AAP Voices Blog

I have kept my office open throughout the pandemic. My patients have really appreciated this. I started telemedicine visits right away and saw in-patient visits for newborns.

Those with high fevers I decided to see outside initially, and now we see well patients in the morning and sick patients in the afternoon. We do all prenatal visits virtually.

I want to share how we do our outdoor visits when requested. I bought a large aluminum foil turkey pan and cover it with a garbage bag. I fill it with what I need and go to the car. 

I’ve asked patients to come with a Jeep, or a car with a hatchback, and a clean blanket in the back. When they arrive, they place their child on the blanket, and my nurse and I examine the child there.

We administer vaccines, take the child’s temperature, and measure a baby’s length and head size on the blanket. We also do developmental screenings outside and can administer drive-through vaccines to older children and teenagers through the car window.

My nurse and I come out in full PPE, and I ask parents if they want me to wear gloves. If they say yes, I put on gloves. If they say no, I explain that I’ve already  washed my hands but I use hand sanitizer again in front of them and offer it to them as well.

It has worked well for patients to see that this is a clean process.

Inside the office, I see one patient every half hour, which gives our multiple rooms one hour to aerate. Between patients, my nurse and I open the windows and spray and wash every surface, including the chairs, scales, table and floor.

We were all in full PPE by March 5. Patients who walked in at first were confused about why we were fully masked up. But I’d listened to the news and I realized that the virus was going to be here soon.

Because I am an independent pediatrician, I had the freedom to make sure everything was handled in the appropriate way from the beginning. I have nurses in their 60s, and they’re just so dear to me. I don’t ever want them, or my patients, to get sick because I cut corners. So I made sure everything was taken care of.

Due to all these measures we are at 50 percent of usual volume this week, and none of my staff has gotten sick.

I assure our patients and staff that we are safe if we keep our masks on and wash our hands. They need leadership at this time and a display of confidence. 😊

Send in your COVID-19 pandemic story, and we may share it here and on our social media channels. https://bit.ly/2XVvJIu

*The views expressed in this article are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the American Academy of Pediatrics.