Author: Anderson Hills Pediatrics

It is heating up outdoors and we cannot wait to start summer water-related activities. Unfortunately, drowning is the leading cause of death for children. In fact, “more children ages 1–4 die from drowning than any other cause of death except birth defects and for children ages 1–14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional injury death after motor vehicle crashes,” CDC. We want you and your children to have a fun, safe summer ahead.

These small steps can save lives while swimming or being near water this summer:

• Water Watcher: Designate a Water Watcher – an adult, whose only job is to watch children when they are in the pool or swimming. This is one of the most important steps you can do to keep your children safe in and around water.
• Swim Lessons: Has your child learned to swim? Children that have not learned to swim face much higher risks of drowning. Local businesses or parks and rec departments are great places to go for information on swim lessons.
• Life Jackets: Life jackets are important for all ages and regardless of swimming ability in natural bodies of water or while taking part in activities such as boating. They also should be used by weaker swimmers around natural water bodies and in swimming pools. Not all life jackets are created equal! Put your child in a properly fitted US Coast Guard approved life jacket.
• Barriers: “Fences are the most effective, proven way to prevent drowning of young children,” HealthyChildren.org. Pool fencing should be at least 4 feet high and completely surround swimming pools. Your child should not be able to squeeze through the slats. The gate should be a self-latching gat that opens outward from the pool area. It is also recommended to install a door alarm on a pool gate and to have pool or spa covers that properly and fully cover the area.
• Drain Covers: Ensure all pools and spas have compliant drain covers. Without the proper covers, the powerful suction from a pool or spa drain can be enough to even trap and adult.
• CPR: Performing CPR can help save the life of a drowning victim. There are several community centers and business that offer CPR in our area.

Additional Prevention Resources:

Pool Dangers and Drowning Prevention―When It’s Not Swimming Time

Life Jackets & Life Preservers for Children

Water Safety USA: Life Jackets Save Lives

CDC: Drowning Prevention

American Red Cross: Water Safety Month: How to Be Safe In and Around the Water

American Red Cross: Water Safety

Pool Safely Song by Laurie Berkner

Pool Safely: Safety Tips

Did you know that more than 70% of infants receive formula by 6 months of age? Are you searching for formula and unable to find it? Since the pandemic began, infant formula has been plagued by shortages. The recent recall of contaminated formula products certainly did not help and the shortages people are experiencing have heightened.

If you have an urgent need for formula, we hope the below tips will be helpful for you and your infant:

• Smaller stores and drug stores may have formula supplies when it is sold out at major retail chains.
• Some major retail chains sell formula on-line. Refresh their pages often to see what is in-stock and available for purchase. Note that some major retailers are putting a limit on the amount you can buy.
• Generic formulas may be an option.
• You may also contact our office if you are in need of formula. While supplies last, we can provide you with some formula to help over a small period of time to ensure your child is fed while you are locating additional formula.

Our team recommends that you DO NOT do the following as alternatives to formula:

• NEVER add more than the recommended amount of water to powdered or concentrated formula and never add any water to liquid ready-to-feed formula. This can dilute the nutrients which can cause imbalances and may lead to serious health problems.
• It is not recommended to make homemade formula. The balance of nutrients may be difficult for your baby to digest, may cause kidney or liver damage, and otherwise may not support healthy growth or development.
• It is also not recommended that you purchase formula from other countries that have not been reviewed / recommended by the FDA.
• You should also not feed an infant under 1 year of age cow milk or other milk substitutes.

While we are uncertain of how long this formula shortage will last, we are hopeful it will pass soon. If you have any additional questions regarding infant formula, please do not hesitate to contact our team at (513) 232-8100.

Thank you for trusting us with your care.

Resources:

HealthyChildren.org Articles:

• Is there a baby formula shortage?
• Is Homemade Baby Formula Safe?
• Cow’s Milk Alternatives: Parent FAQs
• Parents face empty shelves as baby formula shortages worsen

April is World Autism Month which focuses on providing an understanding and acceptance of people with autism.

Do you sometimes wonder why our physicians ask so many questions about your seemingly healthy infant and toddler at their check-up appointments? It is because roughly 1 in 44 of our patients will be diagnosed with Autism. Our pediatricians and team formally utilize autism screening tools at the 18 and 24 month check-up. Our physicians additionally personally assess for development at every check-up visit your child has. Research has shown that early intervention can improve the health of a child with autism.

