Dear patients and families,

PA has dedicated itself to the care of our community’s children for 49 years and counting.  The last 4 months have seen unprecedented circumstances.  We have risen to the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic and kept our doors open to continue offering quality medical care to all our patients.  Unfortunately, this challenge is far from over.  As we enter the next phase of Forward Virginia, the Commonwealth’s plan to reopen the economy, we must not forget that the coronavirus is still a real and imminent threat.  Lately, coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in our community have risen.  How do we change these trends?  Unfortunately, no single solution exists.  To overcome the coronavirus we must continue with our efforts at halting its spread.  Here is what we have learned in our offices about keeping you and our staff safe.

There are several pillars to conquering the pandemic.  They involve wearing masks to protect others from you, physical distancing, hand washing, cleaning high-touch surfaces frequently, wearing eye protection such as face shields, and screening yourself for illness.  None of these alone is effective, but when done together, these measures should control the spread of the virus.

In our office you will find that we have eliminated waiting rooms, we screen all staff and patients entering into the building for illness and fever, we escort patients from their vehicles directly to our exam rooms, our staff wear masks and eye protection, we separate well and sick patients in the office, we clean and disinfect all rooms after each patient encounter, we perform parking lot visits and outdoor testing of patients under investigation for coronavirus, and we offer telemedicine visits for many services to limit unnecessary exposures at our office.  It’s an enormous effort, but we feel privileged to serve and lead our community at this important time.

We ask that you do the same as you move through our community.  Help us stop the spread of coronavirus.  Wear your mask in public, distance yourself from others, wash your hands frequently, do not touch your face, cohort yourself with a small group of immediate family or friends, avoid gatherings, if you feel sick or are exposed to someone with coronavirus stay home and isolate yourself, and by all means, call us if you have questions about your health.  As Virginia reopens, we must stay vigilant and diligent: vigilant in closely monitoring the spread and diligent in our efforts to control the spread.  Together we will overcome the coronavirus pandemic.

With love,

Your healthcare providers at Pediatric Associates