DiBona and Robyn Hayes are introducing a new model in pediatric healthcare to change the way traditional pediatric care is delivered.

Families will find services to treat a child’s medical and mental health needs in one setting at the 5,000-square-foot facility, scheduled to open this summer. These services include primary medical care, routine well visits, same-day telemedicine visits, same-day sick visits, in-office lab analysis, and mental health counseling.

Betances said HD Pediatrics’ all-encompassing approach to children’s health attracted him to the new practice.

“I’ve always thought behavioral health should be incorporated into the pediatric health model, so I was very interested in joining this practice,” Betances said. “Not only will we make mental health questions part of every examination, but we’ll have someone right here to bring in and provide support. In practices in a lot of smaller communities you don’t have that luxury. HD is doing well by making mental health a foundation of the practice. It’s really living up to what we aspire to — to be a medical home for families.”

Betances said the diversity of Stoughton and the region also attracted him.

“I grew up in the Bronx and my family came from the Dominican Republic,” he said. “My wife is also first-generation American and her family is from Cape Verde. I grew up around very diverse people and was attracted to that.”

Hayes and DiBona are building a team of health providers to offer routine pediatric care, along with full-time mental health counselors. The entire group will meet every two weeks to discuss case studies so that the counselors can educate the medical providers on mental health symptoms to look for in the different age groups.

DiBona will oversee the business side of the operation. He has 30 years of experience as a specialist in health care improvement and consultant to health care providers. Hayes, who has worked nearly 15 years as a pediatric nurse practitioner in the region, will supervise the clinical day to day operations.

HD Pediatrics is under construction at 1524 Turnpike St. in Stoughton, with plans to serve families in Stoughton, Brockton, Randolph, Canton, Sharon, Easton and other nearby communities.

HD Pediatrics Ribbon Cutting - July 2022
7Jul

HD Pediatrics, the clinic in Stoughton that provides a new model in pediatric health care, will open its doors in August 2022.

Health care professionals will begin seeing patients with walk-in and same-day appointments, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held on July 12th at 11:30 a.m, with founders Timothy DiBona and Robyn Hayes welcoming families and local officials.

The practice, a 5,000-square-foot facility at 1524 Turnpike St. in Stoughton, will serve families in Stoughton, Brockton, Sharon, Easton and other nearby communities.

DiBona, a healthcare business consultant, and Hayes, a pediatric nurse practitioner, conceived of a practice that would provide the combined approach of physical medicine supported with emotional and psychological therapy.

“When pediatricians provide medical care to patients, they are typically very ill-equipped to pick up on the signs that a child may be a candidate for mental health care,” DiBona said. “Let’s face it, determining whether a 4-year-old has anxiety is difficult. And most health care providers don’t notice or can’t figure out what to ask a child.”

Hayes, a pediatric nurse practitioner, added that the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the incidence of childhood anxiety, depression and other trauma-caused illnesses, especially in families that suffered losses and disruption.

“Professionally, families have been struggling to get kids into mental health services and are encountering long wait lists to see a mental health professional,” Hayes said. “I feel there is a giant need for kids to get these appointments right now.”

Dr. JoséAlberto Betances will join the office in the beginning of August. Betances is an English and Spanish speaker who spent his residency in social pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore and has worked since 2014 as the attending physician in Pediatrics at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates in Cambridge.

Hayes and Betances will offer a range of pediatric services that include routine well visits, same-day telemedicine visits and same-day sick visits. Full-time mental health counseling will be offered shortly after the opening with counseling for patients as well as advising the medical staff on symptoms that might be the result of bullying at school or anxiety about world events.

The practice will provide in-house lab services later in the year to lessen waiting time and eliminate extra trips for parents. Time-pressed families will also be able to take advantage of telemedicine services during normal work hours. Additional plans are to have the practice feature a marketplace of products including provider recommended items such as child-friendly bug repellent and sunscreen, and books published by HD Pediatrics clinicians and counselors.

“We want this to be total health care for both physical and mental health concerns and be very focused to provide everything the patient needs,” DiBona said.