Dear Parents,

While it would be easy & wise to shut down the clinic during this fast growing Covid-19 crisis, we at Natural Pediatrics believe that we should remain open for your (and our) children as long as possible, to help you at this time of crisis.

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing rapidly and continues to affect communities across the United States differently. Some of the strategies used to slow the spread of disease in communities include using telemedicine instead of face-to-face encounters for routine medical visits, which Natural Pediatrics has begun to offer.

Ensuring the delivery of newborn and well-child care, including childhood immunization, requires different strategies. Healthcare providers in communities affected by COVID-19 are using strategies to separate well visits from sick visits.

We in Natural Pediatrics are taking an abundance of caution and have working hard to keep our children safe and healthy. For example:

• Scheduling well visits in the morning and sick visits in the afternoon
• Separating patients spatially, such as by placing patients with sick visits in different areas of the clinic or another location from patients with well visits.
• Spread out check-in: As soon as you check-in, we will either take you to a room right away or ask that you wait in your car until a room is available
• We have designated rooms exclusively for well-checkups
• Clean, clean and clean again: All rooms are being thoroughly sanitized after every patient and we are using an antibacterial spray. All toys, games and books are removed to avoid easy spread of germs.
• We have introduced a travel screening questionnaire before each visit.
• Offering Telemedicine service for patients that are unable to come to the clinic.

Even though Covid-19 is not as dangerous to healthy children, it is important that we vigilantly ensure that your kids get their annual checkups and vaccines on time to stay well, especially at this time.

Because of personal, practice, or community circumstances related to COVID-19, a provider may not be able to provide well child visits, including provision of immunizations, for all patients in their practice. If a practice can provide only limited well child visits, CDC encourages healthcare providers to prioritize newborn care and vaccination of infants and young children (through 24 months of age) when possible.

We are continuing to offer same-day sick appointments and expanded availability for well-checkups. Please let me know if I can help with questions or concerns. While this uncertainty may seem scary, we are in this together, as a family.

Cheers and Good health,

Lata Shridharan MD