January 2022 Newsletter

 

Happy New Year from Carroll Children’s Center!!

We hope everyone had a safe and restful holiday during these unprecedented and stressful times. We know everyone feels like we are on repeat of 2021.
Welcome to our inaugural Newsletter! With so much information being sent from different sources, we thought a fantastic way to give our advice and recommendations would be through a quarterly newsletter.

 

Office Check-In:

Thank you for continuing to follow our office policy of checking in from your car and having everyone over the age of 2 wear a mask. We will provide surgical masks to those that do not have a mask or are wearing neck gaiters.
We recognize that our call wait times have increased over the past few months. We apologize for this and ask for your patience as we are taking every measure to reduce your time on hold and answer as quickly as possible.
If you or your child have been exposed or test positive for COVID, please quarantine/isolate.
We understand the guidelines for isolation and quarantining are constantly evolving. We will continue to see families with exposure or COVID positive in the office after 15 days post exposure or positive test. This is out of an abundance of caution for our fragile patients, newborns, infants, and those who are immunocompromised or unable to get vaccinated.

 

Virtual Visits:

We will still offer tele-health visits for our COVID exposed/positive patients. We feel this is a way to evaluate children who cannot enter the office. Depending on that visit, the provider will decide the next appropriate step. Not every visit will require an office follow-up.

 

School Notes:

Please understand that we cannot sign a note about absences without your child(ren)being seen in the office.
We do realize there have been limited availability for appointments due to the overwhelming increase in illnesses. We will continue to do our best to serve our community, and we ask for patience and understanding during these times.

 

Oh No! My Child Was Exposed!! 😷

If they are asymptomatic and not fully vaccinated, QUARANTINE: Stay home and away from household members if they can, and if they cannot, have them wear a mask. This will help decrease the possible spread to other loved ones. QUARANTINE for 10 days from their last contact with the INFECTED person. If testing is available, test after 5 days.
If they are fully vaccinated and asymptomatic, they do not need to quarantine, but they should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days from last COVID contact and monitor for symptoms.
If your child has been exposed and develops symptoms, ISOLATE.

 

Yikes! My Child Tested Positive For Covid!! 😷

If your loved one has tested positive for COVID and has symptoms, ISOLATE: Stay home and away from household members. Use a separate bedroom, bathroom, and household items if possible. Wear a well-fitting mask if they need to be around others in the home. ISOLATE for 10 days from symptom onset.
If your loved one has tested positive for COVID and has no symptoms, ISOLATE: Stay home and away from household members. Use a separate bedroom, bathroom, and household items if possible. Wear a well-fitting mask if they need to be around others in the home. ISOLATE for 10 days from test date.
We understand COVID guidelines are ever changing as we try and better understand this virus.
Because little ones, tweens, and teenagers at times may be inconsistent with their mask wearing, we advise that anyone who must QUARANTINE or ISOLATE, do so for the full 10 days at home.

 

When To Test?

We understand it is hard to decipher COVID symptoms from other illnesses and when to test for COVID. Due to the limited availability of testing resources, we will send out a PCR for those with symptoms of 4 days, or those exposed after 5 days per CDC guidelines. If you can find an at home COVID Antigen test and it is positive and you have symptoms, assume you have COVID. You do not need to follow-up with a PCR test.

Please be aware different schools and workplaces may have their own guidelines for return, so please check with them.

We are in this together and will get through this as a community. Please be mindful that everyone is stressed and may deal with it differently. Check on your family members, friends, and co-workers during these times. Remember that we do things to keep our patients, our loved ones, neighbors, co-workers safe. Wear a mask, wash your hands, and get vaccinated and boosted if you are eligible.

We hope you have enjoyed our Inaugural newsletter. We look forward to continuing to keep our families informed through this newsletter. Please continue to follow us on Facebook and refer to our website as well.

Joke Of The Month:

Why did the doctor tell the nurse to be quiet as they were passing the medicine cabinet?
He didn’t want to wake up the sleeping pills.