Author: Anderson Hills Pediatrics

For any patient visits after April 27, 2021, all bills associated with your child’s visits will be generated through our new system athenahealth. This means your bills or patient statements will look a little different. The ways in which you can pay your bills will hopefully be easier as well!

Our goal is to now make paying your bills easy, by meeting you where you are and offering multiple ways to pay:

Email: In a couple of days after your visit, you’ll receive an email from our office with your bill information and an option to pay.

Mail: Prefer a hard copy? We’ve got you covered. Within a couple of weeks after your appointment, you’ll receive a letter in the mail with instructions on how to pay and a unique code you can use to access your bill.

Patient Portal: You can log into your Patient Portal to pay your bill anytime. Talk to us about signing up!

Please also be aware that our offices will be closed at select times this week due to athenahealth training. We will continue to have our team available by phone during these closures should you or your child need anything.

• Anderson Office: Closed on April 13th from 12:00 -6:00PM and April 14th from 8:00AM-1:00PM
• Amelia Office: Closed on April 13th from 8:00AM – 1:00PM

Our patients are our #1 priority and we are working hard to ensure a seamless transition to our new partner, athenahealth.

We appreciate your patience as we make this update.

On April 27, 2021 we will be launching our new patient portal though our partner, athenahealth! We believe signing up for our new patient portal will be a worthwhile experience. The new portal will allow for better access to your child’s patient medical records, bill pay, and more!

Here’s why we recommend signing up for the Patient Portal: 

• Easy Bill Pay: Pay with a click instead of a check. Plus, you can save your credit card information for future payments.
• Message Us Anytime: You can securely message us to ask non-urgent questions or patient care needs.
• Schedule Your Next Appointment: You will still be able to schedule or change your appointments online, saving yourself time.
• Receive Letters from Your Pediatrician: Easily retrieve letters, like return to school, from your provider.
• Manager Your Child’s Record: We will be working with athenahealth to allow for more health record information to be available to you and your child. Over time, our goal is to allow you to share your health records with other providers, schools, and more.

We will be sending more information with a link and instructions on how you can register for our new portal in the near future. Our patients are our #1 priority and we are working hard to ensure a seamless transition to our new partner, athenahealth.

We appreciate your patience as we make this update.

As part of our commitment to delivering a great patient experience, we have partnered with Athena health and are transitioning to a new healthcare technology system towards the end of April. We believe this change will improve the on demand access to your child’s health information, scheduling and payment tools.

A few important things you need to know about this change:

• Patient Portal: Our patient portal is changing from Medfusion to Athena health. This means that towards the end of April you will need to sign-up to join our new and improved portal. We will send information and instructions to help you do so as we get closer to our transition date.
• Checking-In for you Visit: For the foreseeable future will continue to partner with Phreesia to help check you in for your visit. You may notice a few changes in the interview questions you are asked. Your interview may be longer the first visit in the new system.
• Insurance Information: Your insurance information will not transfer from our current medical record to Athena health. You will likely be asked to provide your insurance card again at your first visit so that we bill you insurance carrier for the services your child received appropriately.
• Medical Records: Rest assured that your child’s medical records will be available upon request as they always have been. However, our new patient portal will not provide patient care information prior to April 27, 2021.

Our patients are our #1 priority and we are working hard to ensure a seamless transition to our new partner, Athena health. We appreciate your patience as we make this update. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to our transition date.

We received great news from Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) that adults and older teenagers eligible under phases 1B, 1C, 1D, 2A or 2B of Ohio’s vaccine distribution plan, can make an appointment with CCHMC’s scheduling center. (Links work best with Chrome.)

The first clinic is Wednesday, March 17. There will likely be additional clinics to follow. In an effort to help you access their clinics, they are currently being scheduled in the evenings and weekends at the Sabin Auditorium. CCHMC has also indicated they are administering Pfizer vaccine, but may receive different vaccine in the future.

These appointments may fill up quickly. CCHMC has indicated it will continue to schedule more clinics based on vaccine supply. You may also visit the Ohio Department of Health’s Vaccine Management Solution website for other vaccine availability in the area.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to our team if you have any questions regarding the vaccine or your child’s care.

The Anderson Hills Pediatrics team continues to make it a top focus to ensure you and your child are safe during visits as we continue to endure the pandemic. Outlined below are safety precautions we are taking to make sure your child is safe during their visits.

