04/16/2020
Greetings from Pine Grove Pediatrics!
I hope everyone is doing well.
I am happy to let you know that our telehealth services are up and running smoothly. There are many issues that we can take care of via telehealth so you won’t have to leave your home. You will need to be able to Skype or use FaceTime. If you don’t have an Apple device it only takes a few minutes to set up Skype. You will also need to sign and return a telehealth visit consent form and you must be physically located in the state of Virginia during the appointment. Give us a call and we will help you figure out if a telehealth visit will work for your concern.
Of course we are also still seeing patients in the office. The hospital has blocked off all entrances to our building except for the front big glass entrance during the week. Security is screening everyone and the public is not allowed in without a specific purpose in our building. This entrance is no longer a way to get to the hospital. Anyone who is sick and seeking emergency care must go around the outside to the hospital emergency department entrance. They are not allowed to cut through the building to the hospital. There are 5 hand sanitizer stations between the entrance and our office. Help yourself. If you are sick please be sure to pick up a mask at the lobby desk or in our office. We agree with the CDC recommendation that it is a good idea to wear a mask anytime you are in a public place at this time even if you are well. All of our staff will be wearing masks.
In the office we are spacing appointments so that you will never see another family when you come in. We have dedicated rooms for sick and well visits. We are cleaning each room meticulously after each patient. Happily, social distancing seems to be working for all of the usual viruses and we are not seeing many sick children.
We feel that it is critical for children to stay up to date on their vaccines, even in this unprecedented time. For example it would be heartbreaking to end social distancing for Covid-19 only to have children get sick or die from a vaccine preventable illness like measles or pertussis. The vaccines are most critical in the first 5 years of life. Unfortunately we have not devised a method to give telehealth immunizations. If you have a younger child that is due for a well child visit and immunizations please call to get them an appointment.
Above all please stay well!
