Dr. Kenneth Zatz, Pediatrics

Something else to try to course correct when this is all over. At some point it will require young people to sustain attention in normal interactions without getting a reward hit every few seconds. No easy answers to this one. Maybe once in a while try to get your children outside to do something, anything. https://www.nytimes.com//16/health/covid-kids-tech-use.html

Always a good day in the office when a family brings their Golden puppy.

Our pediatric office has seen and heard things we couldn’t have imagined over this past year. We have seen our families touched by grave illness. We have seen parents scrambling as best they can to keep their children engaged and educated in a remote world. We have seen teenagers struggling with anxiety and depression at ever increasing rates. We have seen the financial hardships of parents trying to provide for themselves and their children. We have seen children cut of...f from hugging their grandparents. For some families, the only trip out of the house with their children was to come and see us. For some of our patients, we have been the only people outside of their parents they have seen. We have seen the fear in their young eyes as we do what we do with our masks on, unable to show our faces. But we have seen remarkable strength and grace through all this. The grit and determination of parents doing all they can to keep life as normal as possible for their children. The flexibility and ingenuity of our young people reinventing their social and educational lives as best they can online. The silver lining of families actually spending more time together. The coming together of our community to help those in need. We are almost there. The creation of this vaccine in this amount of time is one of the greatest medical accomplishments of our lifetime. All of us here in the office are looking forward to receiving it. We have been here day after day throughout this pandemic faced with the potential of exposing ourselves and our families to this illness and are eager for the chance to reduce this risk. We appreciate so much all of you who have helped protect us by wearing proper masks and sanitizing your hands. This will need to go on for some time until we can all feel safer. We encourage you to be vaccinated as well when it is available to you. I am so grateful for my staff, and all frontline and essential workers, who have risked their own safety to just get up every day and do their jobs looking out for the welfare of others. This is not what they anticipated signing up for yet they came to work, masks on, ready to go. Jane, Heather, Alastair, Deirdre, Georgette, and I wish you a happy and healthy New Year and our hopes for a brighter 2021. A voice within me proclaims with irresistible conviction: It is impossible that it can remain thus; it must become other and better. -Johann Gottlieb Fichte 1762-1814

Hi all, Just checking in. We are here doing our thing...well checks, COVID screenings, and everything else. We are doing everything possible to keep you safe during your visit. Please help us by doing your check-ins at home and calling when you are here so we can bring you in. Please wear a proper mask out of respect for your fellow patients and for the safety of our staff who have their own loved ones to protect. You've gotta wear it or you can't come in. These are tough... days for most of us and tougher for some than others. Let's keep working together and let's be kind to one another. Hoping everyone stays safe. See more

Imagine the country and world you'd hope to leave for your children. Then vote.

Happy Birthday Dr.Zatz!

movie corner time 1. The Social Dilemma. No matter how much you think you know about how much you (and your children) are being manipulated by big tech, this is so worth your time. The psychological experiment we are all part of emanating from our phones is tearing us apart. The harm being done to our teens, preteens, and pre-preteens is something too important to turn a blind eye to. 2. My Octopus Teacher. What a sweet heartfelt and heartbreaking documentary that follows a burnt out filmmaker during his year long connection with an octopus. Beautifully photographed. An animal with such intelligence and the capacity to learn. Another lesson about respect for all life.

I know the world can seem bleak enough these days but this podcast really opened my eyes to the moral catastrophe of child pornography that is growing exponentially right under our noses. And its something that no one really wants to talk about. Tens of millions of photos and videos shared around the world every year. There are so many angles to this horrific problem and these two hours, though at times impossibly difficult to hear, lay out the problem and possible approache...s to deal with it. At the very least, there is a huge burden on parents to make it clear to their children that some of those kids they are playing with and talking to online are not kids and to never, ever, never upload any picture of themselves to anyone they do not know personally or that may be compromising. Best still, do not upload any pictures at all. And if they are tricked into doing so, that they are safe and need to tell you. https://podcasts.apple.com//213-the-worst-epi/id733163012

I struggle with the topic of testing everyday. The PCR test sent to the lab is very accurate but can take anywhere from 2-10 days to come back. A rapid test can come back within an hour but has a 15-20% false negative rate. That leaves both kinds of test with significant drawbacks. In the past week the commercial labs have seemed to catch up with turnaround times of 2-3 days. At this point, I am not offering the rapid tests because of that false negative rate. I am havi...ng a hard time potentially sending one in five test negative patients back out into the world who are actually positive and can spread the disease. This is still a moving target. Tests will improve and strategies may be updated. Be aware that some organizations that require testing before arrival (schools, camps) will not accept a rapid test so leave adequate time to have the PCR result available when needed. Also be mindful that some insurers have started not paying for tests done on asymptomatic patients for screening purposes. If that is a concern, check with your insurer. https://www.nytimes.com//covid-test-accuracy-governor-dewi