Ways to Keep You Safe: 

• Wait from the Comfort of your Vehicle: We ask that all patients check in for their in-office or curbside appointments from the comfort of their vehicle by calling our front desk team upon arrival to the parking lot (513-232-8100 x7). This reduces time and exposure to others while in our facilities.
• Increased Cleanliness: Be assured that we follow proper procedures to disinfect our office between patient visits and routinely throughout the day.
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): Our team now wears an additional level of PPE during visits compared to pre-pandemic. During a visit you may see our team wear gowns, gloves, face masks, and goggles or face shields.
• Masks: Masks are required by all visitors over the age of 2 in our facilities. Masks without vents are not permitted. If you arrive at a visit without a mask or a mask with a vent, a member of our team will be happy to provide you with a mask so that we can all protect each other.
• Virtual Visits: We now offer telemedicine visits. This will allow our providers to care for your child from the comfort of your home. Telemedicine is most often appropriate for simple ill visits for children old enough to verbalize their symptoms, behavioral therapy, and medication follow-ups.
• Curbside Appointments: Curbside appointments are now available as an alternative to a visit inside of our office as long as weather permits. These visits are useful for ill care, vaccinations, and testing for conditions such as flu, strep or COVID.
• COVID Screening Questions: When scheduling and checking in for your child’s appointment, you will be asked screening questions. Please inform our staff if your child or the guardian bringing the child has been in close contact with a confirmed case of COVID, your family is under quarantine due to COVID exposure, or if there are any symptoms that may be COVID related. Knowing potential exposures is important for us to keep your family, other patients, and our care team safe.
• Limited Visitors: For all visits to our offices, please limit the visitors to one healthy adult.

Do you really want a mRNA vaccine?

What really happens when you get either the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines?

mRNA vaccines have been researched for 25 years. This is not an overnight sensation. Covid-19 virus just happened at the right time, which is why these vaccines could be developed so quickly.

So, what happens at the cellular level?

The genetic material of human cells is stored in our DNA. This DNA can only exist in the nucleus of cells, which makes the nucleus the home of all of our genetic material.  While DNA can only exist in the nucleus, every cell translates this genetic info into something called RNA when it leaves the nucleus. This process happens in our cells all the time. Thus, RNA never enters the nucleus. It just lives in the cell outside the nucleus. Therefore, RNA cannot change our genetic make-up.

There are different types of RNA. So called messenger RNA (mRNA) then translates its information and manufactures proteins. These proteins have a multitude of jobs in our body. When a person receives one of the two COVID mRNA vaccines, the protein produced is the spike protein that is also found on the actual virus – remember the illustrations of the virus with its many spikes that are supposed to resemble a crown. As a result of the foreign protein, our body makes antibodies against those spike proteins.

Most of the antibody production happens in our immune system where our lymph nodes and spleen play an important role; think of the swelling of lymph nodes in our necks due to a strep throat infection or an enlarged spleen when adolescents have infectious mononucleosis.

When you get an intramuscular injection of mRNA, the muscle tissue at the site of the injection and the corresponding lymph nodes (if given in the arm, the lymph nodes in your armpit), the spleen and to some extent the liver make the COVID virus spike protein. The majority of the spike protein is produced in the first 2-3 days after injection. After a few days routine mechanisms in our cells shut down the mRNA and thus the spike protein production stops. mRNA only survives for a short time. Our immune system then makes antibodies against the COVID virus spike proteins. Since only the spike proteins are produced, the vaccine cannot cause disease.

When the vaccinated person then encounters the real, live COVID virus, our immune system recognizes the spike protein on the actual virus and mobilizes the antibodies, which were produced when you received the vaccine.  Those antibodies are ready to help you fight the infection.

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out.

Petra Hackenberg-Bauer, MD

Children’s Mental Health Week is in full swing.  This year’s theme is Express Yourself. This theme is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity.

Emotional Intelligence is a critically important skill to develop in our kids.  At Anderson Hills Pediatrics, we want to support you in developing these skills in your children for their overall wellness.  We want to help our kids understand a range of emotions, what emotions feel like in their body, the purpose of those emotions, and healthy ways to manage them.  Kids with a solid Emotional IQ have better relationships with others, feel more confident navigating interpersonal conflicts, and are more confident in themselves.

Below are a few resources that Caitlin, LPPC-S, our behavioral health counselor, recommends as options to help you and your family spend time on emotional health and understanding. We hope these will help you and your family!

