I have to this input:
<input type="text" id="my_input" />
<p id="patient_provider" >
<span>
Name
</span>
Sam
</p>
$("#patient_provider").html($('#patient_provider').children()[0]+$('#my_input').val());
[object HTMLSpanElement] Sam
$('#patient_provider').children()[0]
is an element and is converted to a [object HTMLSpanElement]
string
The right is:
$("#patient_provider").html($('#patient_provider').children()[0].outerHTML+$('#my_input').val());