How to discuss School Shootings with your Children

At Roslindale Pediatrics we are in shock about the recent Robb Elementary School shooting. As a practice that dedicates our work to the overall health and wellness of our youth, we are devastated with the news that these children’s lives were lost with such a senseless act of violence. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families.

We know this can be very difficult to discuss with your children and they often have a lot of questions.

Here are some resources for families to help talk about these topics with your children. If you have any concerns about how your child is reacting to this event please reach out to us.

https://www.nctsn.org/

https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources//talking_to_children_about_the_shooting.pdf

www.healthychildren.org

Baby Formula Shortage

We are aware of the current baby formula shortage right now and know that this can be very frustrating trying to find nutrition for your baby. The American Academy of Pediatrics has some tips that may be useful during this time. Please read about it here and reach out to us if you have any questions.

Here are some resources that might help you find formula:

Community Resources

• Harvard T.H Chan School of Health - Navigating infant formula shortages

• United Way’s 2-1-1 - Dial 2–1-1 to be connected to a community resource specialist affiliated with United Way who may be able to help you identify food pantries and other charitable sources of local infant formula and baby food.

• Feeding America - Call your local food bank to ask whether they have infant formula and other supplies in stock.

• Human Milk Banking Association of North America (HMBANA): Certain HMBANA-accredited milk banks are distributing donated breast milk to mothers in need; please note that some may require a prescription from a medical professional. Find an HMBANA-accredited milk bank.

Manufacturer Hotlines

• Gerber’s MyGerber Baby Expert - Reach a certified nutrition or lactation consultant by phone, text, Facebook Messenger, web chat, or video call, who can help you identify a similar formula that may be more readily available.

• Abbott’s Consumer Hotline: call 1-800-986-8540

• Abbott’s urgent product request line for specialty formulas - Ask your OBGYN or your infant’s pediatrician to submit an urgent product request by downloading and completing the form

• Reckitt’s Customer Service line: Call 1-800 BABY-123 (222-9123)

The Loss of Robert Stacks, MD

We are saddened to share that Dr. Robert Stacks passed away on Friday, March 4th.

Dr. Stacks was the face and soul of Roslindale Pediatrics. He was an incredibly talented pediatrician who cared deeply for the community he served. We are so proud to have worked with him and learned from him for many years.

Dr. Stacks joined Dr. John Bowers in 1971 as the second pediatrician at Roslindale Pediatrics. He dedicated himself to Roslindale Pediatrics for 45 years. During those years, he touched the lives of thousands of children and their families. If you were lucky enough to have known Dr. Stacks, you remember a clever nickname he gave you, his quick wit, his friendly disposition, and his calm demeanor.

In addition to caring for patients, Dr. Stacks was also a mentor to the pediatricians and staff who joined him at Roslindale Pediatrics. He wore many hats at RPA, also running the administrative and business aspects of RPA, a job that came to him naturally from the years he spent helping to run his family’s pharmacy before he became a doctor.

Throughout his years, Dr. Stacks was recognized for his exemplary work as a pediatrician. Dr. Stacks was named Community Pediatrician of the Year by Children’s Hospital and was recognized as one of Boston’s Best Pediatricians by Boston Magazine. We would argue he was also one of the best dressed pediatricians in the country.

After his retirement, he helped to continue to run the administrative aspects of Roslindale Pediatrics for several years. He oversaw the design and building of our current space on Centre Street, and would often stop by to check in and share some stories. The entire staff will miss those impromptu visits.

Over the past few years, he had spent his winters in California, which is where he passed away suddenly this past week.

We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Leslie, their children and grandchildren.

Details of the services can be found through this link.

FORMULA RECALL

As many of you have already seen, there is a recall on Similac Pro-Advance, Alimentum and Elecare products. Please use the link below to check if the formula you have at home is part of the recall. If it is, please stop using it. You will be able to find the lot number at the bottom of the container. Impacted lots will start with a 22 through 37, not including the letter at the beginning. Example: L31465SH00.

Similac Formula Recall

Moderna COVID-19 vaccine approval by FDA on 1/31/22

The FDA has fully approved the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine on January 31, 2022. It meets the rigorous standards for safety, efficacy, and manufacturing quality to ensure that it is safe for patients to receive. It is now referred to as “Spikevax”. It is currently approved for patients age 18 and older, and is given as a primary dose, a second dose at 4 weeks, and booster dose 5 months after the second dose. You can access more information here. Although we do not have a supply of the Spikevax in our office, you can use the vaccine finder website to find a location nearby that offers it. Please let us know if you have any questions!

Free at Home COVID-19 Tests

As you may have heard, the government is sending out 4 free rapid antigen at home COVID-19 tests per household. Although they are not as accurate as a molecular test if they result negative, they are just as accurate if they result positive. If you have symptoms and have a negative at home test, please call us to discuss or obtain a molecular test nearby and stay in isolation. The link to order the tests can be found here.

