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August 5, 2020 - Check out these articles from the Child Mind Institute for tips on going back to school during COVID-19:
Tips for Partnering With Teachers in the New School Year – How to set up effective lines of communication
How to Set Priorities This School Year – What to do when you can’t do it all
Back to School Resources for Families and Educators
Back-to-School Tips for Kids Who are Struggling
July 13, 2020 -- Check out these new and updated articles from Healthychildren.org:
Return to School During COVID-19
Should Your Child Be Tested for COVID-19?
Caring for Children with Asthma During COIVD-19: Parent FAQs
Hand Sanitizers: Keep Children Safe from Poisoning Risk
How can I help my child, who has a developmental disability, cope during COVID-19?
Mood-Boosting Tips for Families During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Stress and Violence at Home During the Pandemic
Check out these new articles from the Child Mind Institute
How can I get my child with autism used to wearing a mask? (tips also can apply to other young children who are finding it challenging to wear a mask correctly).
Additional mask-wearing tips from our doctors: Most children have been properly social distancing at home since this pandemic started and have not been in public where they need to wear a mask. However, most children will need to know how to wear a mask properly when school starts again. We recommend that you have your child practice wearing a mask at home (including knowing how to put it on and keep it over their nose and mouth) so they are comfortable and used to wearing a mask by the time school starts. Praise and reward your child for wearing their mask and gradually increase the time they have it on so they get used to it. Check to make sure your child’s mask fits them properly and try different styles if needed to find one they can wear comfortably all day. Masks with exhaust valves are not recommended because they do not reduce COVID-19 transmission to others. While you’re at it, remind your child to wash their hands frequently and avoid touching their face without first washing their hands.
June 19, 2020 -- Free testing available for COVID-19 through Sacramento County Public Health! If you or your child has been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms suspicious for COVID-19, you can now get free testing for COVID-19 through the Sacramento County Public Health Department. There are a number of sites that will test persons of any age if they are a resident of Sacramento County. For a current list of testing sites, visit Sacramento County Public Health COVID-19 Testing Sites page at https://www.saccounty.net/COVID-19/Pages/Symptom-Screening_MobileTestingSite.aspx and scroll down to “Community COVID-19 Testing Site.” All sites require an appointment for testing that can be scheduled by phone or online and most sites offer testing on certain days of the week only. Be sure to read the details for each site to make sure they accept children of any age. We are referring any of our patients who need COVID-19 testing to these sites because they are specifically set up for safe testing and so Sacramento County Public Health can perform any necessary tracking of positive tests. This will also help to limit exposure to our patients and staff.
May 13, 2020 -- Office update -- Here’s an update on the changes that have occurred at our office in the past 2 months due to COVID-19.
1) Telehealth: we have been doing telehealth (live video) visits daily during office hours since April 8, 2020, and things have been going well! Parents have given us overwhelmingly positive feedback so far, and Dr. Sato and Dr. Kimura have gotten pretty comfortable doing these appointments as well. If you haven’t already done a telehealth visit with our doctors, visit our Telehealth page for more information. To schedule a telehealth appointment for your child, give our office a call at 916-421-8245.
2) In-office appointments: we continue to do regular in-office appointments for all well visits as well as ill visits that cannot be seen as a telehealth visit. Per the official recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics, we are no longer postponing well visits and we encourage you to schedule a well visit for your child if you have been waiting to do so, especially if your child is due for immunizations. We are continuing to do all well checks in the morning and all ill visits in the afternoon in order to further separate well children from ill children. This change in scheduling will be in place until the COVID-19 situation improves. For more information on the safety of in-office visits, read Is it OK to see my pediatrician during COVID-19?
3) If your child is ill, CALL OUR OFFICE FIRST before coming in to the office. Based on your child’s symptoms, you may be asked to wait in your car and call our office when you arrive for your appointment; a staff member will come out to your car to make sure you can enter the office safely to reduce exposure to others.
4) Prevention of virus spread: We continue to disinfect our office frequently and ask COVID-19 screening questions of all patients. Our doctors and staff are wearing masks for patient care, and we ask all patients and accompanying family members to wear a mask as well. When bringing your child to the doctor, please limit the number of other people coming as much as possible to reduce exposure.
5) What should you do if your child is sick? If your child is showing signs of illness but can be cared for at home, please keep your child at home unless they are completely symptom-free and do not go out in public to avoid exposure to others who may be vulnerable. If you are not sure how to care for your child at home, please call our office and our doctors will be happy to advise you, or see your child via telehealth or as an in-office appointment. Social distancing is the best way to limit the spread of the virus through our community. Maintain at least 6 feet between your household contacts and other people and help your children avoid touching surfaces that could be contaminated with the virus, including playground equipment. Wash your hands and your children’s hands frequently or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available. Teach your children to cough into their arm and avoid touching faces. If you or your family members are sick, even with mild symptoms, stay home until the symptoms are completely gone.
6) COVID-19 information is changing frequently. Please call our office if you have questions, or check the CDC website for the latest information on COVID-19 and Healthychildren.org’s 2019 Novel Coronavirus page which contains links to many articles addressing questions and issues for parents and children regarding COVID-19. Here are some of the newest articles:
April 8, 2020 -- Telehealth is here! Our office is now providing telehealth visits through the Doxy.me interface! You can schedule a secure, HIPAA-compliant live video appointment (“telehealth visit”) with Dr. Sato or Dr. Kimura that can be done from the comfort of your own home by using your smartphone or the webcam on your home computer. We will be offering telehealth visits for many types of sick visits (not well visits) by appointment only for existing patients (new patients must be seen for a regular in-office appointment first to be eligible for telehealth visits). You can schedule a telehealth visit for your child by calling our office at 916-421-8245 as you would for a regular appointment. If a telehealth visit is appropriate, our staff will help you schedule one. We will also continue to have in-office appointments available for well child care and sick visits. We will be using the Doxy.me platform for telehealth visits. Doxy.me works through your internet browser (i.e. Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge) and does not require downloading any special apps. For more information on how Doxy.me works, you can visit https://doxy.me/patients. For more information on our office Telehealth appointments, visit our office Telehealth Page. If your child already has a scheduled telehealth appointment with Dr. Sato or Dr. Kimura, go to the Telehealth Page for instructions on how to start your visit.
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