Convenient Tools for Illness and Growth 

The popular trend of downloading the latest mobile applications (apps) to your smartphone is likely here to stay. But phone apps are no longer just for entertainment. Recently, Florida Hospital launched three useful apps to help Central Florida families access medical care and tools.

DOCS2GO

As a parent, there is nothing more stressful than the moment your child begins to cough or run a fever. You stay home from work, make panicked calls to your mother or significant other, and spend hours searching the internet in an attempt to figure out if your child has the dreaded flu or just the common cold. Knowing that any illness can be nerve-wracking, Florida Hospital for Children recently launched a symptom checker app for iPhone called Docs2Go. Currently, this is the only app of its kind in Central Florida, built to answer a need of parents seeking medical help for their kids.

With information vetted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Florida Hospital for Children iPhone app does more than merely check symptoms and provide a disputable diagnosis like some websites and other symptom applications. This app provides parents with a recommended course of action, home care advice to relieve symptoms, and connects them with physicians at Florida Hospital for Children. Should your child’s illness be an emergency situation, the app will immediately connect to 9-1-1 and offer directions to the nearest emergency room. The Docs2Go app is free to download; search “Florida Hospital for Children” in the App Store.

BABY PLACE

Taking care of a baby can be exhausting enough without having to worry about keeping track of your infant’s every action. Most pediatricians highly recommend tracking diaper changes, eating schedules, and nap times for the first part of a child’s life. A mobile devices app, created by Winter Park Memorial Hospital, is now available to easily manage the tracking of a baby’s development.                    Baby Place allows a mom to ditch the pen and paper for a handy app on her phone. Now a mom can record information on the go thanks to the app’s six features aimed to organize a baby’s schedule and progress. Each segment of the app has separate areas that allow for your baby’s time and date of activities to be logged. For example, a mom can easily monitor when her child last ate or slept.

“In today’s world, moms are on the go; often managing motherhood with other personal and professional responsibilities at a sprint-like pace,” said Vickie Smith, RN, birth experience designer at The Dr. P. Phillips Baby Place at Winter Park Memorial Hospital. “Our team wanted to provide moms (and dads) with an easy-to-use mobile tool they can take anywhere, to track and access their little one’s habits and needs with the push of a button.”

One of the helpful perks of this app is that a mother can email herself the data she has stored, such as the baby’s medical information. This makes reporting habits back to the pediatrician simple and efficient. A mom can also set alarms to maintain exact times to feed, nurse, or sleep. The Baby Place app, available to download at BabyPlaceApp.com, is one of the most comprehensive, free apps of its kind for new moms.

ER WAIT APP

When you’re faced with an emergency, waiting is not an option—time is critical. Florida Hospital has created a crucial smartphone app that connects you to quality care quickly and easily when you need it most. ER Wait is a free app available for iPhone, DROID and BlackBerry, that finds the Florida Hospital Emergency Departments and Centra Care urgent care facilities closest to you in Central Florida. This app displays current waiting room times at each facility to help you decide which location to choose for the fastest care. With an ICE (In Case of Emergency) feature, you can save important contact information for your own reference or for other people to access in an emergency. Maps, directions, and operating hours are also provided. Emergencies seem to happen when you least expect them; that’s why right now is the right time to download this free app!