Fort Worth, Texas,
07
May
2020
|
10:11 AM
America/Chicago

Cook Children’s Pediatricians Welcome Patients Back to Clinic Visits. The Plan to Keep You Safe.

By Justin Smith, M.D., Medical Director of Digital Health, Cook Children's Pediatrician

We miss you and your sweet kids!

What a crazy time the last few months have been. Our entire lives have been changed-work, school, family and free time-they are all different.

During this time, we, your Cook Children’s pediatricians, have learned a lot about COVID-19. We have been following what’s happening all over our country and the world. Fortunately, Cook Children’s supported us through this time so that we could make the safest, best decisions for your family.

While we learned, we made an immediate switch to do as much as we could via telemedicine but continued to do checkups under age 2. We have slowly started to incorporate more visits as we grew more comfortable with our ability to keep you and your family safe and now, we are ready to see your child for their checkups!

What do you need to know about your upcoming check-up?

Safety is our primary concern

Changes to clinic workflows and traffic patterns in the office will ensure that your family is able to maintain social distancing.

Scheduling will be modified to keep well and sick children in the office at separate times of day.

Masks will be worn by staff at all times. In addition, we ask that you and your children over age 2 also wear a mask while in the office.

Rigorous cleaning of all surfaces throughout the clinic will continue between each patient encounter. This includes surfaces in the room and common areas.

Regular checkups are important for your child’s health

Assessing children for growth and development helps us act quickly when things aren’t going well. Diagnoses of growth hormone deficiency, autism, anxiety and depression frequently are recognized during well child care.

Vaccine schedules are designed to allow shots to be given at the most critical time. Waiting for long periods, often leaves them vulnerable during the times when they need protection the most.

Physical exams during well care often pick up dangerous conditions such as scoliosis and even cancer. Neuroblastoma (cancer in the adrenal gland above the kidney) and testicular cancer in teenage boys are often diagnosed during well child care.

Cook Children’s Pediatric offices will be reaching out to patients in need of checkups, but you don’t have to wait, give your office a call to schedule their visit.

Get to know Justin Smith, M.D.

Justin Smith, M.D., is a pediatrician in Trophy Club  and the Medical Advisor for Digital Health for Cook Children's in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Smith is an experienced keynote speaker for a variety of topics including pediatric/parenting topics, healthcare social media and physician leadership. If you are interested in having Dr. Smith present to your conference or meeting, please contact him at thedocsmitty@cookchildrens.org.

He has an active community on both Facebook and Twitter as @TheDocSmitty and writes weekly for Cook Children's checkupnewsroom.com. He believes that strategic use of social media and technology by pediatricians to connect with families can deepen their relationship and provide a new level of convenience for both of their busy lifestyles. Dr. Smith’s innovative pediatric clinic, a pediatric clinic “designed by you,” open now. Click here to make an appointment, call 817-347-8100.

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