Pediatric Consultants of Lenoir City

08/05/2023

My dear patients, their parents, grandparents, guardians, and loved ones.

I must sadly let you know that despite various treatment options for my cancer, my battle continues. Thus far the treatments have only been partially effective. I am now starting another treatment protocol. However, over the last few weeks, I have developed significant pain and limitations in my mobility/ability to walk and move around. For this reason, I must take leave from seeing patients at the office and focus on my health. This saddens me beyond anything you can imagine, since you are all so dear to me and I cherish the trust you have in me in taking care of your precious children.

I am actively seeking out someone to help see patients in the office. Dr Bessom has kindly offered to continue to see patients while I sort out this situation. However, she is only available in a limited manner secondary to her own person commitments. The search for daily coverage is active but may take months to complete. I cannot guarantee a time that this will be completed. I also understand that your darling children need a pediatrician that will be present for them daily. If you need to find a new pediatrician for your child, I am completely supportive of this. Those of you with children with chronic medical conditions should certainly consider this.

If you have questions as to how to transfer to another provider, please do not hesitate to call the office and speak with Jean and Shelley.

I have so very much appreciated your support over the last several months. Your thoughts and prayers have been something I have cherished and looked toward to keep fighting.

With tremendous love,
“Your” Dr. Mooss

05/05/2023

Hello to my dear and cherished patients and their parents, grandparents, guardians, and loved ones,

As some of you are aware, I completed my last round of Chemotherapy in March. A few weeks after that I developed some unexpected complications that caused me to be in severe pain and unable to walk more than a few steps. Unfortunately, secondary to this I had to stop seeing patients for about 2 weeks. Since then, my pain is under control, and I have started radiation treatment. The type of radiation therapy I am getting is very extensive due to the aggressiveness of my original tumor. This has greatly affected my stamina. Unfortunately, I can only see a few patients a day before I am completely worn out. I started week 3 of 5 weeks of radiation therapy this week, so I foresee getting my energy back very, very soon.

With the help of the very kind Dr Bessom, she and I are getting infants seen that need vaccines, since they are at highest risk for complications from vaccine preventable infections. She is an excellent pediatrician and I feel so lucky to have her help over the last 6 months. I know several of you have had to have your older children’s check-ups cancelled, but please know we will be calling you over the summer to get rescheduled. Shelley and Jean are keeping a list and you will not be forgotten.

I also know that many of you have had to resort to Urgent Care evaluations when your child is sick. You know that I have always preferred to see your sick children, but I appreciate your patience and grace during this extenuating situation. Also, if you call the nurse line, Shianna or the afterhours nurses at ETCH, are a wealth of knowledge that can help you determine if your child needs to be seen urgently or if home care is appropriate.

Finally, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers, your positive thoughts, and profound support you have provided me. You have helped me these last months in more ways than I can express. “Your” Dr Mooss is a fighter, and I will continue to fight this disease, not only for my daughters and family, but for all of you. Do not hesitate to call and check on me if that would reassure you.

With much appreciation and love to all of you,
“Your” Dr Mooss

PS – My hair is slowly growing back, and unlike how some of my dear patients thought – it’s not PURPLE! 😊

12/27/2022

Good morning to my patients and their loved ones,

I hope you had lovely Christmas!

We will open the office today at 1pm secondary to the snow and road conditions in the area. I am hopeful once the sun rises, the snow and Ice will start to melt.

I will be answering phone calls from 8am until 1pm for any urgent needs. Also, if you need you child to be seen, please call the office and follow the prompts. You will be connected to me and I can schedule your appointment.

Be safe on the roadways if you need to get out.

Fondly,
"Your" Dr Mooss

12/22/2022

Happy Holidays to my dear patients and their loved ones!

I wish you all much peace, joy, and good health and cheer for the coming holidays and in the New Year!

I cannot thank you enough for your words of support, encouragement, and prayers while I go thru treatment. Seeing you in the office lifts my spirit and soul and helps me so very much! I am so grateful to have you in my life.

We have some bad weather headed our way with very low wind chills. Secondary to this, our office will be closed tomorrow 12/23. We will also be closed on 12/26/2022 for the Christmas Holiday observance and 1/2/2023 for the New Year Holiday observance. Either ETCH nurse triage or I will be answering phone calls if you have a need to talk with someone regarding your child’s urgent medical issues.

I am going to again encourage the flu vaccine. We had 2 pediatric deaths from the flu this week in Tennessee. Even if your child had the flu, please get them vaccinated since there are multiple strains of influenza and I anticipate another surge of flu in at the start of the new year. Please call our office to get your child scheduled for the vaccine.

Please be safe if you need to go out in the cold weather.

Hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season!
With much affection and sending huge hugs,
“Your” Dr Mooss

11/13/2022

Hello to the wonderful parents, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers of my precious patients.

I want to give you an update as to what is going on with my health and the practice over the last few weeks. I appreciate everyone’s kind words and prayers for my well-being. I also so very much appreciate your patience with us as we work through this situation.

As many of you are aware, I had been out for a medical issue. I underwent urgent surgery on a uterine mass with an associated small bowel obstruction. I have been diagnosed with uterine cancer. To prevent recurrence, my doctor has recommended chemotherapy and radiation therapy that will last about 6 months to complete treatment. I need to pursue this for the sake of my daughters, my family and loved ones, and for all my dear and precious patients.

At this time, I intend to continue to work as often and much as I can. Dr Bessom will be seeing patients more often for me. There will be days when I may not be able to see patients. However, my office will be open and will guide you as to where to go for urgent medical care.

I will lose my hair, so you may want to prepare your children for this. I have found over the last few days while I was in the office seeing patients, that many of my patients already have extensive experience with caring for or knowing someone with cancer and underwent treatment. My patients are so amazingly compassionate and caring. They learned this from all of you, their caregivers. I am so appreciative of this.

Please don’t hesitate to call the office if you have any questions regarding your child’s health. Even when I am not in the office, I communicate daily to multiple times a day with Jean, Shelley and Shianna. Your child’s health remains a priority to me and my staff. We will do everything in our power to not disrupt anything regarding it. However, some well child visits/physicals will be rescheduled to occur once I have completed therapy. This will allow more flexibility in my schedule.

My intention is to be around for a long time, not only for the sake of my family and friends, but for the sake of my precious patients and their families. You are all part of my family.

One last thing, please get your children the flu vaccine, even if they have gotten the flu in the last few weeks. This winter will be difficult with multiple viral infections. There are multiple strains of the flu, and the vaccine will decrease the intensity of illness and symptoms even if you get the flu. Call our office to get the vaccine scheduled. We are giving the vaccines daily.

I have every confidence in my treatment and recovery. The love and support that I have already received from many of you only support me further. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

With much love and affection and appreciation,
“Your” Dr Mooss

08/10/2022

Hello, my dear patients and their lovely parent, grandparents, guardians, and loved ones,

School has started for all my patients this week. I hope for a wonderful school year not only for the students, but for the teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors, and administration at all the schools. I thank you for your service to support and enrich my dear patients’ lives and minds.

Some of you may have heard of the Polio outbreak in New York state. The twenty-year-old who is now paralyzed from Polio was not vaccinated. All my patients get their first vaccine against Polio at age 2 months with a total of 4 doses by the time they are four years old. Thank goodness for vaccines!

I now must put in a request to all of you. Unfortunately, my nurse, Amanda, needs to leave my practice so that she can be home for her lovely children and family. As you are all aware, there is a workforce shortage issue in this country, so I am not sure how long it will be before I find a good candidate. I thought I would reach out to my amazing patients to see if any of you know of an MA, LPN, or RN that would be interested in working with me and my awesome staff and help take care of my patients. If you know of anyone, please have them call my office and leave a message with Jean, Shelley, or Shianna.

