Welcome

Welcome to Advocare Cornerstone Pediatrics!

This practice was established in 1961 by Dr. John Marchesani, a well-loved pediatrician who, for over 40 years, devoted himself to the care of children and their families. In 1995, Dr. Weidner joined him in practice. Gradually, Dr. Marchesani mentored and handed over ownership of the office to Dr. Weidner until retirement in 2003, at which time the practice name was changed to Cornerstone, and we moved to our current location. Dr. Marchesani's influence will always be felt at Cornerstone.

By the 1990's, a changing medical practice environment was making it increasingly difficult for solo practices to survive; so, in 1997, we joined with many other pediatric practices and began to build the medical practice model that uniquely became "Advocare." Advocare is now a multi-state, multispecialty, physician-owned and physician-run medical entity comprised of multiple "care centers." One thing that makes this business model different is that each "care center" can continue to be individually managed. That means we hire all the people that we wish to hire — staff and physicians — at this particular site. Thus, each care center maintains its own distinct identity and personality. We like that, and we think you will too.

We are here to provide advice to you via our main phone number (856-428-3746) 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Just because our physical office may be "closed", your medical team at Cornerstone is still available. We utilize a team of after-hours services that will direct your call appropriately and then answer your questions. Pediatric triage nurses as well as our own on-call physicians are here to help you after hours. We have access to your electronic medical record at all times. If you are considering going to an Urgent Care Center or an Emergency Room, call us first. Let us guide you first in caring for your child's issue at hand.

We place a high value on effective communication. When you have routine or non-urgent questions about the care of your child, call us during our office hours. Advice concerning many minor problems can be dispensed by one of our nurses, and our doctors return phone calls all day long when the office is open. We really are very good at getting back to you the same day that you call. If you do not hear from us, call us back.

We firmly believe that prescribing antibiotics by phone without ever examining the child is not the optimal care that we strive to provide to our patients. Our general policy is to not call in antibiotics in such circumstances.


Family members always seem to get sick when you are away, don't they? Don't hesitate to call us as a resource even if you out of town. We will do our best to give you guidance by phone.

Yes, in general there are well checks (often called check-ups or physicals), sick visits, and follow-ups/consults.

Well Check Visits — This is a comprehensive evaluation of the physical, developmental, and emotional well-being of your child. The frequency of these visits are as follows: Within the first week; 1 month old; 2, 4, and 6 months old; 9, 12, 15 and 18, 24, and 30 months old; and then yearly starting at 3 years of age.

Sick Visits — These are usually same-day visits scheduled for illness, injury, or other more acute issues. There are always slots available for sick patients, because that is the nature of pediatrics. Kids get sick, they often can't communicate what is wrong with them, and they may need to be seen that same day. We can help you determine if indeed your child needs a sick appointment, so don't hesitate to call and ask if you are unsure.

Follow-ups and Consults — A follow-up visit may be scheduled in advance if the doctor directs that one is needed. Consults are longer visits, also scheduled in advance, designed to address more complicated issues like behavioral/mental health concerns, management of chronic illness, or school problems, for instance.


Weekend and Evening Appointments — We offer sick and well visit appointments on some evenings and every Saturday morning. Not surprisingly, these well visit slots fill up quickly, so please call ahead enough in advance to secure the appointment that you desire.

The well child visit will be most productive for you if he or she is the only one with you that day. Feel free to bring along a list of questions that you may have. A lot of information is exchanged at a well check, so we strongly suggest that you schedule only one child's well check at a time. We understand that this is not always practical; but, with few exceptions, our office policy is to schedule no more than two sibling's well checks on a single day. It is best to call to schedule these visits 4-6 weeks in advance, especially in the summer months when many people desire check-ups for their school-age children and teens.

If there is an ill sibling whom you find also needs a same-day sick appointment, please have the courtesy to call us to also schedule this visit, instead of simply bringing them along and then asking for them to be seen too. This aids in our efforts to see patients in a timely fashion.

We discourage walk-in visits. Appointments ensure that we will have enough time to address the concerns of every single patient who comes in that day. If you need to cancel a visit, please give us a call to let us know so that we may open up that slot to another family in need of it. We ask that you give at least 24 hours notice to cancel or reschedule your appointment.

For your first visit with us, please arrive 15 minutes ahead of your appointment time so that all patient forms may be completed in a timely fashion.

Such notes will only be given if your child has been seen by us or if you have contacted our office at the time of the illness. We are not willing to give sick notes retroactively.