As a father himself, Dr. John Giardino understands completely that choosing a pediatrician is one of the first key decisions a parent will make for his or her child. In trusting that person to oversee the child’s development from birth to adolescence, to treat ailments both common and complex, and to provide advice on everything from nutrition to vaccinations, the relationship needs to be compatible from the start.
To that end, Dr. Giardino and the rest of the team at Advocare Moorestown Pediatrics are happy to host meet-and-greets with prospective parents or families seeking a change in the care for their little ones.
“They can schedule a formal time with us so they can get to know us, get to know the practice and see if it’s a good fit,” he explains. “I think when it comes to caregivers, to therapists and to doctors, you want to find someone who is willing to work as a team, who you feel comfortable talking to and who you feel safe enough to open up to. As a parent, you want to find someone who has shared values so you can work toward a common goal.
“One of the reasons people go doctor shopping is because they want to find a doctor who is open to their concerns or will take the time to hear them out. I want our practice to be one that’s accommodating and I want our physicians to be accessible, to listen and to try to find a team approach based on shared values.”
That has been the focus of Advocare Moorestown Pediatrics since its founding in 1968 by Dr. Charles Moloney, who served as a mentor for Dr. Giardino until retiring in the early 2010s. His influence is still felt today.
“We actually have some third-generation families who started as patients of Dr. Moloney, and now they come with their grandkids. That’s one of the most rewarding things, when you hear stories like that,” Dr. Giardino says.
“I’ve been in practice long enough myself to be treating second-generation patients—the kids of people who I treated when I first joined the practice. It’s valuable to build that relationship over time and to get to know the patients and their medical needs. One of the things we strive for is to make sure patients have someone who is interested in learning about their health care needs, utilizing a collaborative approach, and finding the best way to achieve their mental and physical health. We function as a team to achieve that goal.”
While staying true to the cornerstones on which Advocare Moorestown Pediatrics was built and continuing Dr. Moloney’s legacy, the practice is also more than willing to adapt to the current landscape. For example, since the pandemic there has been a steady increase in the number of children dealing with emotional or mental health issues, which is why it has expanded its behavioral health program.
Nurse practitioner Lisa Tighue recently completed additional training and became a certified psychiatric nurse practitioner, which helps Advocare Moorestown Pediatrics to meet this growing demand.
“I think some of the stigma is going away when it comes to behavioral and emotional health issues,” Dr. Giardino says. “People are more willing to seek out help, which is definitely a positive.”
The practice can now offer more direct services for this population while staying within its scope of care and complementing other providers.
“We continue to work collaboratively with behavioral health specialists in the community,” Dr. Giardino says. “In fact, we’re always open to developing a collaborative approach to care. If patients are struggling with anxiety or depression, we like to explore counseling and therapy, and we refer them to local psychologists. We can help on our end with some of the basic medication management, but if someone is dealing with something like bi-polar disorder or severe OCD, they should be seeing a psychiatrist. We handle the more common pediatric issues—in fact, anxiety is probably the most common issue we see in pediatrics.”
Whether it’s a mental or physical issue, Dr. Giardino stresses the importance of taking the time to understand what’s truly going on with the patient to best evaluate the underlying cause. The practice is also open to integrative and holistic approaches to care.
“We see a diverse array of patients, and there are people who come from different cultures and different belief systems,” he says. “We try to work with families to the best of our ability so we can achieve good health. There’s more than one good path to good health, so it’s important that the doctor and patient see where we match up and how we can get to that end point.”
Dr. Giardino, who was inspired to follow his uncle’s footsteps into pediatrics, is always grateful to be on that journey with patients and to be an integral part of their lives, and the rest of his team shares in that philosophy. “Our practice is small enough that the providers truly get to know the families and we’re able to take the time necessary to work with them and answer their questions,” he says. “It’s those bonds we form over the years that create a more durable, lasting patient-physician relationship, and that hopefully leads to better health outcomes.”
Advocare Moorestown Pediatrics
Moorestown
(856) 235-0264
AdvocareMoorestownPeds.com
