Still Growing
More than 20 years after they founded Pediatric Care Group P.C., Drs. Marylee Mundell and Marie Carrier Kinsley build on their commitment to pediatric care with uncompromising quality and accessibility.
Marylee Mundell, D.O., FAAP, and Marie Carrier Kinsley, M.D., FAAP, met while working for the same pediatric practice. The two colleagues became fast friends, and their friendship blossomed into a business partnership that has changed the face of pediatric care in the Philadelphia area.
Since co-founding Pediatric Care Group P.C. (PCG) in 2003, Drs. Carrier Kinsley and Mundell have offered an ever-widening scope of services to pediatric patients from Bucks, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, and even farther afield. Nearly a dozen care providers treat patients at PCG’s original office in Jenkintown and a second location in Richboro, which opened its doors in 2020.
“Continuity of care is everything,” says Dr. Mundell. “When we expanded to a second location, we wanted to grow without sacrificing our quality of care. Our goal was to increase our accessibility but also to make sure patients and their parents received the same high quality of care they’ve grown accustomed to, if not even better.”
The two board-certified pediatricians complement each other well. Whereas Dr. Mundell is bold and driven, Dr. Carrier Kinsley is easygoing and circumspect—ideal for a balanced partnership. Minor disagreements sometimes arise, as they do in any healthy partnership, yet the deep respect they have for one other, as well as their shared commitment to providing exceptional pediatric care to their thousands of patients, has enabled the practice to thrive.
PCG treats patients from all points along the pediatric spectrum, from newborn up to 21 years old. Services include routine physical exams and wellness checkups, illness diagnosis and management, special needs care, immunizations, sports physicals, and obesity and diabetes management, among others. Also, in recent years the practice has adjusted its approach to address a significant uptick in patients needing care for mental-health concerns such as depression, anxiety, and attention deficit disorder.
“When Marylee and I first started this practice, neither of us were married or had kids,” Dr. Carrier Kinsley recounts. “A lot has changed since then. My kids are now teenagers and young adults, so I find I’m better at giving advice to parents who have older children. Being able to watch children progress from birth into adulthood has been a nice benefit of getting older. It has also helped me deepen the relationships I have with patients and their parents.”
While many local pediatric practices have chosen to sell to large health systems, PCG has purposefully maintained its independence. Doing so hasn’t always been easy, but the practice’s founders never want to compromise the quality of care their patients and families have come to expect.
Drs. Carrier Kinsley and Mundell cite the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic as some of the most challenging of their careers. In fact, Dr. Mundell refers to the period following the World Health Organization’s March 2020 pandemic declaration as “the scariest time of my life, both personally and professionally.”
“Dedication to providing health care even in the midst of a worldwide health crisis—that’s what got us through it,” she adds. “We did what we had to do to make it work, and it wasn’t just the care providers; it was everyone on the team. We did COVID testing in people’s cars, and we ran a COVID vaccination clinic in Jenkintown. We expanded and reconfigured the Jenkintown office for well and sick visits by creating separate waiting rooms. We weathered the storm.”
PCG has grown in the process. The Richboro office, which opened just prior to the official start of the pandemic, has helped the practice make deeper inroads into Bucks County. Between both offices, the practice draws patients from 170 ZIP codes; the patient base includes households from Delaware and New Jersey, while Pennsylvania families come from as far away as Scranton.
“Richboro is another example of Marylee and I balancing each other out,” Dr. Carrier Kinsley adds. “Marylee had been talking about opening a second location for years. I had to take a leap of faith, because a second office requires a lot of time, money, and work. Now that it’s open, I love the Richboro office. There’s a different vibe at each office, so even though we’re doing the same job at both locations, it feels very different. That’s been very rewarding for everyone involved.”
Both office locations offer expanded hours, including a walk-in hour every morning between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. Even as PCG continues to add services and broaden accessibility to high-quality pediatric care, the founders have been careful to maintain the small-practice culture that has resonated with generations of patients.
As Dr. Mundell reflects on what she her colleague and friend have built, she attributes the practice’s success to a little luck, a lot of hard work, and the contributions of clinicians, administrative staff, and other team members who are devoted to improving life for children and their families.
“Taking care of kids has always been my passion,” she says. “I’ve been practicing as a pediatrician for 33 years, so I’m now on my third generation of patients. I’m treating 21-year-olds that I treated as newborns. I’m even treating the babies of patients I once treated as newborns. That’s incredibly rewarding.
“Our providers are awesome,” she continues. “They care a lot, and they have propagated what Marie and I started here. Caring is our culture, and that has attracted other people who share the same desire to work with children. Two of our nurse practitioners—Anne Hitchens and Caroline Ferman—started their relationship with PCG as parents who brought their children here. They wanted to be part of what we’re doing.”
As for Dr. Carrier Kinsley, she delights in the many milestones PCG has achieved over the past 20-plus years. She’s most proud of the relationships she and her team have formed. Furthermore, she says the joy she experiences each time she helps a sick child get better never gets old.
“Marylee and I have been doing this for a long time, and we both still love it,” she adds. “Our goal is to be as successful as possible in terms of attracting the very best care providers and expanding our services as needed. We also want to continue to make this a great place to work. By doing so, we can make sure we have a team of smart, dedicated, and kind people who share our passion for keeping children healthy.”
About PCG’s Founders
Dr. Carrier Kinsley’s interest in health and wellness began at an early age; as a young girl, she wanted to be a veterinarian. Later, while earning her doctorate from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, she had her sights set on family medicine. The first day of her residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia changed all that. “I was surrounded by newborns, and I was in heaven,” she recalls. From then on, she knew she wanted to devote her career to pediatrics.
Dr. Carrier Kinsley’s interest in health and wellness began at an early age; as a young girl, she wanted to be a veterinarian. Later, while earning her doctorate from the Medical College of Pennsylvania, she had her sights set on family medicine. The first day of her residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia changed all that. “I was surrounded by newborns, and I was in heaven,” she recalls. From then on, she knew she wanted to devote her career to pediatrics.
Dr. Mundell’s interest in pediatrics grew out of a childhood trauma—namely, her sister getting hit by a car. While her sister recovered fully from her injuries, the time her family spent in pediatric wards had a profound influence on her. The native of Phillipsburg, New Jersey, went on to earn her doctorate from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She completed her internship in osteopathy at Kennedy Memorial Hospital and did her residency in pediatrics at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.
Visit www.pcgkids.com for hours or call (215) 885-8700 to book an initial consultation.
Pediatric Care Group P.C.
(215) 885-8700 | www.pcgkids.com
The Pavilion
261 Old York Road, Suite 620
Jenkintown, PA 19046
(215) 885-8700 | www.pcgkids.com
The Pavilion
261 Old York Road, Suite 620
Jenkintown, PA 19046
890 2nd Street Pike, Suite 904
Addisville Commons, 2nd Floor
Richboro, PA 18954
Addisville Commons, 2nd Floor
Richboro, PA 18954
Photo courtesy of PCG
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, February 2024.
