Newton-Wellesley Family Pediatrics, P.C.
Office Changes
Please see below for some additional safety measures our office is taking amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly encourages patients and providers to continue to bring children in for vaccines amidst the COVID pandemic to prevent outbreaks of vaccine preventable diseases. See a message from the AAP here.
​
*Telehealth is here:
- We are very excited to announce that our practice has the capacity to do virtual visits
- If you prefer, call our office to see if your visit type would be appropriate for a virtual visit
- An active MyChart account is necessary for virtual visits. To set one up, call us at 617-965-6700
- Please note, telemedicine visits and phone calls are billed to your insurance company just as in-office visits are. Depending in your coverage, there may be some patient responsibility.
​
Please note:
**Please arrive 15 minutes in advance. Only main entrances are open and the hospital is screening everyone that enters, thus it may take a few minutes longer to get up to our office. Masks are available upon entry to the hospital.
**Check in from your car. We encourage all families to call our office when you arrive so that we can ensure a room is ready. We can run any payments over the phone. We may ask you to wait in your car until a room is ready in order to avoid spending time in our waiting room.
**Separate entrance and exit. All patients will enter our office through the usual entrance, and will be directed to leave through a separate back entrance.
**Parents and guardians of patients 13 years and older may be excused towards the end of the visit in order to give your child some confidential time with their provider. During this time we ask that you return to your car to avoid extra exposure in our waiting room. Please be available by phone in case we need to reach you.
** We ask that one caregiver, and no siblings, accompany patients and everyone above the age of 2 years old wear a mask at all times.
​
Well Visits:
- At this time we continue to conduct well visits of all ages in person.
- We encourage well visits in person especially if your child is due for vaccines.
- If you elect to do a virtual well visit at this time, we will recommend a follow up visit at a later time for accurate measurements, vaccines and an in-person exam. Please obtain a weight and height and answer any screenings assigned via MyChart prior to your virtual appointment.
-In order to stay as paperless as possible, we recommend you sign up for MyChart even if you have an in-person appointment, in order to view your after-visit summary and documents online. Call us to sign up today.
​
Sick Visits:
- Please note, we are seeing patients with COVID-compatible symptoms, but we have very specific protocols for these visits including time of day, staffing, and maximum visit time for the safety of all - thus please notify us before your visit if the patient has any symptoms compatible with COVID-19.
- We do not have the capability to a COVID visit and a well or follow up visit at the same time in order to keep exposure to a minimum.
​
Please note:
-If you or anyone in your family has symptoms of COVID-19 (new fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose/congestion, shortness of breath, muscle aches, loss of smell or taste), known exposure to a COVID case or out of state travel, please call our office before your appointment to discuss the safety of coming in. Our office will be calling to confirm your appointment and ask you screening questions 24 hours prior to your visit.
​
​
FYI: We know coming to the doctor's office can be scary for children and families.
For everyone's safety, we will be wearing differing levels of personal protective
equipment. Helping your child prepare for what to expect can help allay fears.
With that in mind, this is what we will look like. Feel free to share this photograph
of our very own Dr. Brown before you come, talk about how masks can help protect
us and you, and maybe even decorate your masks before you come in!
​
​
​
​
