Kidz MD DPC

02/28/2026

Newly renovated clinic space in Hospital Valley near Liberty Hospital in a quiet pediatric clinic available for rent. Two rooms available suitable for massage therapist, OT/PT specialist, speech/language specialist or lactation consultant.

Reach out to KidzMD DPC for more information or to tour the space.

02/18/2026

The day has come and I am excited to announce my pediatric direct primary care clinic in Liberty offering convenient home visits and telemedicine appointments without the hassle of insurance, 15-minute appointment slots or in-office visits only.

02/03/2026

KidzMD DPC is now open! We are having our Open House/Ribbon-Cutting March 3rd at 4pm. Come by and check out our new clinic space.

We also have space available to sublet for a professional wanting affordable space such as therapist, masseuse, acupuncturist, OT/PT specialist, lactation specialist, or other medical or allied health professional. One room has a sink and storage cabinets and the open is completely open.

Call or email if interested.
Chelsea Johnson
8160264-7576
chelsea@kidzmd.com

12/26/2025

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2026! Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday time and eager for the new year?

I work in pediatric emergency departments all over the country and see how illnesses and injuries play out in each region. Now, influenza A infection has hit epidemic levels and we are seeing high volumes in the ERs - mostly due to flu symptoms ie fever, cough and sore throats. There's not much for doctors to do once your child has the illness.

It is not too late to receive your child's flu vaccine which can limit how sick your child gets and decrease the chance of hospitalization for flu complications, like needing oxygen support, dehydration, sepsis, bacterial pneumonia, or seizures.

If your child has flu symptoms, keep your child home. Give lots of fluids to stay hydrated, encourage extra sleep and rest, and acetaminophen or ibuprofen (ages 6 months and older) for fever, pain, fussiness.

KidzMD DPC can provide in-home sick visits and telemedicine visits to help you care for your sick child. We can determine if oxygen levels are good, assess hydration status, and check for bacterial infections like ear infections and pneumonia that may need antibiotics.

Call or visit our website to register and schedule an appointment.
816-264-7576 or www.kidzmd.com

12/26/2025

Allergies and Winter

If your child has asthma or allergies, winter can be the perfect storm—here are the five things parents should check now before January hits.”
Hi everyone! As we head into the coldest part of the year, I want to share a quick winter asthma and allergy check-in. These simple steps can help your child breathe easier and avoid those stressful, mid-winter flare-ups.

First, review all medications. Make sure daily controllers, rescue inhalers, and allergy meds aren’t expired and that you actually have enough on hand. Check spacers and nebulizer masks too—kids outgrow them faster than we realize.

Second, update your asthma action plan. If your child has been coughing at night, needing their inhaler more often, or having trouble keeping up during exercise, those are signs the plan may need tweaking. A quick check-in with your pediatrician can help get things back on track.

Third, remember that indoor allergens spike in winter. With windows closed and heaters running, dust mites and pet dander can flare symptoms. Washing bedding weekly, vacuuming with a HEPA filter, and using air purifiers in bedrooms can make a noticeable difference.

Fourth, humidification matters. Cold air is dry air, and dry air makes airways cranky. Keeping indoor humidity between 30–50% helps reduce coughing, wheezing, and throat irritation. Too much humidity, though, can worsen dust mites—so that middle range is the sweet spot.

Fifth, have a sick-day plan. Viral season is in full swing, and colds are one of the biggest triggers for asthma exacerbations. Know what medications to start at the first sign of illness and when to escalate care.

And finally, listen to your child. If they’re breathing faster, using extra muscles to breathe, or just seem “off,” it’s always better to check in early.

A little preparation now can make the rest of winter much smoother for kids with asthma or allergies. Stay warm, stay healthy, and take care!

12/18/2025

12/17/2025

Recently I was interviewed by VoyageKC. Here's an excerpt to share why I deliver direct pediatric care in my clinic.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Johnson.

Hi Chelsea, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.

