Selected Podcast
Keeping Up With Your Child’s Healthcare During a Pandemic
Dr. Josefina Batista discusses how pediatrician offices are keeping patients safe, why you shouldn't put off bringing your child to the pediatrician, and how to schedule an appointment.
Featured Speaker:
Josefina Batista, MD
Dr. Josefina Batista received her Doctor of Medicine from the St. James School of Medicine located in Park Ridge, IL. She completed her Pediatric Residency at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in Chicago, IL. Dr. Batista received her pediatric board certification from the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Batista sees patients at Primary Care Associates, Kankakee. Transcription:
Introduction: Well Within Reach is brought to you by Riverside My Chart, your simple, secure, and confidential online health connection. With just a click Riverside My Chart lets you stay well connected to the same information your doctor sees. You can request prescription refills, pay your bills, schedule your next appointment and more. Manage your care from your laptop, tablet, or phone, whether for yourself, your kids or the grandparents, My Chart makes your busy life just a little easier. Learn more and enroll today at RiversideMychart.org. Just another way to stay well connected from Riverside Healthcare. Riverside Healthcare puts the health and wellness information you need. Well Within Reach.
Katie Salwei: Thank you for tuning into the Wealth Within Reach Podcast. I'm your host, Katie Salwei and joining me today is pediatrician Dr. Josefina Batista. So Dr. Batista, you come from a family that had your mom as an internal medicine provider and your sister is a nurse practitioner. How did you get into pediatrics?
Dr. Batista: When I was in medical school, I did my core rotations actually had pediatrics last. And once I started, I, you know, found my match, you know, kids are great to work with. I love working with parents and it just felt right.
Host: Very cool. Well, so glad to have you, thank you for joining us here today. So today we are going to talk about the importance of keeping up with your child's healthcare during a pandemic. And as parents, we want to ensure that we are protecting our children, which means taking them to the doctor for those regular checkups. So let's jump right into this first question. And it might be on the minds of most of our parents. Is it safe to bring my child back to the pediatrician's office?
Dr. Batista: Yeah, so right now, given the really extensive measures that we're taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 both to ourselves and our patients, medical offices are probably the safest places you can be during this time. We're taking a lot of steps to make it safe. Several precautions, including scheduling well and sick visits at different times of the day. We're physically separating patients in different locations, rigorously sanitizing the office. We also have daily temperature checks for staff. We also are screening patients for temperature at the front desk. We keep our masks on, we have social distancing in the waiting rooms now where we're separating chairs as well. And we try our best to immediately room patients as quickly as we can.
Host: Okay. Well, those are a lot of really good measures to be taking. I know as a parent myself, you want to make sure that before you bring your child in that it's safe for them, as well as the doctor and everyone that's seeing them. So why shouldn't I put off bringing my child to see the doctor during this time?
Dr. Batista: So that's a great question. After COVID-19 was declared a national emergency childhood vaccines have plummeted in mid-March. It's left many children vulnerable to the 16 preventable diseases. There's a new report out from the CDC that from mid March to mid April 2.5 million fewer doses of all routine vaccines were given and 250,000 fewer doses of measles containing vaccines in that same period. So the fact that it's dropped so significantly in such a short period of time, it's really concerning for potential outbreaks.
Host: Okay. And so if somebody has missed those, is there, can they be made up, is there some like regulations that kind of need to be followed cause there's timeframes in between those like of needing of when you can take them and take the next dose type stuff?
Dr. Batista: So, yes. Yeah. So with every visit we do have the AP has a periodicity schedule where it's delineated, what we do at every visit. So every visit has a specific purpose. We can catch up with vaccines. And then we can also catch up with developmental surveillance as well. So if you have missed a visit and you know, not to worry, I'll, we can definitely catch kids up. Just, you know, give your physician a call to see if what they're in need of.
Host: Okay. So kind of going before this, the developmental piece of it, is that something somebody could do over a video visit if absolutely needed or is that something you would really prefer them to come into the office for?
Dr. Batista: So there are certain portions of the visits that we can do via telemedicine. There are some things that would require, however, in-person follow up like vaccines or laboratory testing but we can do developmental screening. So there are certain visits that only require developmental screenings, like the nine month visit that one, we can do a developmental surveillance there. But we would probably still recommend them come in to make sure that their height and weight are within normal limits.
Host: Okay. So are there certain, so kind of sticking on that developmental piece, are there certain pieces and things that parents should be kind of looking out for as far as like, Oh, I don't know if my child is reaching this, I've missed a visit, missing certain milestones or something kind of to look for, and I'm kind of getting off on what we're talking about, but this is interesting.
Dr. Batista: So there's a website that the AAP runs called the it's the parenting website, healthychildren.org, again that is healthychildren.org. They're they have several tabs regarding development, nutrition, several wonderful things that parents can look into. And they do have a list of developmental milestones that you can look for to make sure that your child is developing appropriately. However, if you ever have any questions, you can always reach out to your pediatrician.
