November 3, 2021
COVID Vaccine Information
We are thrilled that the COVID vaccine is now available for kids 5-11. Though we are not offering it in our office, there are many places you can schedule an appointment online, such as Walgreen’s and CVS.
For more information on the vaccine, CLICK HERE to read more information from Children’s Hospital.
September 10, 2021
COVID Information
We are seeing most sick patients in the office, but we are not seeing patients with KNOWN COVID EXPOSURE. If you do have known covid exposure, you need a PCR test and can schedule that using the links below. If you would like to be seen via a telemedicine visit, you can CLICK HERE to schedule.
· Known COVID exposure without symptoms– Your child needs a PCR test at 3-5 days post exposure. CDC recommends quarantine for 14 days from exposure
· Known COVID exposure with symptoms – Your child needs a PCR immediately. Isolation for 10 days from onset of symptoms.
· For COVID exposure or suspected COVID – Have your child isolate in a separate room as much as possible. All family members should mask when in common areas.
· Symptoms consistent with COVID but no exposure – Get PCR test ASAP. Can return to school with negative PCR testing.
· Questions?- We understand that this is confusing and scary to navigate. If you have a positive test, or just have questions, please call the office at 972-401-0700.
Testing Locations
https://www.gogettested.com/ (offer saliva testing, can make online appointments)
Sinai Urgent Care (PCR results back in as little at 45 minutes – 4 hours)
COVID Testing Addison (Rapid PCR results)
May 26, 2021
Now Seeing Sick Visits in Office
We will continue to offer telemedicine visits but are now seeing sick visits in the office.
Click the link above to schedule a telemedicine visit or call the office to schedule an in-office visit.
April 1, 2021
Updated COVID-19 Protocols
We are now allowing both parents to accompany patients to their visits. Properly-fitting masks are required.
We will continue to offer telemedicine visits for all infectious patients and those can still be scheduled here on our website. If you want to be seen for a sick visit that is not for a possible COVID case, please call and speak with a nurse to see if we are able to schedule your visit in the office.
Our nurses will continue to call patients before well visits to go through the protocols for the visit and take care of as much as they can prior to the in-office visit.
March 4, 2021
Updated COVID-19 Protocols
We will continue to offer telemedicine visits for all infectious patients and those can still be scheduled here on our website. If you want to be seen for a sick visit that is not for a possible COVID case, please call and speak with a nurse to see if we are able to schedule your visit in the office.
We are continuing to require that patients only be accompanied by one adult per child and properly-fitting masks are required.
Our nurses will continue to call patients before well visits to go through the protocols for the visit and take care of as much as they can prior to the in-office visit.
As always, your health and safety is our number one priority. Please reach out with any questions or concerns.
August 21, 2020
Now offering COVID-19 Testing
Our office is now offering COVID-19 testing. We have both the rapid test we perform in the office that takes about 15 minutes and are also offering the lab testing where we send it off and get results in about 24 hours.
To get tested you must have a telemedicine visit (click here to schedule) and the provider will determine if you should be tested.
If you do need a test, you will go to our office, text the number we provide to you and a member of our nursing team will come to your car and perform the test.
For the safety of all of our patients, we are only performing these tests in your car in the parking lot and we continue to reserve our office for preventive and non-contagious visits.
August 17, 2020
Sending Kids Back to School
We have been getting lots of questions regarding back to school, and whether we think it is safe to send kids back into the in-person school environment.
To help you make the correct decision for your child and your family, Children's Medical Center of Dallas has provided useful COVID-19 Back to School Guidance to help families assess risk. We highly recommended that you take a moment to read through this guide to help you make your choice. We will continue to keep you abreast of the latest information regarding COVID-19 and children as we learn more. Please stay safe and wear your mask!
https://www.childrens.com/covid-19/for-patient-families/back-to-school-guidance
July 31, 2020
Our Safety Procedures
I am writing this to make all of our patients at Pediatric Center of Las Colinas and Grand Prairie aware of our current practices to provide the best medical care we can while keeping them as safe and protected as possible.
Well checks: I have written before about the importance of maintaining our recommended schedule of well checks. We need to make sure that all recommended immunizations are given when due to protect our children appropriately from vaccine-preventable illnesses. We also need to monitor growth and development as well as general medical well-being so we can recognize and deal with any problems as quickly and effectively as possible. It is also time to get our back-to-school checks done so our children will be prepared when it is time to return to school.
We understand that parents are concerned about the safety of bringing their children into the office for these checks so I want you to be aware of the measures we have implemented to protect our children and parents as well as our staff. These measures are designed to significantly minimize your time in the office and also to eliminate your interaction with other patients.
In the office, we only see well children and children who have been determined to be free of contagious disease by a telemedicine visit.
Our providers and staff call on all well checks prior to the visit to ask all the preliminary questions, to answer parents’ questions and to give age-appropriate information and counseling.
When families arrive for their appointment, they text from the car so they do not come to the office until their room is ready.
Everyone (parents and children and staff) is questioned about symptoms of illness and has a temperature check prior to coming into the office.
Everyone in the office over the age of two will be wearing a mask at all times.
All that is needed when families are physically in the office is weight, measurement and vitals by our medical assistants; exam by the provider; and vaccines or labs. This significantly decreases the amount of time spent in the office.