Games and Activities:

• Printable Emotions Sorting Game inspired by Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out Printable Emotions Sorting Game
• The Squiggle Game, to encourage creative expression  The Squiggle Game
• Emotional Robot Flashcards Emotional Flashcards
• Calm Down Yoga Yoga for Kids
• HALTED, for problem solving why we are feeling a certain way Problem Solving
• Feelings games by PBS Kids Feelings Games
• “Hedbanz” Style Emotional Guessing Game Exploring Emotional Games

Books:

• The Way I Feel, by Janan Cain
• Giraffes Can’t Dance, by Giles Andreae and Guy Parker-Rees
• When Sophie Gets Angry – Really, Really Angry, by Molly Ban
  Visiting Feelings, by Lauren Rubenstein
• Wemberly Worried, by Kevin Kenkes
• Crazy Hair Day, by Barney Saltzberg
• Love, Hugs, and Hope: When Scary Things Happen, by Christy Monson
• The Invisible String, By Patrice Karst and Joanne Lew-Vriethoff
• Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and their parents), by Eline Snel
• What to Do When Your Temper Flares: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Problems with Anger, by Dawn Huebner

If you have concerns about your child’s emotional or behavioral health, please call us to schedule a mental health assessment with Caitlin Geiser, LPCC-S.  Remember, your child’s physical and  mental/emotional health are important to us!

COVID vaccines for phase 1B are beginning. Phase 1B includes any patients over age 16 with severe congenital, developmental, or early onset medical conditions. Unfortunately, we do not have vaccines in our offices to provide to you/ your child just yet. However, eligible patients are still encouraged to search for a vaccine provider on the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) website by clicking HERE.

Until vaccines are more widely administered, we will continue to do our part to slow the spread by social distancing, wearing our masks, washing our hands, etc. Please help us in doing the same!

Anderson Hills Pediatrics had previously applied for vaccines though the Ohio Department of Health for our team and those patients that are of eligible age to receive them. We have been approved for and are expecting we will be able to offer the Moderna vaccines to patients 18 years and older. We are still anxiously awaiting a date in which we will receive doses for patients. We are expecting that date to be late spring or early summer, but of course are hoping that will be sooner!

At this time, we ask that only patients only 18 years or older add to the waitlist. 

For patients under the age of 18, trials are currently underway for children and adolescents now. There is hope that some children may be able to receive the vaccine prior to the 2021-2022 school year. Healthy Children has a great resource article with more information on this topic that we have linked for you.

• Read the full article

We will share more information with you on when/where children under the age of 18 can receive vaccines as it becomes available to us.

UPDATED 1/24/2021

The COVID-19 vaccine has been shown to decrease the severity of illness in people who catch this virus. Having a significant portion of Ohioans vaccinated will help us prevent serious hospitalizations and death.

WHEN WILL OUR OFFICE GET THE COVID-19 VACCINE?

We have been approved to receive them through the state.  They are doing the best they can to distribute them to the highest risk population first.  We hope to get them soon and will make them immediately available prioritizing with our staff in direct patient care and then to patients as our supplies increase.

WHY SHOULD I GET THE VACCINE?

It’s true that most people who get COVID-19 are able to recover. Some develop severe complications. Because the disease can damage the lungs, heart and brain, it may also cause long-term health problems that experts are still working on.  Another reason to get it is that it protects those around you.  Even if COVID-19 doesn’t make you very sick, you could pass it on to someone else who might be more severely affected.  Widespread vaccination is important to end the pandemic.

WHAT IS THE COVID-19 VACCINE EFFECTIVENESS?

Evidence shows that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and work to prevent COVID-19. Of the first two vaccines to be granted FDA emergency use authorization, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 95% effective and the Moderna vaccine was 94% effective in phase 3 clinical trials with more than 70,000 participants between the two studies. Although the COVID-19 vaccines have been developed recently, the technology used in mRNA vaccines, like those developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, has been studied for decades.

WILL I HAVE TO GET THE VACCINE YEARLY LIKE THE FLU?

While research to determine how long the immune response will last with the vaccine is still under way, studies have shown they believe it could be effective up to 12 months.

WILL THERE BE A COMBINATION FLU AND COVID VACCINE?

Currently there is not a combination vaccine but research is in the works for a combined influenza/COVID-19 vaccine.

WILL THE VACCINE GIVE ME COVID-19?

Vaccines prime your immune system to recognize and fight off the disease, but they don’t cause an infection.  When the genetic material mRNA enters your cells, it instructs them to make a piece of the “spike” protein that’s present on the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Those protein pieces don’t harm your body, but instead trigger your immune system to mount a response to fight them off.

