How do I know if my child has the flu?
Your child may have the flu if they have some or all of these symptoms:
• fever *
• cough
• sore throat
• runny or stuffy nose
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue
• sometimes diarrhea and vomiting
*It’s important to note that not everyone with flu will have a fever.

What are the emergency warning signs in children?
• Fast breathing or trouble breathing
• Bluish skin color
• Not drinking enough fluids
• Not waking up or not interacting
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
• Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
• Fever with a rash

Anyone experiencing these symptoms should seek immediate medical care.

Does my child need to go the emergency room if he/she is only a little sick?
No. The emergency room should be used for people who are very sick. You should not go to the emergency room if your child is only mildly ill. If your child has the emergency warning signs of flu sickness, you should go to the emergency room. If your child gets sick with flu symptoms and they are at high risk of flu complications due to conditions such as a congenital heart defect, or a neurological or immunosuppressive disorder, or if you are concerned about your child’s illness, call your health care provider for advice. If you go to the emergency room and you are not sick with the flu, you may catch it from people who do have it.

How long should I keep my child home if they are sick?
CDC recommends that anyone with flu symptoms stay home for at least 24 hours after their fever is gone, except to get medical care or for other things you have to do and no one else can do for you. (Your child’s fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine, such as Tylenol®.) Your child should stay home from work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings.
What should I do while my child is sick?
Keep them away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick. If you must leave home, for example to get medical care, have your child wear a facemask, or have them cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Have them wash their hands often to keep from spreading flu to others. CDC has information on “Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home” on its website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm

This information was taken from the CDC website. For more information go to http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/sick.htm

Saltzer Medical Group, department of pediatrics is proud to welcome Travis Criddle, D.O. to the group.

Dr. Criddle attended medical school at Pikeville College of Osteopathic Medicine in Pikeville Kentucky, and completed his Internship and Residency at Children’s Hospital of Illinois at OSF St. Francis Medical Center, University of Illinois College of Medicine in Peoria IL.

Dr. Criddle will see patients at Saltzer Medical Group’s newest location at 3277 E. Louise Dr., Meridian (next to St. Luke’s Meridian Medical Center).

To schedule an appointment with Dr. Criddle, call (208) 884-2910

Congratulations to Dr. Deanna Andrews and her patient Garrett on their recent second place win in a photo contest promoted by Contemporary Pediatrics, an national pediatrics journal. The photos had to include patient care, or patients participating in an activity. You can see Dr. Andrews and the other photo entries at this link.

Quick! In one breath list all of the specialties and ancillary services offered at Saltzer. Well, that would be a challenge for anyone, including me and I talk about our services all the time. I am writing this to make sure everyone knows about all that Saltzer has to offer our patients. Then watch weekly as I cover each of the services in detail.

Specialties and Ancillary Services: Family Practice, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, ENT, Neurology, OB/GYN, Opthalmology, Pulmonology, General Surgery, Rheumatology, Dermatology, Sleep, Occupational Medicine, Endoscopy, Pulmonary Function Lab, Medical Imaging (including MRI, CT, General and Vascular Ultrasound), Hearing and Balance, Idaho Osteoporosis Center, Rehabilitation (Physicial and Occupational), Allergy Clinic, Lab, Anti-Coagulation Clinic.

Wow! Please come back next week and I will give an overview of Family Practice, the services they provide and the wonderful doctors we have in that specialty.

Our Meridian Family Clinic located at 745 S. Progress Ave, Meridian has three pediatricians, three family practice physicians, as well as Occupational Medicine and Surgery.

Pediatricians

Katie Copeland, MD
Kimberly Granwehr, MD
Brandy Welch, MD

Family Practice Physicians

Mark Clinger, MD
Timothy Hodges, DO
Arthur Jones, MD

Dr. Jones and Clinger are accepting new patients and are often able to take same day appointments.

Please call 884-2900 to schedule and appointment with any of these physicians

Lots of people have seen our new sign located on the beautiful Portico building on Eagle Road. There has been a lot of speculation concerning what that means for Saltzer. Here is the plan for that location. We are consolidating several clinics into one.

