{"id":13127,"date":"2020-04-14T12:36:10","date_gmt":"2020-04-14T16:36:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hancockregionalhospital.org\/?p=13127"},"modified":"2020-04-14T12:36:10","modified_gmt":"2020-04-14T16:36:10","slug":"managing-your-childrens-health-care-during-covid-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hancockhealth.org\/zh\/2020\/04\/managing-your-childrens-health-care-during-covid-19\/","title":{"rendered":"Managing Your Children\u2019s Health Care During COVID-19"},"content":{"rendered":"
Hat\u2019s off to you, parents! You\u2019re working from home while keeping a responsible distance\u2014at least six feet\u2014from everyone except the immediate family. You\u2019re cooking every meal. You\u2019re even starting to understand the e-learning thing and how to keep your kids occupied when they can\u2019t go to school and spend time with friends.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a lot.<\/p>\n

And while you\u2019ve learned quite a bit in the last few weeks, as we work to stop COVID-19, you probably have questions about your family\u2019s health. Maybe it\u2019s what to expect if your kids have an upcoming doctor\u2019s appointment? Or what will you do if your family gets the virus?<\/p>\n

We turned to Dr. Paul Halter, of Hancock Pediatrics, to answer those questions and a few more.<\/p>\n

\u201cParents are just trying to keep their families healthy right now and they are frightened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u554f\uff1a<\/strong> What advice do you give parents about their children\u2019s doctors\u2019 appointments?<\/p>\n

A\uff1a<\/strong> We are still seeing patients but it is limited because we are following the guidance from the \u75be\u75c5\u9810\u9632\u8207\u63a7\u5236\u4e2d\u5fc3<\/a>, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Indiana State Department of Health<\/a> and community leaders, which is to stay home and abide by the lockdown.<\/p>\n

But we are continuing to encourage well child exams for newborns and infants up to and including 12 months. They still need to be seen to make sure they hit their developmental milestones and get their immunizations in a timely fashion. But older children, toddler age and up, should postpone their visits until the major peak of COVID-19 passes.<\/p>\n

\u554f\uff1a<\/strong> What should parents do if their child gets sick?<\/p>\n

A\uff1a<\/strong> Call their pediatrician\u2019s office. In our office, we\u2019re doing a lot of telehealth visits with video now. We\u2019re able to run these just like we would a normal visit with the exception that we obviously can\u2019t swab throats and look in ears. But we are still scheduling office appointments for infants and babies who aren\u2019t able to talk.<\/p>\n

\u554f\uff1a<\/strong> How are you handling office visits?<\/p>\n

A\uff1a<\/strong> We\u2019re doing things differently to maintain the best possible social distancing practices:<\/p>\n