WHAT ARE THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE COVID-19 VACCINE?

Side effects are minimal. The most common side effects include fatigue, headache, soreness or redness at the injection site, and muscle or joint pain, and should not prevent you from getting a vaccine that can prevent you from catching or spreading this deadly virus.

IF I HAVE AN AUTOIMMNUNE DISEASE, CAN I GET THE VACCINE?

Yes! Neither Pfizer nor Moderna are live vaccines.  The mRNA is short lived and Its degradation is due to RNAse, not our immune system.  Regardless of our immune status, the mRNA does not integrate into our DNA.

CAN THE VACCINE TRIGGER AN AUTOIMMUNE RESPONSE?

We always worry about this with a new vaccine but so far we have not seen an issue with triggering autoimmune disease.

WILL THE VACCINE WILL ALTER MY DNA

FALSE. The vaccines DO NOT change your DNA. For all four COVID-19 vaccines under development (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Janssen), the main function is to bring messenger RNA, also known as mRNA, into a part of our cell called the cytoplasm. The genetic material known as DNA is in the nucleus of our cells. There is a wall around the nucleus that prevents RNA from getting into the nucleus. Thus, the vaccines have no ability to change our DNA. Also, the mRNA used in these vaccines    only lasts in our cytoplasm for a few days, and then our body destroys it. So, the mRNA does its job of having our body make a harmless piece of the spike protein in COVID-19, and then our body starts an immune response against the spike protein. This immune response is what protects us against being infected by COVID-19.

DO COVID-19 VACCINES CONTAIN HUMAN STEM CELLS?

FALSE. None of the vaccines contain human cells. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are pure mRNA that was made in the lab. This process does not use any cells at all. The AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines use an adenovirus to bring the spike protein gene to our cells. Viruses need to grow in cells. After the    adenovirus used in the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines are grown, the virus is collected from the    cells and purified. So there ONLY is virus, NO human cells, in the AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccine. The initial cell line for the AstraZeneca vaccine came from human embryonic kidney cells. However, those cells were obtained over 60 years ago. There are NO human cells in the finished product of either the AstraZeneca or Janssen vaccine.

WHAT IS THE AGE LIMIT TO RECEIVE THE VACCINE?

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is currently recommended for patients age 16 and up, and the Moderna vaccine is currently recommended for patients age 18 and up. As more information becomes available on children and COVID-19 vaccines from the FDA, CDC, and vaccine manufacturers, it will be made available at coronavirus.ohio.gov/vaccine. There are current vaccine trials occurring on children younger than these ages, but we do not know when a vaccine for children will widely be approved and available.

HOW MANY DOSES WILL BE NEEDED?

Both Pfizer and Moderna require TWO from the same manufacturer. Pfizer second dose is 21 days after the first. Moderna second dose is 28 days after the first. These are recommended intervals with a 4-day grace period.

WHAT IF I ALREADY HAD COVID – DO I STILL NEED THE VACCINE?

Yes, COVID-19 vaccination will be offered to you regardless of whether or not you already had COVID-19. You will not be required to have an antibody test before you are vaccinated. However, anyone currently infected with COVID-19 should wait to get vaccinated until after their illness has resolved and after they have met the criteria to discontinue isolation.

Additionally, current evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the 90 days after initial infection. Therefore, people with a recent infection may delay vaccination until the end of that 90-day period if desired.

CAN I GET THE VACCINE IF I’M IMMUNOCOMPROMISED?

YES.  The mRNA vaccines (Pfizer and Moderna) are not “live” vaccines and thus immunocompromised individuals are at no greater risk from these vaccines than any other person. While neither the Astra Zeneca nor Janssen vaccine use adenoviruses that can grow in our body, they are “live.” Thus, while we have no reason to think either the Astra Zeneca or Janssen vaccines are of increased risk to people with immunocompromising conditions, it would be best to discuss with you doctor if one type of the COVID19 vaccine may be better for you

WILL THE VACCINE PROTECT AGAINST THE NEW COVID-19 VARIANT (COVID-20)

Viruses frequently change through mutation, and new variants of a virus are expected to occur over time. Multiple variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been documented in the United States and globally during this pandemic. Most variants do not change how the virus behaves, and many disappear. There is no evidence that these variants cause more severe illness or increased risk of death. Public health officials are also studying if variants are detected by currently available viral tests, and if they respond to medicines being used to treat COVID-19 patients.