While we are searching for a suitable candidate, I request patience and grace when you are calling in to our nurse line. I know many of you have gotten used to fairly quick response times with phone calls, but for the next little bit, please allow us some leniency in getting back with you. If you think your child needs to be seen, it is best to call and schedule an appointment by calling the front desk rather than waiting for a nurse to get back to you. Additionally, your wait times in my office may be longer. My staff and I try our upmost to not have you wait since we know your time is valuable. However, if I am short staffed, then this may/will happen. Please be patient with us.

I have such an extraordinary group of patients! Whoever gets to work with us and meet all of you will realize this, as well.

Again, all the best in the coming school year!
Sending huge hugs and kisses to my darling patients.
“Your” Dr Mooss

06/29/2022

Happy mid-summer to my precious patients, their fantastic parents, grandparents, guardians, and loved ones!

I hope all of you are having a glorious summer vacation. I know there has been a lot of swimming, playing outside (despite the heat 😊), and much needed and deserved rest and relaxation. I do hope you have read a book or two this summer, or parents have read to their children. The hard work you all put in last year to regain the education loss following the pandemic lock downs was impressive. Summers are often a time when children lose reading skills, particularly if you do not keep up the habit of reading daily. You have a month left of summer vacation; it is never too late to start reading again!

Last week the FDA and CDC authorized the Covid vaccine for the 6month to 4-yearage group. My office will start providing vaccinations to this age group after the upcoming July 4th holiday. For some of you it will be an easy decision to get your children vaccinated, for others it will be difficult one. It is understandable that some are hesitant to vaccinate your young children, particularly since they seem to have minimal disease with current strains. However, that is not a completely accurate thought. At least two million children in this age group have been infected with Covid-19, with 20,000 hospitalizations, and more than 200 deaths. In addition, one in five people who get Covid have long-term Covid symptoms, including profound fatigue, brain fog, and respiratory symptoms. One of the many challenges with this virus when it comes to children is that we cannot seem to predict who will have more severe disease than others.

Also, please look at your family, loved ones, and those who are involved in caring for and nurturing your precious children. Are there adults who would be at greater risk for complications from Covid infection? Are there grandparents that are immune-compromised, diabetic, asthmatics, etc.? Will there be pregnant women around your children? Would vaccinating your children not only protect them from serious illness and hospitalization, but also protect loved ones that care for them? The vaccine has been proven to be the one thing that has halted the profound complications and deaths from the virus.

Considering all these issues/factors, I highly recommend your children get vaccinated against the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 WHENEVER you are ready. My office will be administering the Pfizer vaccine for all age groups. Please note that if your child has gotten 2 doses of the Covid vaccine and is over 5 years of age, they are due for a booster dose 5 months after the second dose. Please call us if you would like to schedule your child’s vaccine or if you want to discuss any questions you have about the vaccine.

It will soon be the 4th of July. Please be careful around fireworks and monitor children closely. Be sure to stay well hydrated, particularly with the excessive heat we have been experiencing. Use sunscreen and remember to reapply every few hours. Practice water safety in our pools and lakes by supervising your children and being sure they have appropriate floatation devices. Stay off your phones when your children are in or near water. Please don’t leave your child or pet in a hot car, even for a few minutes with the windows down. The car temperatures can exceed 100 degrees in a matter of a few minutes.

My purpose is to promote the health of your precious children, detect any concerns regarding their health early to avoid progression, and prevent illnesses from occurring. You have entrusted the health of your children in my care, and my staff and I take that responsibility with great sincerity. As I have said many times and will continue to say, it is an utter honor to care for your extraordinary children. They are treasures to me that I cherish greatly.

Enjoy your July 4th holiday to celebrate our wonderful country!

Sending big hugs and kisses to all my dear patients.
“Your” Dr Mooss

05/27/2022

Hello my dear patient, their loving parents, grandparents, guardians, and loved ones,

I hope you will have a safe Memorial Day weekend. This is an occasion to pay tribute to those members of the military who sacrificed their lives for our personal safety. I am so appreciative of these brave men and women and their families.