Your child’s check-up appointments are about more than just immunizations. Their schedule of wellness visits include screenings and assessments recommended at specific times from infancy through adolescence. If you are not up-to-date on your child’s recent check-up, please contact our office or schedule online through the patient portal.

For more resources on Autism, please visit these articles by Healthy Children from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):

• Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children
• How Pediatricians Screen for Autism
• How is Autism Diagnosed?
• What are the Early Signs of Autism?
• If Autism is Suspected, What’s Next?
• Keep Kids with Autism Safe from Wandering: Tips from the AAP
• Words of Support for Parents of a Child with Autism
• Helping Teens With Autism Transition to Adulthood: Tips for Parents & Caregivers
• When Not to Worry About Autism

We are approaching the time of year in which many of our patients are needing forms completed for school registrations and sports. We want this process to go as smoothly as possible for you and your family this year. Below are a few tips to help you get your child’s visits and necessary forms completed timely this year.

Before we jump into our tips, we want to encourage you to sign up for our Patient Portal. It is a great way to communicate, send and receive your forms, access vaccine records anytime, update demographic information, and self-schedule appointments.

Scheduling:

We encourage you to be proactive and schedule your child’s annual checkup before the start of school and sports. Our schedules get filled very quickly in the summer for these appointments, so scheduling early helps to ensure you have an appointment when you need it.

One consideration to keep in mind is that insurance companies have policies regarding how often children can complete their annual check-ups. Most require the check-ups to be one year apart from one another. We encourage you to check with your insurance company on this guidance to ensure no surprise bills occur.

Did you know that your child’s checkup is good for 1 year? If you have forms that can be filled out prior to their next regularly scheduled check-up date, the information can be completed based upon their last visit with no additional trips to our offices.

Ways to Prepare for your Visit or Forms:

We encourage you to confirm with your child’s school or child care provider what required vaccines, health records, or forms are needed in advance of your child’s check-up. This will allow us to complete all information your child needs to have completed in one visit.

We ask that the parent or patient portions of the forms be fully completed prior to you submitting a form to us. This includes information such as the patient’s name, date of birth, and any other parent or student information. Also, please be sure to sign all applicable fields for parents and students. We will not complete forms for patients that have not had a check-up within the past 12 months.

Timelines:

Please allow 3-4 business days for our team to complete your forms. This will allow the physicians to have enough time to review, fill out, and complete the forms. If there is a need for a form to be completed sooner, the office policy is to charge a $5.00 expediting fee to have the form completed in 1-2 business days. The fee is due at the time the form arrives in the office. (Multiple forms can be filled out for the $5.00 fee as long as it is the same patient and the forms are dropped off and picked up at the same time.)

We look forward to helping you and your children get prepped and ready for their next daycare, school, or sports events!

Thank you for trusting us with your care!

Anderson Hills Pediatrics

To my patients and families of Anderson Hills Pediatrics:

It is with deep gratitude for the families and staff at Anderson Hills Pediatrics that I announce my retirement from the practice of medicine beginning September 2, 2022.

It has been a pleasure to share my working hours with you over the last 30 years. You have taught me many lessons and I want to let you know how much I appreciate you. I’m looking forward to spending time with my wife, four children and our extended family playing music, working on projects, and enjoying grandchildren.

We will be in contact with you in the coming months to share with you more information on transitions of care with our pediatric team. If you have any immediate questions, please contact Medical Records at 513-232-8100 option 6.

Please let me know if there’s anything I can do in the next six months of medical work at Anderson Hills Pediatrics to be helpful to you or your family. I look forward to seeing you around town and wish you well.

Sincerely,

Dr. Vennemeyer

The Worry Bug

By Harper Campbell

We are so proud of Harper Campbell for writing a short book on how to help other patients in dealing with their “Worry Bug.”  In the words of Caitlin Geiser, our behavioral health therapist, her short story is “seriously awesome!”

We hope you take the time out of your day to read Harper’s book. We encourage you to carry on Harper’s wishes by sharing it with others to help fight off the pesky worry bug!

“You’re amazing! Remember that, strong worry worrier!” Harper Campbell

Posted with permission from the Campbell family.

Worry Bug

Anderson Hills Pediatrics has once again been awarded recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance Patient-Centered Medical Home Program!

“NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home Recognition raises the bar in defining high-quality care by emphasizing access, health information technology and coordinated care focused on patients,” said NCQA President Margaret E. O’Kane. “Recognition shows that Anderson Hills Pediatrics has the tools, systems and resources to provide its patients with the right care, at the right time.”

NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to improving health care quality. NCQA accredits and certifies a wide range of health care organizations. It also recognizes clinicians and practices in key areas of performance. NCQA’s Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) is the most widely used performance measurement tool in health care. NCQA’s website (ncqa.org) contains information to help consumers, employers and others make more informed health care choices. NCQA can be found online at ncqa.org, on Twitter @ncqa, on Facebook at facebook.com/NCQA.org and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/ncqa.

We want to congratulate and recognize the hard work of our Anderson Hills Pediatrics team for their dedication to high-quality patient care! Without their continued efforts this recognition would not be possible.

Recently the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released  updated guidance on how we can reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. One area of focus is an ability to reduce masking measures based upon county levels of COVID-19 transmission rates, hospital admission rates, and hospital capacity.

While Hamilton and Clermont counties are currently in a medium risk level, you will still see our team masking in our offices. At this time, we continue to ask that all patients over the age of 2, parents or guardians, and other visitors continue to wear masks as well. We based decision on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recent guidance and with you, our patients and families, in mind. A few considerations we used in making this decision, and advise you think about for your children and families as well include:

• Many of our patients are currently ineligible for the COVID vaccine due to age. Even though the vaccine is available for many of our patients, we are still treating patients in our offices that have not been fully immunized.
• We treat patients that are immunocompromised and are at a higher risk for severe illness. We treat patients with family members that are at higher risk of severe disease or are not immunized.
• We continue to treat patients with COVID-19.

“The AAP strongly recommends that all individuals ages 5 years and older receive the COVID –19 vaccine. Additional layered prevention strategies such as testing, ventilation, and masking can also create a cocooning effect that offers protection for children too young to be vaccinated or who have health conditions, such as immune-compromise or lung conditions, that are more likely to result in severe disease from COVID-19 infection.”

We will be in communication should there be any additional changes in our mask policies in the upcoming future. In the interim, we ask that patients 2 years of age and older, parents, guardians, and visitors continue wearing face masks in our facilities. We appreciate your support in our decision to protect our patients and our team.

Thank you for trusting us with your child’s care!

Anderson Hills Pediatrics

Resources:

• American Academy of Pediatrics: American Academy of Pediatrics Offers New Masking Recommendations for Families Following Updated CDC Guidance

Primarily applies to patients 12 and older

With a goal in mind to reduce the already small risk of myocarditis and to improve efficacy, the CDC recently updated its guidance to lengthen the interval between doses for children 12+ years of age. The new guidance ​suggests a second dose of the vaccine be given 8 weeks after the first does instead of the previous 3-week interval. Due to these updates, we will be scheduling the second COVID vaccine for children 12 years of age or older 8 weeks apart. However, our care team may recommend that doses are still given on a three-week interval in instances where your child may be moderately or severely immune compromised.

This new guidance does not impact patients 5 to 11 years of age. First and second doses will continue to be scheduled 3 weeks apart for this age group.

We are still offering COVID vaccine clinics and vaccines during select patient visits. Please call our team or schedule on our patient portal if you are interested in getting your child vaccinated today.

“Regardless of the interval between the first and second dose, data show mRNA vaccines remain highly effective at reducing the risk of hospitalization or serious complications from COVID-19 infection, the CDC guidance said.” AAP News

Thank you for trusting us with your child’s care.
Anderson Hills Pediatrics

Resources:

• CDC: Interim Clinical Considerations for Use of COVID-19 Vaccines Currently Approved or Authorized in the United States
• AAP News: CDC updates guidance to increase interval between first, second doses of COVID-19 vaccinations for some patients

The Cincinnati Pediatric Society Board and Cincinnati Children’s leaders, including our very own Dr. Driscoll, wrote an editorial to the Enquirer – Cincinnati and Kentucky to share the importance of children becoming vaccinated against COVID-19.

Opinion: Pediatricians urge parents to get kids vaccinated

We do still have COVID vaccines available for patients 5 years of age and older! You may schedule through the Patient Portal or by calling 513-232-8100 option 2.