The CDC’s recommendations for slowing the spread remains — wearing masks, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, avoiding crowds, ventilating indoor spaces, and washing hands often — will also help prevent the spread of this variant.

CAN WE TRUST THE VACCINES SINCE IT WAS RUSHED?

The first vaccines for COVID-19 do involve new technology, and they were developed in record time. However, this was not due to shortcuts in the vaccine development process. The new technology is called messenger RNA, or mRNA. While this is the first time it’s being widely used in a vaccine for the public, researchers have actually been working on this vaccine strategy for more than three decades.

The companies put their vaccines through rigorous clinical trials involving tens of thousands of volunteers.  The FDA follows the volunteers for up to two years after receiving the vaccines to make sure, they are safe and effective.  Because it was put out so fast, data was closely scrutinized from those trial to ensure efficacy.

CAN OTHER VACCINES PROTECT ME FROM COVID-19?

Other vaccines, such as those for flu, measles, or other diseases, will not protect you from COVID-19. Only the vaccines designed specifically to protect you from COVID-19, once approved for use by the FDA, can prevent COVID-19. While a flu vaccine will not prevent you from getting COVID-19, it can prevent you from getting influenza (flu) at the same time as COVID-19. Because the flu viruses and the virus that causes COVID-19 will both be spreading during this time, getting a flu vaccine will be more crucial than ever.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EMERGENCY USE AUTHORIZATION (EUA) AND APPROVAL FROM FDA?

An Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) authorizes the use of an unapproved medical product, or unapproved use of an approved medical product, for use during a public health emergency if the benefits of its use outweigh any known or potential risks. Both Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines have been granted EUA following rigorous review. The EUAs are valid until the pandemic is over, the FDA revokes the EUAs, or the products are approved for traditional licensure by the FDA. The FDA closely monitors each vaccine for safety after the EUA is issued. Drug manufacturers are encouraged to obtain traditional FDA licensed vaccine approval as soon as possible.

WILL I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE VACCINE?

If you choose to get a COVID-19 vaccine, you will not have to pay. Vaccine doses purchased with taxpayer dollars will be given to Ohioans who choose to receive them at no out-of-pocket cost. Vaccine providers will be able to charge an administration fee for giving the shot to someone, so you may still receive a bill for the work a clinical team member did in providing the vaccine.

Like most of COVID-19 related billing, these services may be covered differently at some point in the future. It is always important to check with your insurance company regarding what services they cover.

WHEN CAN I STOP WEARING A MASK AND AVOIDING CLOSE CONTACT?

There is not enough information currently available to say if or when the CDC will stop recommending that people wear masks and avoid close contact with others to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Experts need to understand more about the protection that COVID-19 vaccines provide before making that decision. Other factors, including how many people get vaccinated and how the virus is spreading in communities, will also affect this decision.

DOES IMMUNITY AFTER GETTING COVID-19 LAST LONGER THAN PROTECTION FROM COVID-19 VACCINES??

The protection someone gains from having an infection (called natural immunity) varies depending on the disease, and it varies from person to person. Since this virus is new, we don’t know how long natural immunity might last. Current evidence suggests that reinfection with the virus that causes COVID-19 is uncommon in the 90 days after initial infection.

Regarding vaccination, we won’t know how long immunity lasts until we have a vaccine and more data on how well it works.

Both natural immunity and vaccine-induced immunity are important aspects of COVID-19 that experts are trying to learn more about, and CDC will keep the public informed as new evidence becomes available.

CAN I RECEIVE THE VACCINE IF I AM BREASTFEEDING?

There is no data on the safety of COVID-19 vaccines in lactating women or on the effects of mRNA vaccines on the breastfed infant or on milk production/excretion. mRNA vaccines are not thought to be a risk to the breastfeeding infant. People who are breastfeeding and are part of a group recommended to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, such as healthcare personnel, may choose to be vaccinated.

DOES THE COVID VACCINE AFFECT FERTILITY?

No. This is a myth that was first put on several social media platforms. According to a report by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), 23 women became pregnant while participating in Pfizer’s mRNA vaccine clinical trial. Out of the 12 pregnant individuals who received the vaccine, there were no reported adverse events such as miscarriages. In the 11 who received a placebo, 2 cases of adverse effects were reported. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) has said that pregnancy is not a reason to avoid vaccination.

HOW LONG AFTER RECEIVING OTHER VACCINES CAN I GET THE COVID VACCINE, OR VICE-VERSA?

You must wait a minimum of 14 days after receiving any other vaccines before you can get your COVID Vaccine.