Check- ins, checkups
Doctors have established safety procedures for the annual school physical.
With Connecticut schools expected to reopen in the fall, many children will need back- to- school health examinations and vaccines.
But many parents wonder if it’s safe, considering the COVID- 19 pandemic continues to linger in Connecticut.
Many local doctors say not to worry.
“People are realizing that kids need to come in for checkups,” said Dr. Susan Lasky, a pediatrician with Stamford Health Medical Group. “There are people who are anxious and we get a lot of calls asking what we’re doing to keep safe.”
At the height of the pandemic, Lasky said, many families were reluctant to bring their children in for well visits.
It was a trend seen by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which reported that due to COVID- 19, “a significant drop in well- child visits has resulted in delays in vaccinations, delays in appropriate screenings and referrals and delays in anticipatory guidance to assure optimal health.”
That’s disconcerting, as these services are essential to ensuring good health of children and adolescents, said Dr. Alvin Tran, assistant professor of public health in the University of New Haven’s School of Health Sciences.
“Annual physical exams for children are still important — even during the pandemic,” Tran said. “They help to ensure children are up to date with any required immunizations and to keep track of their growth and development. I
see annual physical exams as key preventative measures to help identify any health problems earlier on.”
But, with school a distinct possibility — along with summer camp and other activities that might require vaccinations and examinations — many parents are discovering they can’t delay a visit any longer. Lasky said many parents seem to realize this, and she’s been bombarded with appointments as people try to catch up.
However, she said some lingering anxieties remain. “There are still some people worried,” Lasky said.
To help counter those concerns — and to keep everyone safe — most medical offices have established measures such as online check- in, staggering appointments, implementing mandatory mask wearing for anyone older than 2 and socially distanced ( or non- existent) waiting rooms.
Lasky said her office has four waiting rooms, which she said is ideal for social distancing. She said as much screening as possible is done over the phone prior to the appointment to decrease waiting time.
“We try to bring people into the exam room as soon as possible,” she said.
Dr. Cornelius Ferreira, chairman of primary care at Nuvance Health, said the system has done “a lot of marketing” around its safety measures, which include scheduling well pediatric visits first thing in the morning to help limit contact between the sick and healthy. Offices are also regularly deepcleaned and hand hygiene is strictly enforced.
“We’ve implemented a playbook for our medical processes and we have very specific hygiene standards in place,” he said.
Nuvance Health, which includes Norwalk, Danbury, New Milford and Sharon hospitals, has made patient safety a top priority, Ferreira said.
“We’ve really taken ( our patients’) safety to heart,” he said. “We’re going to make sure they’re safe because we need to make sure our staff is safe.”