COVID-19 Update

COVID UPDATES:

Roslindale Pediatrics is experiencing an unprecedented amount of phone calls, requests for visits and COVID testing demands during the current COVID surge. Many of our staff are currently ill, and we ask for your patience as we work together with limited resources to provide the best care for your children. We understand that the current surge has created significant illness as well as painful social and emotional situations in many homes. We continue to strive to provide the best care possible.

Response Time

You may experience longer than usual wait times when you call or send MyChart messages, particularly outside of business hours. Your messages and calls are being triaged and returned in the order of medical urgency, not in the order of receipt. This is medically appropriate and necessary given the large volume of calls and messages we receive on a daily basis. Please reserve after hours phone calls for urgent medical concerns only. Calls for lab results, non-urgent refills, appointment scheduling requests, or referrals should be made during business hours only. Many calls outside of business hours for these types of requests are contributing to longer than usual wait times.

High Emotions

RPA is sympathetic to our parents' frustrations and concerns regarding their children and the current pandemic. Unfortunately, at times some parents of our patients have directed that frustration towards our staff. We value each and every one of our staff members who have been working tirelessly over the past 2 years during the COVID pandemic, and we can not tolerate abusive behavior towards them. Our staff members have been instructed to discontinue these types of conversations and refer them to their administrator for further attention if necessary. We appreciate your patience with our staff during this difficult time.

Testing Constraints

Please Note: We currently do not have any rapid tests. This is related to extreme demand on a national level. Last year, our practice purchased many testing machines and supplies, which were invaluable in getting real time results on COVID questions. However, we are currently unable to use these machines due to lack of testing supplies. We are working with our suppliers to regain this resource and anticipate we will be able to do so relatively soon. The only option for COVID testing through our office is a PCR, which can take several days to result. We encourage you to utilize other testing resources, including state and city run testing sites, if you are able. Please visit our website for more information.

COVID Test Results Communication

We understand that you are anxious to receive your COVID results and would appreciate your utilization of MyChart for all results. COVID results are released to MyChart as soon as they are available. In fact, you will receive the results simultaneously when our office receives them. Calling our office will not expedite your access to the results.

Isolation and Quarantine Information

We know that isolation and quarantine guideline changes have been confusing. Our website is updated to reflect the most current information. Please access our website if you need any clarification. https://roslindalepediatrics.org/covid19-info/#quarantine

Thank you for your continued patience during this difficult time.

COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Approved for age 12 and older

The FDA and CDC have both approved a COVID-19 booster for children age 12-15, so now everyone age 12 and over is eligible to receive a booster vaccine 5 months after their second vaccine if they had Pfizer, and 6 months after if they had Moderna (only 18+).

At Roslindale Pediatrics, we highly recommend receiving the booster to make sure our patients are fully protected. We are unable to set up anymore COVID-19 Vaccine clinics but we may be able to offer the vaccine at your child’s well visit and this website makes it easy to schedule a vaccine elsewhere.

We also understand it is very difficult to obtain a COVID-19 test right now, so please access this website to look for locations near you. Unfortunately we do not have the capacity to test patients for return to school, travel, or after they have been diagnosed with COVID-19. As a reminder, a positive at home antigen test is just as accurate as a PCR and should not be confirmed with a PCR test. If your child has symptoms and has a negative at home test, this is not as accurate and we should see them in the office.

New Isolation and Quarantine Guidelines

As of 12/27/21, the CDC has updated their guidelines on how long to isolate when someone has COVID-19 and how long to quarantine if someone is exposed. Please review their new guidelines here. If someone has a positive at home test, this is considered a true positive and a PCR or molecular test is not indicated.

If someone tests positive for COVID-19 without symptoms, they must isolate for 5 days and can come out of isolation on day 6, but must wear a tight fitting mask for the additional 5 days.

If someone tests positive for COVID-19 with symptoms, they must isolate for 5 days and if on day 6 they have no symptoms and are fever free for 24 hours, they can come out of isolation and wear a tight fitting mask for the additional 5 days. If they are unable to wear a mask, they must isolate for a full 10 days.

If someone who is not fully vaccinated (over 6 months since last vaccine and no booster) and they are exposed, they must quarantine for 5 days, and wear a mask for an additional 5 days, and obtain a test on day 5 or later. If they are unable to wear a mask, they must quarantine for 10 days. If they have symptoms, they should call us to discuss testing options.

If someone who is fully vaccinated is exposed, they do not need to quarantine, but should wear a mask around others for 10 days, and obtain a test on day 5 or later.

Please also refer to our COVID-19 page for additional information about the virus and vaccinations. And please call us with any other questions. Keep in mind we have a large call volume right now so it might take a while to hear back from us, we apologize for the inconvenience.

Office Safety Update

As our COVID-19 numbers continue to surge in Massachusetts, we are asking that only 1 parent accompany each child at a visit. This is to limit the amount of people in our office at one time to decrease the spread of COVID-19. We encourage parents to call in or facetime in for the visit.

We will also continue to ask you to wait in your car until a room is ready for you or your child.

We know this can be difficult to continue with these safety measures for almost 2 years now and we appreciate your cooperation! We can get through this together!