December 12th is Dr. Middlemist’s last day in the office. Congratulations on your retirement Dr. Middlemist. We wish you the very best and thank you for all you have done for your patients and the office!! You will be missed!

Our offices are closed today, 11/28/24 for the Thanksgiving holiday. We will re-open tomorrow for normal business hours. Thanks!

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