http://www.winnetkacurrent.com/rappaport-pediatrics-brings-concierge-care-winnetka – December 1, 2015:

Dr. Jessica Rappaport opened Rappaport Pediatrics at 570 Lincoln Ave., Suite 1, in Winnetka.

Stepping into Dr. Jessica Rappaport’s new Winnetka practice, Rappaport Pediatrics, one immediately feels at home. The space is well lit and the walls are lined with colorful paintings. There is a receptionist’s station, the doctor’s own office and a few rooms for examinations, including a playroom.

The most striking aspect of Rappaport’s practice, though, is how it conveys a sense of comfort and familiarity. Instead of the sterile and frantic nature of most doctor visits and experiences, the space, from the waiting room to the examination rooms themselves, offers the feeling of visiting a family friend, someone you know and trust. 

The atmosphere is designed to be calming and inviting for young children, who might otherwise be frightened or apprehensive about visiting a doctor. “Kids seem to really love this office,” Rappaport said. “If they want to play for a few minutes first in the play room, I’ll go and examine them in the play room if they’re more comfortable with that.” Concern for her patients is clearly the chief goal for Rappaport, who added, “I can work around doing whatever they need to make them feel comfortable.”

Rappaport, from the neighboring suburb Glencoe, has worked in pediatrics for 15 years and decided that she wanted to spend more time with her patients and allow for families to have a personalized experience with their pediatrician, as opposed to trying to fit in so many people and have everyone’s experience be hurried and impersonal.

Concierge medicine, a personalized form of healthcare gaining more recognition, is a one-on-one relationship between a patient and physician which allows for the care, time and availability best suited to the patient. In the case of Rappaport Pediatrics, the relationship is between the physician, child and the family. “It’s a new concept,” Rappaport said of concierge medicine. “I think it’s a wonderful fit for pediatrics.”

One of concierge care’s main benefits is the availability and time offered to patients. “I can give the patients an almost unlimited amount of time,” Rappaport said. “All my patients have my cell phone number, they can call me directly.” The waiting time of patients, as Rappaport puts it, is “zero minutes.”

Getting to know her patients and their families, forming a good relationship with them, has proved very rewarding for both Rappaport and her patients. “It gives the kids time to be comfortable,” she said. As she treats children from birth up until young adulthood, Rappaport is able to get to know the children and their families well, and to be a reliable and knowledgeable doctor they can turn to at any time.

Having opened up her Winnetka practice in August, Rappaport has been getting the word out over the past few months about Rappaport Pediatrics. “I’d like to get involved in the community and meet more of the people that live in this town,” she said. Living close by in Glencoe, Rappaport can easily be at her Winnetka practice to handle emergencies or anything else that might suddenly come up for a patient. “It’s been great so far,” Rappaport said as she expects her practice to continue to flourish as she develops even deeper ties to the community.

North Shore resident has 15 years of experience. Jessica Rappaport, a cum laude graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, earned her medical degree at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. She has taught at New York’s Cornell University, served as Assistant Attending Pediatrician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weil Cornell Medical Center and was on the medical staff of North Shore Pediatrics and Beverly Hospital in Massachusetts. Most recently, she worked at Pediatric Partners in Highland Park.

For more information about Dr. Rappaport’s new concierge pediatric practice, call (224) 255-6001, or visit www.rappaportpediatrics.com.