Updated Info on COVID-19

Dear Families:

We wanted to reach out to you to give you a few updates regarding the COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We last emailed you on March 5, 2020 with some general information regarding the virus and what you should be doing to protect you and your family. Today, we want to give you a few updates on what we are doing as an office. Please know that this is a very fluid situation, that what we are doing today may very well be different tomorrow. The physicians are meeting every morning to review any new guidance from the CDC and Indiana State Department of Health and to discuss any changes that might be necessary to protect you, the patient.

If you have not done so already, please like us on Facebook. We are using Facebook as a major form of communication for updates on what we are doing here at the office. You can find us by clicking here.

We are asking every patient who walks into our office if he or she has traveled out of the country within the last 14 days. If they have, we are taking necessary precautions. Please let us know as soon as possible if you have traveled to an area that has a higher risk.

If you have general COVID-19 questions, please go to CDC.gov or to our website (CarmelPediatrics.com) for more information. We kindly ask that you do not call the office. As much as we would like to answer your questions, we need to ensure our nursing resources are being applied to sick children. The CDC is going to have the most up-to-date information to keep you informed. Of course, we will continue to stay on top of the information and make sure you are notified as necessary.

We have had a lot of questions from patients asking to be tested for COVID. It is important to note that hospitals are not testing everyone. The Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH) has a VERY limited number of tests for COVID, and we do not have any tests (nor do we expect to receive any). Currently, the testing is only being performed at hospital emergency departments in the area. However, they are being extremely selective as to who is tested. You have to check off several boxes before the ISDH will allow the emergency department to test an individual.

We have also taken necessary precautions in our office to keep a sanitary and safe environment. We have removed the drawing areas and books from the lobby. We understand that your children will be bummed (and we are, too), but the health and safety of those in our office is our number one concern. We have created a “well” and “sick” area within the lobby as well. While our lobby is small, our hope is to at least try to limit exposure. Parents, if you have a sick child, please make sure they stay in the designated area. We appreciate your assistance with this.

Masks are available for patients who are sick. Unfortunately, with the severe shortage of masks available to the public for purchase, we have to limit who we make those available to. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

While we always clean rooms to specific standards, we are taking our cleaning habits to the next level to ensure we are protecting everyone involved.

Thank you for your assistance and patience with us as we navigate this difficult time. We are here for you if you need us, and we will do everything in our power to ensure you have all of the resources to keep your child safe.

Sincerely,

Carmel Pediatrics, LLC