Currently in Meridian we have our Family Clinic located at 745 S. Progress Avenue, where we have Pediatrics, Family Practice, Surgery, Neurology and Occupational Medicine.

We also have our specialty clinic located in St. Lukes Meridian, 520 S. Eagle Road, Suite 2116, Meridian. That office includes ENT, Orthopedics, OB/GYN, and Dermatology.

These offices will be making the move to this one location in late spring or early summer.

The pediatric Flu Shot Clinic at Saltzer’s Main location (215 E. Hawaii Ave, Nampa) will be held November 11, 12, 18, 19, 20 and December 20 for a second shot for those who need it. Please call Saltzer’s Pediatrics number 468-5930 to schedule an appointment.

Vaccine preventable disease rates are at all time lows due to diligent research, effective immunization systems, and outreach. This success has come from a collaboration of private and public sectors. Nonetheless, there are still barriers to optimizing immunization protection from vaccine preventable diseases. Prior to modern day immunizations, many diseases impacted countless numbers of children with disability and, unfortunately, mortality. In recent decades, there have been advances in vaccines broadening the protection net for children and adults. As vaccine preventable illnesses diminish, such as polio, measles, pertussis and even now haemophilus, pneumococcus, rotavirus and varicella, the public loses valuable memory of the devastation of these diseases. Yet outside of the United States one million deaths occur annually from measles alone. Complacency sets in from a lack of knowledge of natural diseases and fears of adverse events, including autism, further add to the barriers to protecting our children and adults. Idaho continues to struggle to obtain higher immunization coverage rates.
The Idaho Immunization Program, funded jointly by the State of Idaho and the Centers for Disease Control, has grown in the past decade improving our rates considerably. The Idaho Immunization Program hosted an Immunization Summit in the fall of 2007 inviting public and private health sectors to formulate the problems facing our State and potential solutions. The group discussed the successes of the Canyon Area Immunization Coalition and proposed a Statewide Coalition. Idaho is the only state in the Nation without a widespread or statewide Immunization Coalition.

This brings us to May of 2008. The AAP Idaho Chapter held an Immunization Congress, funded by a grant from AAP National. The congress succeeded in bringing public and private sectors together to launch what is now the Idaho Immunization Coalition. The coalition is a 501 c3 non profit organization to enhance the existing immunization system in Idaho. The goal is to protect adults and children from vaccine preventable disease in an efficient, safe and enlightened manner and to maintain the statewide immunization registry. The Coalition will have an Executive Committee with Keith Davis, MD, President of the Idaho Academy of Family Physicians and Tom Patterson, MD, President Elect of the Idaho American Academy of Pediatrics as co-chairmen. Subcommittees consisting of Education, Legislation and Vaccine Outreach will address specific issues. The state Immunization Program, the AAP, and AAFP Idaho Chapters are all on board to see the coalition to fruition. We have succeeded in many ways, though there is much work to be done to reach our goal of maximum immunization coverage in all populations.

As a pediatrician I am concerned about the impact Micron’s new insurance system will have on some of the Treasure Valley’s most vulnerable citizens, children.

The new insurance is structured so that only one hospital in the Boise area is covered by the premium coverage. Use of any other hospital results in higher co-pays, and deductibles, resulting in significantly increased health care costs for Micron families.

St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center is not a part of the premium network. St. Luke’s is the only children’s hospital in the area. St. Luke’s has the only pediatric ICU and is the only hospital in the area that provides coverage by all of the pediatric subspecialists such as gastroenterology, neurology, infectious disease, oncology, etc.

With Micron’s new insurance plan families can only access services at the St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital by paying a much higher deductible and receiving lower reimbursements. This results in much higher medical bills for Micron families seeking proper, high quality medical care for their children.

In addition, many physicians that were previously preferred providers are no longer part of the premium network. Imagine the emotional toll on children and their families who are forced to leave a doctor they have grown to trust.

My partners and I at Saltzer Medical Group have seen many children of Micron employees for years, several with chronic and ongoing medical conditions. The change in insurance plan structure will result in worse outcomes for these children.

I am hoping that Micron will rethink their insurance structure, and put these children before the bottom line.

Katie Copeland, MD
Chair, Department of Pediatrics
Saltzer Medical Group, P.A.