Shoals Pediatric Group

05/02/2026

Cut your grapes length-wise! We want to make them skinnier so they can’t occlude little airways.

05/01/2026

SUMMER HOURS ANNOUNCEMENT!

Starting this weekend (first of May), we will move to our summer weekend hours. This means we will only be open on Saturday mornings. NO SUNDAY MORNING SICK CLINIC. This is to allow our staff a little more off time to be with family. We will still have a doctor available by phone both weekend days. Thank you for your understanding!

Here's a quick guideline on our weekend hours: just show up at 8AM. No appt needed. Current patients only, no new patients on the weekend. If it's past 8AM and you need to come in, call us first to make sure we will still be here!

04/30/2026

I lifted ten 30lb toddlers onto the exam table today. Am I buff yet?

Proud to say I completed 75 hard today. It was honestly harder than I expected, cantaloupe wasn’t ripe enough.

04/27/2026

From a teacher in Alabama!

04/24/2026

One more life jacket review!

04/22/2026

Thank you to our patients for your understanding in moving our phone start time back to 8:15AM. This has helped tremendously with the initial 8AM rush our office sees, and has allowed us to answer phones and schedule appointments in a more efficient manner. We have still been able to get every sick kid and get you back to school and/ or work ASAP. We appreciate you!

04/21/2026

Starting the process of assigning duck numbers! Don’t forget to adopt your ducks.
https://www.florenceeducationfoundation.org/events/lucky-duck-dive.html

04/21/2026

Have a teen? Read this!

It’s getting close to graduation! Is your teen ready to handle his or her own health?

Learning to talk to the doctor independently is a crucial life skill that I think all teens should practice before leaving the home. Below, I’ve listed five things every child should be able to do by the time he or she is 18 (and ideally, by the age of 15-16!). Please take the time to review this information with your child, and more importantly, give him or her the chance to speak in the office without your assistance. It is hard to practice speaking to the doctor if mom and dad answer on your behalf.

1. Know your own medical history. This includes surgeries, medical conditions, vaccination record, and family medical history.
2. Know your medicines, including dose, timing (once daily, twice daily, etc.), and how long you have been taking the medicine. This includes daily medicines and ones used on an as needed basis. (Tip: take a picture of the label and keep it on your phone.)
3. Be able to list and describe symptoms and duration.
4. Be able to read and follow directions for medicines prescribed. Teens should be responsible for remembering to take their own medicine. There are a ton of apps to remind and chart doses, and we know the cell phone is never far away! (An occasional check-in from mom and dad won't hurt, especially if it is an important daily medicine.)
5. This may be the toughest -- make your own appointment. :)

Anything I'm forgetting? Are your teens ready to go to a doctor's appointment on their own?

Dr. Sarah Kelley

04/20/2026

Reminder! Starting today, our phones will turn on at 8:15! We are here and open and will get your sick babies scheduled ASAP! Walk-in availability still begins at 8AM.

04/20/2026

Words of wisdom: "Let's meet our teens where they are at, not where we want them to be."
Whitney Fleming Writes

04/19/2026

We’re proud to announce that Dr. Kiran Musunuru of Penn Medicine and Dr. Rebecca Ahrens‑Nicklas of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have been named to the TIME list of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. The list recognizes the impact, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.

This honor underscores the duo's pioneering accomplishment: a first‑of‑its‑kind, customized CRISPR therapy that successfully treated an infant, KJ, born with life-threatening CPS1 deficiency. The treatment delivered profound, measurable results — KJ is now walking, speaking and thriving.

Their work marks a transformative moment for precision genetic medicine, offering hope to patients and families affected by rare, devastating disorders and setting a new standard for what targeted gene therapies can accomplish.

04/17/2026

Puddle jumpers do not teach kids how to swim! They restrict arm movement and condition kids to only kick their legs while in the water. I exclusively put my kids in life jackets when they are young, whether on the boat, in the lake, or in the pool. Safety over cuteness!

Puddle Jumpers vs. Life Jackets:

Puddle jumpers are classified as a Type V or V/ III PFD. They are approved for boating in Alabama, but not in all states. More traditional life jacket are usually Types II or III.
🚤I’m going to be honest. I’m not the biggest fan of puddle jumpers. I prefer an old-fashioned life jackets for a few reasons.
☝🏻Many swim experts and swim teachers think that puddle jumpers make it more difficult for kids to learn to swim. Puddle jumpers restrict arm movements such that kids don’t have full mobility to move their arms above their head. This causes them to swim primarily with their feet, and they are then less likely to use their arms if they’re ever in the water without one.
✌🏻Puddle jumpers usually do not flip kids on their back, like Type I and II PFDs do. (The life jacket pictured here is a Type II.) This is especially important if kids are unconscious in the water.
🤟🏻 I like to be able to quickly grab my child out of the water by the handle at the base of the neck on the life jacket. There has been more than one occasion when my daughter has gotten flustered in the water and needed to be pulled out quickly. Puddle jumpers make that more difficult.

Most puddle jumpers are now Coast Guard Approved, and will say “Type V with Type III capabilities” on the tag. This means they are technically Type V PFDs, but serve the same life-saving capabilities as a traditional Type III jacket.
🚤 I hope this clears up some confusion of the difference between life jackets and paddle jumpers. As always, please ask questions below.

-Dr. Kelley