Wellness

At PAGS we guarantee your information is kept private and confidential. We hope that over time, from the moment you join our practice as parents with a newborn infant or with an older child, we can build trust. We consider this a special privilege. We ask parents to extend that trust as children get older to allow them to have some time to speak with their doctor or nurse practitioner confidentially. We guarantee patient-doctor confidentiality and the law directs us to break that trust only if the adolescent patient is at risk to themselves or to others. We may provide advice regarding contraception including abstinence, as well as recommend screening tests including pregnancy and STD screening when medically necessary. We promise to encourage your teenagers to be forthright with parents and guardians, and we strive to provide the best care possible while maintaining trust and confidentiality of caregivers and children.

If you’re suffering from mental health challenges, the last thing anyone wants to go through is a lengthy trial and error process with multiple medications. The process can be frustrating and leave people feeling worse, not better.  Fortunately, through GeneSight’s genetic testing, doctors can get answers that quickly lead to relief.  Pharmacogenomic testing can help empower your doctor with the exact information needed to prescribe you the best medication for you. By examining your DNA, this simple, painless test lets doctors know which medications may not work for you, so you can get back to feeling like yourself again.  That’s the power and simplicity of the GeneSight Test.

Healthy gums and teeth are important to your child's overall health. This is why your child's doctor will talk with you about good dental habits even before your child's first tooth appears.  Once your child has a tooth, your doctor may recommend that your child receive fluoride varnish treatments in the pediatrician's office to help prevent tooth decay. This can be done 2 to 4 times per year. The number of treatments depends on how likely it is that your child may get a cavity.  Pediatricians are trained to apply fluoride varnish because many young children do not see or have access to a dentist until they are older. If your child is seeing a dentist at a young age, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, fluoride varnish may be applied in a dental office instead.

PAGS utilizes interpretive services and employs bilingual staff. We have staff and providers who speak Spanish, Portuguese, French and Farsi. InDemand, a video translation system that can accommodate up to 200 languages inclusive of American Sign Language.

For our families who need translation services during a visit we have access to sign language interpreters and we also utilize InDemand, a video translation system that can accommodate up to 200 languages inclusive of American Sign Language.

Vision:

PAGS uses SPOT Vision Screening tool to provide better, more comprehensive care for your child(ren). Approximately 80% of a child's early learning is visual, yet according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vision disability is the single most prevalent disabling condition among children. Over 25% of school-age children have vision problems, the majority of which are undetected. Spot Vision Screening allows PAGS to screen patients as young as 6 months old; children do not need to speak, read, or recognize letters for us to capture instantaneous, accurate results. We can detect near-sightedness, far-sightedness, blurred vision/eye structure problems (astigmatism), pupil size deviations, and eye misalignments, all within a few seconds, with this non- invasive, cutting-edge technology. If you would like your child to be screened, please call the office to schedule an appointment and take advantage of this technology. If it's determined that follow-up care is necessary, we will provide families with a list of ophthalmologists to whom we typically refer.

Hearing:

If you or your child’s school is concerned about your child’s hearing, feel free to schedule an appointment. PAGS uses a hand-held device that detects and measures otoacoustic emissions, which are sounds produced by the cochlea. We are able to screen our patient’s hearing from newborn up, as no response from the patient is necessary; we can easily test non-English- speaking patients, as well. If the device identifies a possible hearing loss, and then we can refer to you to the proper specialist for more comprehensive testing should this be necessary.

Warts are caused by a virus—the human papillomavirus (HPV). These firm bumps (although they also can be flat) are yellow, tan, grayish, black, or brown. They usually appear on the hands, toes, around the knees, and on the face, but can occur anywhere on the body. When they’re on the soles of the feet, doctors call them plantar warts. Although warts can be contagious, they appear infrequently in children under the age of two.

Treatment: Your pediatrician can give you advice on treating warts. Sometimes he will recommend an over-the-counter medication that contains salicylic acid or even treat them in the office using a liquid nitrogen–based solution or spray. If a wart comes back, simply treat it again the way you did the first time, or as directed by your pediatrician. Don’t wait until it becomes large, painful, or starts to spread.