Spent my entire childhood and young adult life striving to become a doctor. Then, having spent 20 years in academic medicine, eventually realized I forgot to make new personal/career goals for myself once I achieved the MD title. Sadly, this resulted in feeling stuck in my career for too long. Only after leaving academic medicine in 2020 and spending time exploring much more about medicine, did I find myself securing my new goals and purpose.

I had wrestled with so many parent/family encounters working emergency departments across multiple states – in pediatric academic hospitals and rural facilities; large, high-volume multiple-physician ERs and single physician-coverage pediatric ER within an ER. So many families did not choose to be in there. It was a last-ditch effort to get care for their children. From having no primary doctor available, no clinic appointments available, or no clinic returning calls or portal messages to worried parents; to children getting suddenly worse at home and to the third or fourth doctor’s/urgent care/ER visit without a diagnosis or treatment that helped. I was now ready to tackle how I wanted to provide that personalized, high-touch, accessible and affordable time with families that needed to be heard, understood, and learn more about what’s going on with their child. Importantly, parents want to be a part of the decision-making and know they have options.

With the encouragement of my own DPC physician, so began the process to open my own direct pediatric care clinic in Liberty MO. Currently, we are able to start seeing patient via video visits or home visits while my clinic is completing renovations to open in January 2026 next to Liberty Hospital. At the core of pediatric Direct Pediatric Care model is a commitment to delivering exceptional value, convenience, and peace of mind for families. By removing traditional barriers to care, we empower parents with reliable access, transparent pricing, and a stronger, more personalized relationship with their child’s physician. At KidzMD DPC, we offer a membership-based model that gives families:

✅ More time with the doctor
✅ After-hours access for sick visits
✅ Home visits, telemedicine, & texting
✅ Urgent care services (splinting, stitches, ear piercings & more)
✅ My one goal: to keep your child healthy and out of the ER

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?

Surprisingly, the struggles are not what one expects they will be. Getting the location/facility selected was an initial setback; but flooring installation has been the biggest challenge to date and pushing back our opening date by 3 months. Some things are just out of one’s own control.

Securing vaccines is also highly stressful, particular to pediatricians, because of the high cost to purchase, store, and manage vaccines. Our vaccine solution has been placed on pause by our vaccine vendor who provides vaccines and bills insurance on behalf of the clinic; again, not within our control. We are pivoting solutions to provide families access to vaccines, either via free vaccine clinics or at-cost vaccines for self-pay until the vendor can fulfill our vaccine inventory.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about KidzMD DPC?

KidzMD DPC is Northland’s newest pediatric primary care clinic located near Liberty Hospital in Liberty MO. We provide accessible, affordable, and convenient access to care for kids. From Fast, Convenient, and Kid-Friendly Care — Anytime, Anywhere telemedicine and home visits to having a pediatrician in your pocket – via text, phone, secure portal access.

Direct Pediatric Care isn’t simply a response to what’s broken in the healthcare system. It’s a vision for something better.
At KidzMD, we believe every family deserves a relationship with their pediatrician built on time, access, and trust. We didn’t choose this model because it’s easy — we chose it because it gives us the chance to practice medicine the way kids and families deserve.

If that feels unusual, maybe the problem isn’t the model. Maybe it’s the way the system has taught us to see families — as visits, charts, and codes instead of people. We believe families deserve more.

In traditional healthcare, every question, visit, and test runs through insurance — often creating delays, confusion, and surprise costs. The DPC model replaces that complexity with something simple: a membership that gives you access, time, and peace of mind. Here’s what families love about it:

Access without obstacles – Text or call your pediatrician directly. Same-day or next-day visits are the norm, not the exception.
Predictable costs – A flat monthly fee replaces copays and unexpected bills.
More time together – Visits aren’t rushed. You have time to ask questions and feel heard.
Continuity of care – You’re not seeing a stranger each visit. Your pediatrician knows your child’s history and family dynamics.
Proactive health, not reactive care – With ongoing communication, issues are caught early and hospital visits often avoided.
For many families, the membership model is what finally makes high-quality pediatric care accessible, transparent, and truly personal.

Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?