Sick visits: All of our sick visits are scheduled through telemedicine. Obviously, by having this visit from your home, you and your child will not have any exposure to illness from the community. Through the video platform, our providers can get a full history as well as observe your child. Parents can post images on the app which is especially helpful for faint rashes or lesions that have faded or changed. Providers can also direct parents to look at or feel things that cannot be appreciated as well on screen. For children who are found to be non- contagious but who need an in-person exam to fully evaluate their problem, the provider can refer the child into the office, as part of the same visit, to be seen by one of the providers there. THIS WILL NOT RESULT IN AN ADDITIONAL CHARGE.
Through these measures, we can protect our families and sick patients as well as our well patients and their families.
Thank you and stay safe this summer,
Dr. Sue Schleier
May 1, 2020
A Message from Dr. Schleier on Vaccines
I know we are all worried about COVID-19 and are trying to limit our outings and our possible exposure to the virus, but it is important that your children get their regular checkups as part of their health maintenance, especially if they need vaccines.
Just today, I received an email from the AAP stating “Experts worry that missed vaccines may lead to ‘outbreaks of serious diseases that pose an even greater threat to children than COVID-19.’”
In response to the coronavirus outbreak, we have made a lot of changes to our office policies and procedures. We have instituted daily telemedicine visits so that our sick kids do not have to come into the office. Only well children are seen in the office and we are limiting the time they spend there by calling in advance of the checkups to discuss parental concerns, give age-appropriate advice and information, and get information on development, nutrition, etc. Only weight and measurement and the physical exam have to be done while you are physically in the office. Also, you will be brought immediately back to an exam room without spending any time in the waiting room.
To further limit the risk of exposure we are checking everyone’s temperature before they enter our office. This includes our staff as well as patients and parents. Anyone with a temperature over 99.6 will be asked to reschedule. We also request only one adult per child for the visit.
I hope this information addressed your concerns about coming in for a well check. Even if you child does not need vaccines, regular well visits are important. This is also an easy time to get those required back-to-school checkups done before the rush.
Stay healthy,
Dr. Schleier
March 23, 2020
Importance of maintaining regular checkups at the recommended time
Regular well child checkups are especially important during the first years of life to identify medical conditions as well as behavioral and developmental problems that could have lifelong effects. Children who miss vaccines at the recommended times are also at greater risk for developing vaccine preventable diseases. In addition to being potentially life-threatening, these diseases can also lead to a need for hospitalization, thereby causing increased exposure to people with coronavirus, as well as causing an underlying health problem that can increase the danger of dealing with coronavirus.
Regularly scheduled checkups and vaccines at the appropriate time help keep your child safe!
March 22, 2020
Our office has posted the following policies to ensure safety for everyone in our office
Sick patients are no longer seen in the office. All sick patients are being seen via telemedicine.
All PCLC personnel will have their temperature checked each morning prior to patient appointments.
At the time of the appointment confirmation we will inquire about illness in the family. The only appointments made are well patient checkups and a few minor injuries where the patient is COVID19 symptom-free
We ask that only one parent be present at the appointment.
Patients with checkup appointments are no longer seated in the waiting room. They are asked to call us from their car when they arrive at the office. The front desk will take the patient registration information over the phone and will obtain images of any necessary documentation. A medical assistant will then proceed with her part of the checkup.
When registration and checkup questions are completed the patient will be asked to come up to the office. The patient will then be met and the parent’s and the patient’s temperatures will be taken by a masked and gloved medical assistant and will the patient immediately be taken to a disinfected exam room. Over 99.6 will be asked to reschedule.
All surfaces of each exam room are thoroughly disinfected after each visit. In addition to the surfaces touched by patients such as the exam table and benches, we are also disinfecting every countertop, door handle, faucet, cabinet knobs, trash can are disinfected after each use.
March 18, 2020
Message to our patients about Coronavirus:
I know that when our children are sick, we want to bring them in to see the doctor to make sure they are okay. I also know that we are all concerned right now about the rapidly spreading Coronavirus and what this can mean to our health and the health of our children. At our office we recognize our responsibility to care for your sick children, but we are also aware of our responsibilities to our healthy patients who need checkups and vaccines, to our staff and to our community that is trying to stop the spread of this virus.
Anyone with possible exposure to Coronavirus or with mild symptoms is urged to stay home and contact his or her doctor for advice. You should not bring your child into our office to be seen and here is why: First, we cannot tell by examining your child whether or not he or she has Coronavirus because the symptoms can mimic influenza or even a simple cold. Second, we do not have the ability to test for Coronavirus in our office. And, third, even if we think your child might have Coronavirus, we have no treatment to give. Anyone with a serious illness needs to be cared for in a hospital setting. If we do have a Coronavirus patient in our office, we would be widening the circle of exposure to our other patients and our staff.
For these reasons, we have made the decision not to see children in our office who even might have Coronavirus. However, we do have a responsibility to provide care for all of our patients. We have contacted a telemedicine company to set us up for our doctors to provide telemedicine appointments staffed by our PCLC/GP providers, the same providers you would see if you came into the office. These visits will be fully HIPAA compliant for privacy and will be available early next week. In the meantime, we will provide appointments via Zoom meeting or Face Time which will still be with our providers but this setup does not meet all of the HIPAA standards. All of these appointments will be documented in your PCLC/GP chart just like any other office visit.
If you want to make an appointment, visit https://www.pclc.us/scheduling. These telemedicine visits are handled just like all other visits – we will file with your insurance and you will be responsible for the same copay or deductible prior to your visit that you would expect to pay when you come in for a visit.
For more information on Coronavirus, visit healthychildren.org