These past few weeks have been challenging with the mass shootings in a grocery store and a school. Your children may have questions and concerns about what they have heard or seen about these events. For the younger children, please spend time to reassure them that they are safe, and you are doing everything in your power to keep them so. For your older children, have open discussions about what happened. Please encourage them to speak up if they become aware of classmates or peers that are struggling with mental health issues, isolating themselves, or speaking or posting dangerous statements or thoughts on social media.

Regarding the Covid vaccine, booster doses have now been approved for everyone 5years of age and up. You should get a booster dose 5 months after your second dose. We are working on calling families to schedule the booster vaccine, but you are welcome to call us to get it scheduled. The vaccine has been found to be very safe and effective and I encourage everyone to get vaccinated and boosted. It has significantly cut down on the severity of illness if you should contract Covid 19 – regardless of the variant.

Please remember to wear sunscreen and reapply every few hours. Practice water and boat safety. Wear life jackets when out on the boats. Stay well hydrated in the hot weather. Wear helmets when riding bikes. BE SAFE and HAVE FUN this summer!

Sending hugs and kisses to my dear patients
“Your” Dr Mooss

04/12/2022

Hello to my lovely patients and their exceptional parents, grandparents, and loved ones.

I needed to let you know that my office will be closed on Good Friday, April 15th, 2022.

I hope my patients have a wonderful Easter and hopeful that we have lovely weather. Please be sure to check yourselves over for tics after you are done Easter egg hunting.

There is a great possibility we are about to experience another Covid surge, but I am hopeful that it will not cause severe illness. Please note that I have the vaccine at the office and anyone 5 years of age and up are welcome to get vaccinated at my office. This includes parents and grandparents.

Please be safe in the coming Spring and Summer. Wear sunscreen, drink plenty of water, and get as much time outside as possible with the weather warming up. Fresh air and exercise is always a good idea!

With much love and affection and sending hugs and kisses,
"Your" Dr Mooss

02/18/2022

Good morning to my dear patient and their families,

I needed to let you know about a voluntary recall with Similac Powder formula, including Alimentum and Elecare. The recall is specific for formula manufactured in Sturgis, Michigan with an expiration of April 1, 2022, or later.

To find out if the product you have is included in the recall, please go to this website and enter your lot number: www.similacrecall.com

Please do not hesitate to call me if you should have any questions.
Sending you hugs and kisses,
“Your” Dr Mooss.

Abbott is initiating a proactive, voluntary recall of powder formulas, including Similac®, Alimentum® and EleCare® manufactured in Sturgis, Mich., one of the company’s manufacturing facilities. The recall does not include any metabolic deficiency nutrition formulas.

01/17/2022

Hello my dear patients and their families,

Secondary to weather and road conditions, the office will be closed today. I do not want my staff and or any of my patients or families driving/traveling when it is not safe.

We will cancel any appointments scheduled for today. Shelley or Jean will be calling you in the coming days to reschedule.

Please be safe and bundle your children up if you play in the snow. Hats, gloves, and layered clothing underneath the jackets will help them stay warm.

Enjoy the day off from school to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I know my darling patients will continue to promote his legacy of tolerance for all people as they grow into adults.

Be safe and warm.
Sending big hugs and kisses,
"Your" Dr Mooss

01/07/2022

Happy New Year to by my dear patient and their darling families!

I hope the new year has been fabulous thus far and filled with much joy, peace and good health for all of you!

Our office will open at 9:30 allow all of to arrive safely.

Our Covid vaccine clinic is still going to occur this afternoon. If you would like your child vaccinated against Covid, please call us and we can get them scheduled. We have plenty of Pfizer Covid 19 vaccine for all ages 5 and up, including booster vaccine doses. If you are a parent and due for booster vaccine, I am happy to have my nurses give you the booster at my office, if you would like.

Enjoy your Firday and your "snow" day off school!

Sending warm hugs and kisses!
"Your" Dr. Mooss