I learned from an executive coach that it isn’t always the person in front of you at the networking event, or demo call, or even colleagues that fulfill mentorship, opportunities or collaborations; but that person may very well be the person who introduced you to the connection that takes you to the next level. Even if the person in front of you seems to not have much to offer or much in common with you; always ask if they know someone who you should meet or who shares your passion/business model/ect.

Pricing:

Newborns to 2 years $210/mo
2 years to 12 years $105/mo
12-17 years $40/mo
18-26 years $75/mo
One-time visits $150
Contact Info:

Website: https://www.kidzmd.com
Instagram: kidzmd2
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61579242806938
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseajohnsonmd/

Suggest a Story: VoyageKC is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.

12/17/2025

Flu season has started and is spreading across the U.S. Visits for fever, cough and sore throats are up and climbing. For flu, specifically, we’re seeing this increase first among younger populations, especially school-aged children. Soon these illnesses will spread to older adults as well. CDC estimates there have already been at least 2.9 million illnesses this year and 30,000 hospitalizations. By the end of the season, we can expect roughly 15% of Americans to get the flu.

Tragically, the first pediatric flu death was reported for the 2025-2026 season. I expect many more, given that flu vaccination rates are the lowest they’ve been in decades. Since 2004, we’ve seen an increase in the number of deaths year over year. Last year was a record year for pediatric deaths. Most children who died were not vaccinated.

https://substack.com/redirect/fa67d442-969b-4707-8a74-339fd4dd72e1?j=eyJ1IjoiaXU0eHkifQ.GeCW4nTyc-R65aCZxIah4LsQBs4lraaspLqv2uWASfk

Reported by Your Local Epidemiologist December 15, 2025.

Your flu vaccine is your first line of prevention. Coupled with good hand hygiene and staying home and away from others when you have cough and fever, vaccination will help decrease disease and spread to your loved ones. Getting your flu vaccine can prevent hospitalization for you or another human.

Call now to connect with business.

11/21/2025

Having trouble getting a timely appointment with your child's P*P? Is the appointment you are offered 2 weeks in the future, but your child is sick now? How about needing a sports physical yesterday because your sports ju**ie wants to try swim team and the registration is due now?

KidzMD DPC is now enrolling new families! Check out the website for more information and to register/pre-enroll.

https://www.kidzmd.com

You can also call 816-264-7576 to schedule a meet and greet with Dr. Johnson to discover if your family is a great fit for direct pediatric care membership.

Born and raised in Nebraska, Dr. Johnson is a mom of five who gets it – she’s been in yourshoes. With over 20 years of pediatric experience and a passion for making healthcare work better forfamilies, she created KidzMD DPC to bring back the personal touch that’s been missing from pediatric ca...

10/31/2025

November 1st is Direct Primary Care Day!! Great time to share just how the model benefits families AND the doctor.

At KidzMD DPC I am committed to families directly accessing their doctor ~ whether by phone (yes, I answer the phone); email (end-to-end encryption secured), or text (guess what? HIPAA-compliant too)! No front desk clerks, call center nurses, or worse - ghosting you when you need advice most.

Kids deserve a competent and compassionate pediatrician who knows their name, their sibling's names, their dog's name, and their best stuffy's name. While parents need time to unpack all the questions, concerns, frustrations, and excitement about raising kids without being judged, hurried along, or "one-concern per visit please".

Here's my sign awaiting approval for posting at my clinic on Rush Creek Pkwy. YEAH! It's all happening all too slowly for me. But while all the flooring, painting, equipment, and furniture is being moved in, I have opportunities to see patients via home visits and telemedicine without added fees through the rest of the year! I'll announce our grand opening soon and share the date of the ribbon cutting ceremony too.

Call to schedule a Meet & Greet to learn all about the DPC model, Dr. Johnson, and get pre-enrolled today. We have special Founder's Membership for the 1st 25 enrolled families and grand opening special rates through December. Looking forward to meeting families in the Northland and beyond as we enter cold and flu season.

Welcome to KidzMD Direct Primary Care
Hi! I’m Dr. Chelsea Johnson — Seasoned pediatrician with 20+ years of experience caring for kids. I created KidzMD because families deserve more time, better access, and a stronger relationship with their doctor.