Author: Anderson Hills Pediatrics

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.

Hulafrog’s Most Loved Pediatrician on the Eastside

Is your infant currently being fed in part or fully with powdered infant formula? If so, you may be impacted by a recent formula recall from the FDA in partnership with the CDC. The recall was issued after reports of infants becoming ill with bacterial infections. The affected powdered formulas are of the Similac, Alimentum and EleCare brands from Abbott Nutrition that were produced at the Sturgis, Michigan, facility.

“The FDA is advising consumers not to use Similac, Alimentum or EleCare powdered infant formulas if:

• the first two digits of the code are 22 through 37 and
• the code on the container contains K8, SH, or Z2, and
• the expiration date is 4-1-2022 (APR 2022) or later

The code is printed on the product packaging near the expiration date (see product image below). Additional information on products made by Abbott Nutrition is available on their website: https://abbottnutrition.com/infant-and-new-motherExternal Link Disclaimer.” -FDA

Our team wants to reiterate an important quote from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) News article that, “Cronobacter bacteria can cause sepsis or meningitis. Symptoms include poor feeding, irritability, temperature changes, jaundice, grunting breaths and abnormal movements. Salmonella can cause gastrointestinal illness and fever. Severe infections also may include aches, headaches, lethargy, rash and blood in the urine or stool.”

Please do not hesitate to contact our office at (513) 232-8100 if you are concerned that your infant may have symptoms of a bacterial infection.

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

Resources:

• AAP News: FDA issues warning for potentially contaminated infant formula
• FDA:  FDA Investigation of Cronobacter and Salmonella Complaints: Powdered Infant Formula (February 2022)

Shortly after our previous email, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced there will be a delay in the evaluation of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for age 6 months through 4 years of age. This decision was made to allow more time to evaluate data on a third dose and if three doses will be included in the Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

“Since the early days of the pandemic, we’ve always followed the science in this ever-changing situation,” Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, said during a press conference. “Data has come in so rapidly and we need to be able to look through the data. It makes sense for us to wait until we have the data from the evaluation of a third dose before taking action.” – American Academy of Pediatrics News

As previously mentioned, we do have COVID vaccines still available for patients 5 years of age and older!  Please contact our office to schedule your child’s doses for their vaccines or book on the patient portal today!

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

Additional Resources and Information:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update:  Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Postpones Advisory Committee Meeting to Discuss Request for Authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 6 Months Through 4 Years of Age
• American Academy of Pediatrics: COVID Vaccine Fact Sheet
• American Academy of Pediatrics:  Why Should my Child get the COVID Vaccine Video

If you have been following the news lately, you have likely seen that Pfizer has recently requested emergency use authorization (EUA) for vaccinating children ages 6 months up through 4 years of age. With this recent request, we are starting to see an increase in questions related to vaccine availability. At this time we do not have COVID vaccines for this age group available nor are we approved to provided them to patients.

On February 15th, the FDA’s vaccine advisory committee will be meeting to discuss this request for the EUA to be approved. If the FDA determines that the vaccine is safe and appropriate for this age group, the CDC’s vaccine advisory will then need to provide the final approval for us to begin vaccinating patients.

The anticipated dosage is expected to be 3 micrograms per vaccine, and we anticipate it may be a 3 dose series. Pfizer is currently only seeking EUA for a two-dose vaccine, but they are continue to test a three-dose regimen.

In anticipation of being able to provide COVID vaccines to patients 6 months through 4 years of age as soon as it is approved, we have already placed our request to order these vaccines. If and when the vaccines are approved by the CDC and FDA, we will send a communication with more information on vaccination scheduling.

We do have COVID vaccines still available for patients 5 years of age and older! Vaccines are the most powerful weapon we have against deadly infectious disease and can lessen the level of illness should your child still contract COVID or flu. Please contact our office to schedule your child’s doses for their vaccines or book on the patient portal today!

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

Additional Resources and Information:

• Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update:  FDA Advisory Committee Meeting to Discuss Request for Authorization of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine for Children 6 Months Through 4 Years of Age
• American Academy of Pediatrics: COVID Vaccine Fact Sheet
• American Academy of Pediatrics: Why Should my Child get the COVID Vaccine Video

While we are thankfully seeing a decline in COVID-19 cases, it is something that we are still consistently treating at Anderson Hills Pediatrics. In addition, we continue to treat other common illnesses for this time of year such as flu and strep. There is often an overlap in these symptoms, so proper testing is important to determine the best course of treatment for your child.

Since early on in the pandemic, Anderson Hills Pediatrics has had the ability to offer advanced DNA testing technology for flu, COVID, and strep testing in a single visit. These advanced technology tests are designed to detect these common conditions, regardless of the strain. We are also able to provide you with the results of your child’s tests before you leave our office! If you believe your child may be in need of testing, please contact our triage team to discuss and determine if an appointment is needed at 513-232-8100.

Common Strep Throat Symptoms:

• Pain in throat that is often made worse during swallowing
• Fever
• Headache
• Stomach Pain, nausea, or  vomiting
• Fine, red rash
• Red and swollen tonsils

Common Flu Symptoms:

• Fever and chills
• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Headache
• Muscle pain

Common COVID Symptoms:

• Fever and chills
• Runny nose
• Sore throat
• Cough
• Headache
• Fatigue’
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea
• Loss of taste or smell

We still have COVID and flu vaccines available! Vaccines are the most powerful weapon we have against deadly infectious disease and can lessen the level of illness should your child still contract COVID or flu. Please contact our office to schedule your child’s doses for their vaccines or book on the patient portal today! 

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

The cost of visits and testing is dependent upon your insurance plan and coverage. Check with your insurance company for more information on anticipated expenses.