Dear Colleagues,
This is indeed one of those days where I wish that this was all a really elaborate April Fool’s gag, but it isn’t. I know that we are all being faced with uncertainty of one form or another. While the clinical wave that we are preparing for is largely on the adult side, we know all too well that there is a reasonable likelihood that our critical care and hospitalist pediatric colleagues may be asked to help with those adults.
Yet even though many of us are unlikely to be pulled into adult ICUs any time soon, this pandemic has changed the face of ambulatory pediatrics as well. Much care has moved over to telephone and video visits, and anything non-urgent is being delayed. I think we all understand why, but the costs of that accumulate. They accumulate for our practices, on our collective psyche, and, most of all, on the patients and families we serve.
The Chapter is watching, working, and wending our way through the outpouring of new policy, orders, and resources that are being deployed — and changed — on a daily basis. With a collaborative outlook, we’ve working with state government, non-profits, health partners, and others to ensure that the voice of those who are dedicated to the health of all children is not left out.
To that end, I’d like to highlight again the COVID-19 resource page at wiaap.org/covid-19, curated by our hard-working Executive Director, Kia Kjensrud. Of note, there’s a number of things regarding Telehealth, at both the national and state levels.
Finally, on a lighter note, I’d like to point everyone to another project I’ve been involved with, the #ReadTogether program from Reach Out and Read. We have a handful of videos (with more expected) of people reading children’s books aloud. You might even spot someone familiar!
Take care, take heart, and know that we see the work you’re all doing.