Not an emergency? Visit Arkansas Children’s After-Hours Clinic

Sometimes, a child is sick but not sick enough to visit the emergency department.

The Arkansas Children's After-Hours Clinic partners with community primary care clinics to offer sick visits on evenings and weekends, allowing parents and caregivers to forgo the emergency department. The clinic is open to current Arkansas Children’s primary care patients and patients from our partner clinics. Telemedicine is available for current Arkansas Children’s primary care patients.

The After-Hours Clinic is located in the Neurosciences Clinic on the second floor of Arkansas Children’s Hospital, West Entrance at 901 S. Battery Street in Little Rock.

The clinic hours are:

  • Monday-Friday: 5-9 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m.-8 p.m.

Appointments are preferred and can be scheduled through MyChart or by calling 501-364-1202. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Emergency Department vs. After-Hours Clinic

It is scary when your child is sick. It can feel even scarier when their primary care physician’s office is closed. Do you take your child to an after-hours clinic or the emergency room?

Learn where to take your child.

Emergency Department Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • What is taking so long? We know it is hard to sit and wait when you have a sick child. The children who are the sickest or badly injured are seen by doctors first. If you have been waiting a while to be seen, very likely another child arrived who may be less stable. There are often ambulances and helicopters bringing critically ill patients into the ER through a different entrance that need immediate care. The majority of your time will likely be spent in the Tests/Treatments portion. Every patient will be going through the same steps as your child, so things may take a while to ensure that everyone gets the care they need.
  • Why is my child not allowed to eat or drink? Some medical conditions need urgent tests/treatments that require an empty stomach. We know it is hard for you to not provide your child food or drink but until we have a better idea of the type of condition your child has, it is safer for your child to not have anything by mouth.
  • Why am I asked the same questions by different people? Do doctors talk to each other? Yes, our doctors communicate with each other! We want to make sure we provide the very best care for your child. To do that we must have accurate and complete information. When different members of our team ask you the same questions, they discuss and clarify details to make sure they all have the same information. It may be frustrating to tell your story multiple times, but each time one of our team may learn something new that could help your child.

Outreach Education

Our staff wants to support pediatric care in the community. We not only want to be your hospital of choice for pediatric patients, but we want to support you when you have to care for the sick or injured child. Our outreach education program is designed to introduce all healthcare providers to pediatric emergency care from pre-hospital through care in the emergency room. We would love to schedule a time to visit your ambulance service, fire department or rural healthcare facility to discuss and offer pediatric care training. To schedule an appointment or find out more email us at outreacheducation@archildrens.org.

Arkansas Children's promotes the health and well-being of our staff, patients, and visitors through a tobacco and nicotine-free environment. All Arkansas Children's campuses are tobacco and smoke-free. Through programs designed to help adhere to the hospital’s commitment to become tobacco and smoke-free, we will make every effort to support patients, families, and staff with the implementation of this policy.

This decision was made in support of our mission to enhance, sustain and restore the health and development of children and to create and maintain a healthy environment for employees, physicians, families and visitors.