Child Health Associates, P.C., was established in 1987 as a pediatric group practice. We are proud to provide preventative well care, acute care and supportive services for children and their families. Our board-certified pediatricians are dedicated to enhancing the growth, development and well-being of all children, from birth through adolescence. We stress the importance of regular health maintenance exams to monitor children's overall health and development. At Child Health Associates, P.C., we strive to provide quality healthcare for your child in partnership with you and your family.
**Thank you for your patience and understanding during these difficult times. We are experiencing higher call volumes and are working hard to take care of everyone’s needs. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Rest assured, your health and safety are our number one priority. Please do not use MyChart for medical emergencies, urgent concerns or sick appointments. These messages are not monitored daily. If you are experiencing a medical emergency and need immediate attention, please call 911. If you have an urgent medical concern or need your sick child seen, please call our office at 508-832-9691.**
We have been working very hard to secure a reliable and timely option for COVID-19 testing.
We are now using an in-house testing instrument for COVID-19 with a rapid turnaround time of 15 minutes. This test is through the Abbott ID Now Molecular test – not an antigen test – that provides a significantly better experience in rapid testing. Please call beforehand if interested in scheduling:
We are approaching the phase of the state’s COVID-19 vaccination plan when patients 16 years and older with certain medical conditions will qualify to receive the vaccine. We will use our electronic health record system to identify patients whom we believe qualify for the vaccine and reach out to advise you that we believe you or your child qualifies for the vaccine.
Patients 16 years and older who work in essential industries (e.g., grocery stores, restaurants, daycares, K-12 schools, etc.) will also be eligible during the current phase.
We do not know at this time whether we will receive COVID-19 vaccine to administer at our office. Meanwhile, we encourage those who qualify to take advantage of any opportunity to schedule a vaccination appointment through state and local health care organizations and agencies by visiting www.mass.gov/vaccine.
If you have questions about you or your child’s eligibility to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, please reach out to our office through MyChart message or by telephone and we will be happy to assist you.
*Our walk-in clinic has been suspended until further notice. Please DO NOT walk into the office for any reason unless you have an appointment. *
Whenever possible, we ask that only 1 well adult accompany a child to their visit. If possible, please do not bring other children to the office if they do not have an appointment.
Updated Tuesday 11/19/2020
PHONE TRIAGE AND SCREENING
To minimize the spread of COVID-19 and to implement the "social distancing" recommended by the Department of Public Health, we will continue to thoroughly screen patients for exposure to COVID-19 over the phone. We are experiencing higher call volumes and are working hard to take care of everyone’s needs. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Rest assured, your health and safety are our number one priority.
SEPARATION OF SICK AND WELL VISITS
CHA ADOLESCENT CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY
During our adolescent well visits starting at age 13, we will have part of each visit alone with our teens. We see this as an opportunity for teens to become more comfortable speaking alone with an adult healthcare provider, something that they will need to do independently once they are adults themselves.
When teens share something with us that they ask to remain confidential, we will honor that request, unless they plan to harm themselves or someone else. Although we always encourage adolescent patients to be open and honest with their parents, we also want them to have a “safe” place to go with any health concern, and sometimes we can be that safe place. We hope that parents will trust us to take the best care of our teens in these situations.
We are also happy to speak privately with parents during the visit, at their request, about any concerns that they may want to share with us about their teen. We will maintain our patient’s confidentiality in these discussions, however.
This policy is consistent with Massachusetts state law surrounding adolescent confidentiality, as well as the policies of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. We consider it a privilege to take care of our teens, and we look forward to working together, with this policy in mind, as our teens grow up!
VIRTUAL WAITING ROOM
We will be employing a "virtual waiting room." For all appointments, please arrive to the office a few minutes before your appointment time and wait in your car. You will receive two calls once you arrive to the parking lot in preparation for the appointment. The first call will be from a receptionist who will register the patient for the appointment and collect any co-pays. The second call will be from a nurse/ma to do an intake before they bring the patient into the building. Vital signs will be taken and then you will be put directly into an exam room.
PAPERWORK
Any paperwork that needs to be dropped off or picked up will need to be picked up by a single healthy adult before 3:30 PM.
TESTING
Child Health Associates is capable of performing rapid COVID-19 tests. These results are through the Abbott ID Now Molecular test – not an antigen test - with a 15 minute turnaround.
Please call beforehand if interested in scheduling:
MASKS
Masks are required for everyone coming into the office over the age of 2.
MASK EXEMPTIONS
A growing body of evidence suggests that universal mask-wearing, when combined with other measures such as physical distancing and proper hand hygiene, can minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
There are very few medical problems that would prevent a child from wearing a mask, and masks do not pose a safety risk when worn properly.
For these reasons, and in agreement with local health officials and other area practices, Child Health Associates will not be providing medical exemptions for masks.
We recognize that children do not always want to wear masks, and that there are some medical problems (i.e. autism spectrum disorder, developmental delays, sensory issues) that will certainly make it more difficult to maintain proper mask-wearing. However, for the safety of your child and everyone your child interacts with, it is important that we work with mask-resistant children to familiarize them with mask-wearing. This can be accomplished by practicing mask-wearing for short periods of time daily, and gradually increasing the time spent mask-wearing. Parent modeling of mask-wearing is also important: if parents normalize mask-wearing, children will be more agreeable to mask-wearing.
We certainly empathize that wearing a mask for long periods of time is not the most comfortable way to go about your day, but we do so knowing that it is one of several measures we must take to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
HELPFUL WEBSITE LINKS
VIRTUAL VISITS (Telehealth)
To best serve our families during the COVID-19 outbreak, Child Health Associates is now temporarily offering Virtual Visits. We are still offering well and sick visits in our office, as outlined in our previous communication, and taking steps to contain and limit the spread of COVID-19. Though Virtual Visits cannot fully replicate an in-person visit, they are another way to enable us to evaluate patients and support families during this challenging time.
Procedure for a Virtual Visit: