My dear patients and families,
During this very unsettling time, I want to reach out to you to say thank you for your understanding this past week as we made last minute changes to your scheduled appointments and implemented office policy changes in line with recent public health and CDC recommendations to help combat COVID-19. I also want to let you know we are still open to see patients in our office. However, in order to balance best medical care with protecting you and your family and my staff from COVID-19, we have temporarily implemented changes for future appointments. Please, understand that during this very fluid time, more changes may be needed as the spread of COVID-19 in our community dictates.
For the foreseeable future:
1) Well visits will be restricted to children 18 months and younger to make sure our youngest patients still get their vaccines on time to best protect them from diseases that we can make a difference in preventing.
2) Well visits will be scheduled in the mornings only, and we will schedule sick patients in the afternoon to create separation between well and sick patients in the office as best we can.
3) We will only allow 1 guardian to accompany the patient being seen for both well and sick visits. Please keep siblings at home so that we may minimize non-essential foot traffic in and out of our office.
4) We have implemented tele-med appointments to better serve our patients in the comfort of your homes and to minimize unnecessary exposure. These appointments are available by appointment for medical concerns that we are able to appropriately evaluate, assess, and formulate a plan on-line.
5) If a sick visit appointment is made in the afternoon, please call us from your car once you arrive. We may see your child(ren) in our exam room, outside of our office, or in your car depending on the type of the visit.
6) In order to keep you, your family and my staff safe, you will likely see us wearing appropriate protective gears—we will try our best to not scare our little ones!
7) We have very limited testing kits for COVID-19. Please, allow us to fully evaluate and use best judgment guided by CDC when determining whom to test.
8) We have very limited supply of Personal Protective Equipment for my staff and the providers. Please, help us conserve our resources as much as possible.
Please stay safe and follow CDC recommendations of washing your hands regularly with soap and water, keeping a safe distance away from others not in your immediate family and focus on practicing healthy lifestyle—plenty of sleep, plenty of fresh produce and water, and exercise. Even young toddlers can sense uncertainty and stress from their caretakers. Please, take this time to be creative, to engage and enjoy spending time with your children as we suddenly find ourselves with the “gift” of unscheduled time. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have further questions or concerns.
Be safe everyone!
Anna E Lee, MD, Michelle Partain PA-C and staff
