The saying, “Never judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes”, has proven to be truer today than ever before. Lately, I have noticed an upsurge of complaints including yelling, even obscenities, directed at my staff by frustrated parents or family members who feel that their needs are not being responded to quickly enough.  They may perceive that some flaw in the medical care system impacting their children, is entirely our fault, even when it is usually not the case.  I am saddened by this. My staff is getting frustrated by these behaviors.  We are all tired.  We are SOOO frustrated with the world as we know it, changing so fast due to the pandemic consequences of COVID-19.

Celebration Pediatrics is a small medical office of 5 providers, 7 medical assistants and 5 front office staff.  Unlike many of our local colleagues, we have managed to continue to see ALL our current patients, perform physicals, provide vaccinations, continue to see sick patients, provide consultations, and all usual operations of a pediatric office, despite all the obstacles in our path.  Since the spring of 2021, we have been providing COVID-19 vaccinations to as many children as we can fit in, to an already overburdened schedule.  Additionally, we have been asked to process hundreds of forms and assorted documents each week requested by parents, schools, specialists, daycares, and other health entities. On top of that, there is an ongoing backlog of children trying to return to school or daycare who missed annual well exams and vaccinations due to COVID concerns. These children also need to be seen, usually requesting appointments “today at the latest”. So many local physicians have limited in person care, stopped seeing patients all together or have gone to entirely remote care.

Our office has remained open despite all the COVID associated barriers and hurdles we have faced.

We have and will continue to meet the needs of our current and future patients. We will continue to provide extra sanitation in the office and attempt to limit in-person time spent in the waiting room.  We have added office hours and increased our provider staff. There is not a day where the office has not added extra well or sick visits to an already crowded schedule to try and accommodate the needs of our patients and our families.  Do not forget, our own staff have the same issues of COVID exposures and family obligations and quarantines as everybody else, which can make an already efficient and dedicated staff shorthanded for weeks at a time.

We are still the “front line” of exposure risk for the current pediatric wave of COVID-19 and we are still at risk for infection despite all the precautions we take.

So, if it does take longer than usual to be seen in the office, or if phone hold time seems excessive, or if a referral takes longer than initially promised, or if a call back takes a little longer, or if a form that was overdue when you brought to us to be completed takes even more time…PLEASE TRY NOT TO TAKE IT OUT ON MY STAFF. They really are trying to accommodate every single patient’s needs. REMEMBER THE MISSION OF OUR PRACTICE IS TO PROVIDE QUALITY PATIENT CARE WHILE KEEPING OUR PATIENTS AND OUR STAFF SAFE.  If something does go wrong, or you feel the medical care was inadequate in any way, please let me. Please communicate your concerns with any of our providers or our Practice Administrator, Keri. We will listen and try and understand the cause of your concerns and make changes if needed.

I became a pediatrician because I value the health and welfare of all our children. I will do everything in my power to continue to provide quality care, every single day, to our patients.

Sincerely,

Robert “Dr. Bob” Dabrow, MD, FAAP, Medical Director