A Message for Our Families
Sawgrass Pediatrics has made several changes to our procedures based on the needs and safety of the children and families that we serve as well as the safety of our employees and physicians. As an essential service, it is important that we are here for your family, now more than ever. Your child’s safety and wellness are our highest priorities.
We understand there is a significant amount of fear surrounding this virus. Fortunately, children have been experiencing less severe infections. Children are exposed to many other coronaviruses every winter and this is thought to be one of the reasons why the infection is less severe in younger people. However, they can expose others who may be at greater risk for more severe outcomes. Those at risk should currently be practicing social isolation and contact their care providers for direction.
As we receive updates, these processes will change so please pay close attention to this website and our Facebook page.
Remote Check-In/Parking Lot Waiting Room – In order to facilitate safe social distancing guidelines, we ask that parents remotely check-in from their vehicle by calling the Coral Springs office at 954-752-9220 and the Boca Raton office at 561-487-9912. All patients and caregivers are recommended to wait in the car or outside until it is time for your visit to begin. If this is not possible for you, our staff will escort you back into an exam room (please be patient and remain in the exam room and not wander in the hallways)
Face Masks – For safety purposes there have been executive orders mandating masks or other face coverings to be placed over nose and mouth that have been implemented in South Florida. Please wear a face covering when entering our office.
Limiting Caregivers – We are requesting families limit the number of caregivers with a child to one in the office and no siblings.
Elderly and those with Chronic Illnesses – We are requesting people over age 60 and those with chronic illnesses to avoid the office unless there is absolutely no alternative, and they are the child’s caregiver.
Separate Well/Sick Exam Rooms & Morning Well Visits – In addition to having separate Well and Sick Exam Rooms, we have changed our schedule to decrease patient traffic in order to maximize safety. Our mornings will now be dedicated to well visits only and our afternoon will be scheduled with sick visits. Exceptions will only be made on a case by case basis. In order to reduce the risk of spreading infection, there are no walk-in appointments. You must call us at 954-752-9220 in order to speak to a triage nurse so that we can facilitate the best level of care for you.
Telemedicine – Telemedicine is also available in our office and highly encouraged especially during these times of social distancing. Click here for our telemedicine information sheet.
Click here to download the Telemedicine Consent form.
Due to the scarcity of both personal protective equipment and test kits, our office is not presently able to test for COVID-19
Our triage process will continue to screen patients/parents for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by asking the following questions:
Have you been exposed to anyone with a confirmed COVID-19 (The Novel Coronavirus)?
If no to above questions, we will be able to schedule an appointment for your child in our office.
If yes to the above questions and your child has mild symptoms such as cough with no fever, we will escalate to a supervisor to schedule a telemedicine visit to further evaluate your child. We will call the COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121 or CDC at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) if necessary.
If yes to the above questions and your child has symptoms of 100.4 or greater, cough and shortness of breath, we will escalate to one of our doctors and/or send to the emergency room for further evaluation. We will call the COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121 or CDC at 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636) if necessary
**These questions can and will change as the situation warrants.
Please make use of the hand sanitizer at the window.
Please know that we are always utilizing the highest level of hygiene, both with thorough handwashing between patients and with the rooms which are sanitized between each patient visit. Each evening our office is disinfected with hospital grade disinfectant.
We have removed toys and magazines from our lobbies and toys from our examination rooms to further isolate virus transmission.
We may be making further adjustments to further reduce risk, so please check back soon for that information.
We are sorry for any inconvenience due to these changes. Please help Sawgrass Pediatrics in practicing social distancing. Together, we will overcome this pandemic.
Stay Healthy,
The Staff and Physicians of Sawgrass Pediatrics