Host: Okay, good. So you mentioned earlier that we were scheduling, excuse me mentioned earlier that we were scheduling well-check and sick visits, kind of trying to schedule them differently or at different times, are we, is there like a certain time of day where we're going to bring in more of the well child visits versus if you're a sick visit, we want you to come in a little later or is there any measures that we're kind of taking that way?
Dr. Batista: So we have well child visits exclusively in the morning, so we're not seeing any sick patients in the mornings. In the afternoon, we're still seeing well patients. We try to keep our sick visits to the last few visits of the day. So that way, if there's anybody that is under investigation for any illness that we're concerned about, we'll close the room and we'll have it specially cleaned.
Host: Are people able to still, if they are looking for like a sick visit or something, can they call the same day? And if there's an opening, they can potentially come in at the end of the day, or how are we handling those?
Dr. Batista: So when we get phone calls, we have them screened. So the nurse will receive the call, they'll run it by the provider. And then we'll make the decision. If it's somebody that we can see in clinic at the end of the day, or if it's somebody that we can just see through a video visit, there are some infectious illnesses that we can see through video visit, but that triaging should be done with the nurse to decide. which way we're going to be seeing the patient.
Host: Okay. Okay. So how could somebody, if they needed to schedule an appointment, what ways could they schedule an appointment?
Dr. Batista: Sure. So they could call their pediatrician's office. You can go to Riversidehealthcare.org to schedule an appointment. If you don't have a provider, you can call 855-404-docs that again, that's 855-404-D O C S. Or they can do it through My Chart if they have that capability.
Host: Okay, good to know. So is there anything that we missed or anything that we want our audience to know?
Dr. Batista: I think that's important to know that parents shouldn't be afraid to take their children to the pediatrician. So while we wait for scientists and doctors to develop a vaccine for Coronavirus, we should keep our children safe in every way that we can.
Host: Definitely. That is very good information. I know me being a parent, I want to make sure that my kids are safe. But your child's health and development are very important and Riverside is going to new lengths to assure that every aspect of the care that we provide is as safe as possible. But again, as Dr. Batista said, if you have additional questions about these measures, just call your pediatrician's office, they'd be willing to tell you what measures they're taking to ensure you that it is safe to come in. If able they can do a video visit, but know that the office is a very safe place to come. So thank you, Dr. Batista so much for coming to join us today.
Dr. Batista: Thanks for having me Katie.
Host: And thank you for tuning into Well Within Reach Podcast with pediatrician Dr. Josefina Batista, and your host, Katie Salwei, to find out more about our podcast, feel free to visit Riversidehealthcare.org.
Introduction: Well Within Reach is brought to you by Riverside My Chart, your simple, secure, and confidential online health connection. With just a click Riverside My Chart lets you stay well connected to the same information your doctor sees. You can request prescription refills, pay your bills, schedule your next appointment and more. Manage your care from your laptop, tablet, or phone, whether for yourself, your kids or the grandparents, My Chart makes your busy life just a little easier. Learn more and enroll today at RiversideMychart.org. Just another way to stay well connected from Riverside Healthcare. Riverside Healthcare puts the health and wellness information you need. Well Within Reach.
Katie Salwei: Thank you for tuning into the Wealth Within Reach Podcast. I'm your host, Katie Salwei and joining me today is pediatrician Dr. Josefina Batista. So Dr. Batista, you come from a family that had your mom as an internal medicine provider and your sister is a nurse practitioner. How did you get into pediatrics?
Dr. Batista: When I was in medical school, I did my core rotations actually had pediatrics last. And once I started, I, you know, found my match, you know, kids are great to work with. I love working with parents and it just felt right.
Host: Very cool. Well, so glad to have you, thank you for joining us here today. So today we are going to talk about the importance of keeping up with your child's healthcare during a pandemic. And as parents, we want to ensure that we are protecting our children, which means taking them to the doctor for those regular checkups. So let's jump right into this first question. And it might be on the minds of most of our parents. Is it safe to bring my child back to the pediatrician's office?
Dr. Batista: Yeah, so right now, given the really extensive measures that we're taking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 both to ourselves and our patients, medical offices are probably the safest places you can be during this time. We're taking a lot of steps to make it safe. Several precautions, including scheduling well and sick visits at different times of the day. We're physically separating patients in different locations, rigorously sanitizing the office. We also have daily temperature checks for staff. We also are screening patients for temperature at the front desk. We keep our masks on, we have social distancing in the waiting rooms now where we're separating chairs as well. And we try our best to immediately room patients as quickly as we can.
Host: Okay. Well, those are a lot of really good measures to be taking. I know as a parent myself, you want to make sure that before you bring your child in that it's safe for them, as well as the doctor and everyone that's seeing them. So why shouldn't I put off bringing my child to see the doctor during this time?
