We are launching a new Zoom phone system in the office today, please bear with us as we make the transition-thanks!

Winter is coming, and that means so is RSV (Respiratory Syncytial Virus). Read below to learn more about RSV, and the new tools we have to protect children at highest risk from the virus, young infants.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/chest-lungs/Pages/rsv-when-its-more-than-just-a-cold.aspx?_gl=1*ogp7xm*_ga*NzU4Njk5NDQ2LjE1NDA5MTQ0MDc.*_ga_FD9D3XZVQQ*MTczMTUyODU4OC43MjguMS4xNzMxNTI4OTY0LjAuMC4w

Due to current forecast for ongoing snow through the rest of the day, on 11/08/24 our Castle Rock office will be closing at lunch, and the Centennial office will be closing at 2PM today. Thanks and stay warm!

*If you do not have United Healthcare, Golden Rule, UMR, or any other insurance using a United Healthcare network, please disregard. If you do have one of the above insurance plans, please read the following message.

Hello Families,

As some of you know, United Healthcare recently sent out information about Pediatrics 5280 being out of network. We have been working with United Healthcare and want to assure you this was a mistake, and we are still very much in network with United Healthcare and will continue to care for your children at our offices. Please disregard the phone calls and/or mail correspondence stating that we are out of network. United Healthcare should be sending out new communication explaining the error.

If you receive new insurance cards with a different primary care provider than one of our providers, please call the member services number on the back of your card and have them correct it back to your previous provider at our office.

We apologize for the inconvenience and want to assure you that everything has been corrected and we look forward to seeing you at your next visit.

If you have further questions, please call our billing department at 303-779-5467 option 5.

Sincerely,

Pediatrics 5280

An annual wellness/physical exam appointment is recommended for all children over the age of 3. If your child has not been seen in the office for over a year, please call and schedule their annual exam today. Up to date annual wellness exams are required to complete camp, school and sports forms, prescribe routine/chronic medications and are important to health maintenance. Call the office today at 303 779 5437 with any questions or to schedule an appointment!

Due to current road conditions and the prediction for ongoing heavy snow through the day, both Pediatrics 5280 offices will be closed today, Thursday, March 14-for the safety of our staff, patients and families. Please stay safe and warm today!

Our office has recently updated our policy regarding pink eye and prescribing drops. In an effort to stay in line with current recommendations, we will no longer be prescribing pink eye drops over the phone. Patients will need to be seen to determine if drops are indicated.

We know this is a change from our previous protocols, and may be frustrating for some families. Our providers continually strive to keep our protocols up to date with national guidelines and new research. Most pink eye will resolve on its own and there are risks associated with overuse of antibiotics. Many institutions including Children’s Hospital of Colorado have updated their guidelines to reflect this, and we feel this is the right choice to allow us to continue to provide excellent quality care to kids.

If you think your child may have pink eye, you are welcome to schedule an appointment, or you can call and speak with one of our nurse triagers. They will help you determine whether eye drops may be indicated and can get you scheduled if necessary.

If you are interested in learning about the science behind this decision, please continue reading!

Most pink eye (called “conjunctivitis” in medical terms) is caused by a virus. This means that the antibiotic drops prescribed will not help (antibiotics only kill bacteria) and they do not reduce how contagious a person is. Pink eye can also be caused by allergies/allergic reaction, and similarly, antibiotic drops don’t help in this case either. Some pink eye is caused by a bacteria – this is more likely when there is significant pus drainage and no other symptoms (like runny nose, cough, congestion, fever, etc). New research shows that even bacterial pink eye typically resolves on its own without antibiotic drops, and that the drops also don’t reduce contagiousness. So many kids will not benefit from pink eye drops, and over-prescribing these drops leads to antibiotic resistance. We do recognize that many schools and daycares require kids to be on drops before returning to school. In these cases, we are happy to work with families and/or schools to help kids return as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions about this policy, please feel free to reach out to your primary care provider for more information.

Recall alert: FYI there is a voluntary recall for certain Nutramigen formula batches. Currently, only Nutramigen Hypoallergenic Infant Formula 12.6 oz and 19.8 oz cans made in June 2023 are included in the recall. Nutramigen’s liquid formulas and their other nutrition products are not impacted by the recall. Please check your formula if you use Nutramigen.

https://www.9news.com/article/news/nation-world/baby-formula-for-infants-with-milk-allergies-recalled/507-37d4ad29-f57a-4420-aba5-5523955a83d9

The office is closed today, November 23rd, 2023 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We resume regular business hours tomorrow, Friday November 24th. Have a great Thanksgiving!

We are excited to announce that we are able to give the current COVID vaccine to any patient 6mo+ here in the office. The process will be the same as flu vaccines with using MyChart to schedule. Please follow the below guidelines to ensure we make your COVID vaccine experience as easy as possible.

We will not be accepting any walk-ins for COVID vaccines. All patients of Pediatrics 5280 must have an appointment scheduled through MyChart (see the directions below). We will not be offering this vaccine to non-patients. Unfortunately, we are unable to give the vaccine to anyone with Tricare insurance at this time, as it is not currently a reimbursable vaccine. Tricare patients have the option to either pay out of pocket for the vaccine or go to your local health department. We are hopeful Tricare will reimburse this vaccine in the next few months.

The COVID vaccine available will be the current 2023-2024 Pfizer COVID vaccine. All appointments will be during office hours. More appointments may open depending on available staff, so please check back weekly if you do not see something that works for you.

To make an appointment for a patient:

·         Double check the location and click the appointment time that works for you. (Centennial is “PC” and Castle Rock is “Castle Rock PC”.

·         When the option appears, sign in with your MyChart login to schedule.

·         In the appointment notes, please put “covid” or “covid vaccine”

·         If you are signing up siblings, each sibling needs their own appointment, so you will be making multiple appointments. If you do not see multiple spots within the same hour, that’s ok, we just need them to be scheduled on the same day you intend to come in. In the appointment note, please put the appointment time you will be using and the sibling name. Ex: Covid Vaccine- coming at 10am with Jane

·         Please attempt to schedule via MyChart or while in the office to help alleviate call hold times for patients trying to schedule sick visits.

·         To schedule, please use:

https://mychart.childrenscolorado.org/MyChart/openscheduling/standalone?id=900052,901412&dept=9001101,9001102&vt=2122056

When the option appears, sign in with your MyChart login to schedule.