Children's HealthCare

Influenza

drbob — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 23:31:53 +0000

As the 2011 holiday season approaches many of you have had your flu vaccines. Some, however, have delayed. Recommendations for flu vaccine have changed over the years and it is now recommended to get them sooner rather than later. Influenza season can begin any time from October to April. If you haven’t arranged to have your child(ren) vaccinated please call. We have plenty of vaccine available and its covered by all insurances. When families gather germs are exchanged. Happy and healthy holidays.

Children’s HealthCare

drbob — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 14:30:37 +0000

Children’s HealthCare (CHC) has been in the community since 1972, providing care to children of all ages from newborns to college graduates. With locations in Newburyport and Haverhill and 13 health care providers (7 MDs and 6 NPs), we are unique in the community in the array of services we offer and our medical home orientation.
CHC’s providers have a variety of clinical sub-interests and expertise in eating disorders, ADHD, behavioral disorders, special needs and disabilities as well as dealing with the more common issues from tantrums and toilet training to injuries and sleep problems. CHC has an onsite nutritionist with expertise in child and adolescent eating problems ranging from failure to thrive and anorexia to obesity and specialized diets for diabetics, celiac disease, hypercholesterolemia and a myriad of other diseases. We also have an affiliated child psychiatrist for assistance with more complex mental health disorders.
One of our unique attributes is the presence of a Special Needs Coordinator who works with families on a multitude of levels including attending school meetings, assisting with getting appropriate benefits and finding specialists when necessary. We also maintain a list of mental health providers and their areas of expertise to optimize families getting the help they need from the correct counselor for their problem.
With extended hours from 8am-8pm in Newburyport Lower including sick call hours daily from 8am-9am everyday including Saturday/Sunday and most holidays (no appointment necessary) as well as Monday-Friday from 8am-9am in Haverhill and Newburyport Upper (the old “Amesbury” office), CHC provides some of the most convenient pediatric care on the region. Our onsite services allow us to provide many services without needing a referral or having the inconvenience of having to drive to Boston or further. This helps to reduce the overall cost of healthcare while still providing what we believe to be excellent care in the ever changing medical environment.
You’ve found our website, now check our Facebook site at Children’s HealthCare Mass (or just click on the link on our home page).

Recalls – Fisher Price and Sleep Positioners

chcadmin — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 11:46:40 +0000

Two major infant and child product recalls occurred today. The largest involves Fisher Price Toys, a division of Mattel Inc. Many toys from riding trikes to small toy cars and even high chairs have been recalled for multiple safety hazards. Information is available at Service.mattel.com/us/recall.asp.

A second recall involves infant sleep positioners. The AAP recommends that infants be placed on their backs to sleep as a precaution against Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. this maneuver has been responsible for significantly decreasing the incident of SIDS in America. Manufacturers have developed sleep positioners which increase the risk of suffocation if the infant rolls over. The FDA and CPSC have issued recalls on these items and parents should stop using them immediately. For further information go to the CSPC.gov site.

Similac Recall

chcadmin — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 13:32:34 +0000

Late yesterday Abbott labs announced that they were recalling the Powder version of many of their formulas because of possible contamination with beetle parts, including larvae. You can get the specific information including the lot numbers involved by visiting the website Similac.com. This effects only certain formulas and Abbott labs states that if you switch to their concentrate or ready to feed forms of the same product that they are informing their retailers to sell them at the same price as they would sell the powder for the next 90 days. You may also switch to other brands including Enfamil or Good Start formulas.

There is no distinct data about the potential illnesses from consuming the contaminated product and currently no need for any testing. If you infant is having gastric distress, prolonged diarrhea or refusal to feed it may be associated and changing the formula may provide relief. Of course if you are concerned about the possibility of dehydration, see blood in the stool or have excessive vomiting you should contact the office to have your baby examined to rule out other causes.

If you have any questions unanswered at the Similac.com website please call the office where our nurses will be happy to assist you.

Greetings

chcadmin — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 18:27:06 +0000

Welcome to the new and improved Children’s HealthCare website. We’re pretty excited about all the changes going on in all three offices and over the electronic media. Let me take a few moments to share them with you.

Perhaps the most obvious has been the facelift ongoing in Haverhill as well as upcoming in Newburyport and the brand new office space for the “Amesbury” office. Haverhill has a fresh coat of paint and new flooring making an already attractive space appear brighter, cleaner and more comfortable. Newburyport will be expanding it’s lab space, replacing its flooring and repainting as well later this fall. And “Amesbury” is now “Newburyport Upper”, with a separate entrance around the back of 257 Low Street (where many of you have already been for weekend or evening hours). The inside office has been completely renovated and offers comfort, cleanliness and a more efficient flow pattern. It will still feature Drs. Lundgren and Thumser as well as Liz Williams. The move to Newburyport will allow us to always have an MD in the building for consulting with the Nurse Practitioners when necessary and to rotate staffing between offices giving them an opportunity to work with other doctors and office personnel. It will also provide more flexible scheduling with the convenience of more providers in one location.

At the same time we are making a foray into the word of social networking. First – this new website! Complete with a blog, which we hope to use to keep you up to date on happenings both at CHC and in the medical world. More links to quality websites, an expansion of Barb Kneeland’s web information (our special needs coordinator) and the beginning of Sally Knapp’s web presence – where she will offer nutritional information from recipes to vitamins and perhaps even ways to “trick” your children into healthier eating.
In process is our facebook site (come and “friend” us) as Children’s HealthCare Massachusetts and we will even be tweeting. We are looking forward to finding better and more interesting ways to communicate with all our patients and their families.
Thanks for coming along for the ride. We look forward to your feedback on how we are doing in the new social networks as well as any constructive input about your experiences at CHC.

Dr Bob Chirlin, president