Dr. Batista: So that's a great question. After COVID-19 was declared a national emergency childhood vaccines have plummeted in mid-March. It's left many children vulnerable to the 16 preventable diseases. There's a new report out from the CDC that from mid March to mid April 2.5 million fewer doses of all routine vaccines were given and 250,000 fewer doses of measles containing vaccines in that same period. So the fact that it's dropped so significantly in such a short period of time, it's really concerning for potential outbreaks.
Host: Okay. And so if somebody has missed those, is there, can they be made up, is there some like regulations that kind of need to be followed cause there's timeframes in between those like of needing of when you can take them and take the next dose type stuff?
Dr. Batista: So, yes. Yeah. So with every visit we do have the AP has a periodicity schedule where it's delineated, what we do at every visit. So every visit has a specific purpose. We can catch up with vaccines. And then we can also catch up with developmental surveillance as well. So if you have missed a visit and you know, not to worry, I'll, we can definitely catch kids up. Just, you know, give your physician a call to see if what they're in need of.
Host: Okay. So kind of going before this, the developmental piece of it, is that something somebody could do over a video visit if absolutely needed or is that something you would really prefer them to come into the office for?
Dr. Batista: So there are certain portions of the visits that we can do via telemedicine. There are some things that would require, however, in-person follow up like vaccines or laboratory testing but we can do developmental screening. So there are certain visits that only require developmental screenings, like the nine month visit that one, we can do a developmental surveillance there. But we would probably still recommend them come in to make sure that their height and weight are within normal limits.
Host: Okay. So are there certain, so kind of sticking on that developmental piece, are there certain pieces and things that parents should be kind of looking out for as far as like, Oh, I don't know if my child is reaching this, I've missed a visit, missing certain milestones or something kind of to look for, and I'm kind of getting off on what we're talking about, but this is interesting.
Dr. Batista: So there's a website that the AAP runs called the it's the parenting website, healthychildren.org, again that is healthychildren.org. They're they have several tabs regarding development, nutrition, several wonderful things that parents can look into. And they do have a list of developmental milestones that you can look for to make sure that your child is developing appropriately. However, if you ever have any questions, you can always reach out to your pediatrician.
Host: Okay, good. So you mentioned earlier that we were scheduling, excuse me mentioned earlier that we were scheduling well-check and sick visits, kind of trying to schedule them differently or at different times, are we, is there like a certain time of day where we're going to bring in more of the well child visits versus if you're a sick visit, we want you to come in a little later or is there any measures that we're kind of taking that way?
Dr. Batista: So we have well child visits exclusively in the morning, so we're not seeing any sick patients in the mornings. In the afternoon, we're still seeing well patients. We try to keep our sick visits to the last few visits of the day. So that way, if there's anybody that is under investigation for any illness that we're concerned about, we'll close the room and we'll have it specially cleaned.
Host: Are people able to still, if they are looking for like a sick visit or something, can they call the same day? And if there's an opening, they can potentially come in at the end of the day, or how are we handling those?
Dr. Batista: So when we get phone calls, we have them screened. So the nurse will receive the call, they'll run it by the provider. And then we'll make the decision. If it's somebody that we can see in clinic at the end of the day, or if it's somebody that we can just see through a video visit, there are some infectious illnesses that we can see through video visit, but that triaging should be done with the nurse to decide. which way we're going to be seeing the patient.
Host: Okay. Okay. So how could somebody, if they needed to schedule an appointment, what ways could they schedule an appointment?
Dr. Batista: Sure. So they could call their pediatrician's office. You can go to Riversidehealthcare.org to schedule an appointment. If you don't have a provider, you can call 855-404-docs that again, that's 855-404-D O C S. Or they can do it through My Chart if they have that capability.
Host: Okay, good to know. So is there anything that we missed or anything that we want our audience to know?
Dr. Batista: I think that's important to know that parents shouldn't be afraid to take their children to the pediatrician. So while we wait for scientists and doctors to develop a vaccine for Coronavirus, we should keep our children safe in every way that we can.
Host: Definitely. That is very good information. I know me being a parent, I want to make sure that my kids are safe. But your child's health and development are very important and Riverside is going to new lengths to assure that every aspect of the care that we provide is as safe as possible. But again, as Dr. Batista said, if you have additional questions about these measures, just call your pediatrician's office, they'd be willing to tell you what measures they're taking to ensure you that it is safe to come in. If able they can do a video visit, but know that the office is a very safe place to come. So thank you, Dr. Batista so much for coming to join us today.
Dr. Batista: Thanks for having me Katie.
Host: And thank you for tuning into Well Within Reach Podcast with pediatrician Dr. Josefina Batista, and your host, Katie Salwei, to find out more about our podcast, feel free to visit Riversidehealthcare.org.