Current News
FLU VACCINE CLINIC UPDATE 9/23/2020 10:15 AM. Our scheduled weekday evening and Saturday flu clinics are currently filled due to unprecedented demand. We are anticipating another shipment of 1,000 doses of flu vaccine the week of September 27th. There are nationwide delivery problems to private pediatric practices and Children's National Medical Center resulting in delayed shipments. We will open up more weekday evening and Saturday flu clinics as soon as we get our second shipment. We will make an announcement here on the website the minute the flu clinics are open for the week of September 27th. Online flu clinic scheduling was researched in depth but was not able to be implemented for this season. Please call our office when the flu clinics are open to schedule a flu vaccine for your children. It is now more important than ever for all children over 6 months of age to get a flu vaccine because of the COVID pandemic and the possibility of a "twindemic" of influenza disease and COVID. Our phone lines in the morning will be busier than usual once we open up flu clinics. We appreciate your understanding.
In Person Sick Visits--We will start offering in person visits without scheduling a televisit before hand on September 14th, 2020. Walk-in hours are still suspended until further notice. In order to protect our families from other people with potential COVID, we will have criteria in place for scheduling and the provider seeing these patients will be outfitted in full PPE (personal protective equipment. We also have constructed a new hallway in our office so families will be entering through a side entrance to our exam rooms specifically assigned to sick patients.
Well Checkup and Sick Visit Update
Our 7:30 AM - 9:00 AM walk in hours are suspended until further notice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We are seeing patients of all ages for well checkups, school/camp physicals, and sports physicals. Our checkups are scheduled during our "well block" from 8:30 AM-3 PM, so you can be reassured that there are no sick patients in the office at that time. We are seeing newborns and nursing vaccine visits/allergy shots at this time as well. Please call our office to schedule an appointment! Televisit checkups are no longer covered by health insurance companies.
We are continuing to do televisits for sick visits all day at our office. Our staff will help guide you to sign up for the patient portal and Healow app needed for a televisit. Many thanks to our families for their flexibility and understanding as we continue to strive to keep our staff and patients healthy through this difficult time with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends cholesterol screening between 9-11 years of age, and we can now do this screening as a finger stick blood test in our office laboratory. We will be doing this blood test at all 10 year checkups. In addition, we will also do a one time cholesterol screening for our older patients who have not had any cholesterol levels checked in the past. We will also be enhancing our screening for anxiety and depression with a new tool called the PSC-17. This form will be given to parents at all checkups between 7-11 years of age and to the patient at all checkups between 12-17 years of age. These screening are covered by all health insurance companies.
Expanded Phone Hours Update
We have expanded the hours our office phone hours. Phones will now be answered by our staff during the following hours:
Mon-Thurs 7:30am-7pm
Friday 7:30am-5pm
Sat-Sun 8am-noon
Telemedicine visits are available for sick visits and other types of consults.We would especially like to encourage the following groups of patients to make a telemedicine appointment at this time.
1. Patients with asthma and seasonal allergies. We want to make sure your asthma plan is up to date, and your medications are appropriate. We will also put a plan in place if your child develops symptoms of coronavirus.
2. Patients with depression, anxiety, ADHD, or other behavior concerns. The transition from school to home, and the change in routines can cause changes in mental health. We can help with behavior modifications, or start/adjust medication when needed.
The current public health emergency is extremely fluid, and we continue to adjust our schedule and procedures to align with the current guidelines. Thank you all for your flexibility as we work to keep our staff and patients safe and healthy! As this situation continues to unfold, we plan to be here for you through it all.
New Physician: We are excited to welcome Dr. Ann Tannous, who started working at The Kidz Docs starting on March 11, 2020!
New Email Address: We have a new address for emailing forms: [email protected] Please use this new address if you need to email us any forms for completion.
Telemedicine/Virtual Visits: Starting in January 2020, Dr. Meghan Hulver will not be seeing patients in the office and will continue to offer virtual visits/telemedicine visits. You can call our office to schedule a virtual visit with her for consults.
Patient Portal: If you have submitted an email address to The Kidz Docs, you will now have access to our online patient portal. You can access the portal from our website as well. The portal provides a convenient way to:
- PAY YOUR BILL ONLINE
- Email a provider with non-urgent questions or concerns
- Request prescription refills
- Access and print vaccine records
- Update your address and phone number
- Request checkup appointments (allow 24-48 hours for a response)
You can also download the free Healow app on any smartphone to do the same tasks listed above. Please contact our front desk if you have any issues with the patient portal!
We invite you to take a few moments to browse our website and familiarize yourself with our practice. We hope that it will serve as a valuable resource for you. You'll find all of the helpful information you need about our practice including sport physical, child immunizations, well child care exams, provider bios, service details, directions to our office, and new patient forms.
The Kidz Docs looks forward to walking alongside you as you guide your child along a path of optimal health and wellness. We can assure you that you'll feel confident in our abilities to care for your child.
