Updates - Flu and Covid-19 vaccines available; RSV injection - not available yet

Dear Marblehead Families,

Thanks again to all of our patients and families who came to one of our two drive-through flu vaccine clinics. It was another celebrated successful year for us to help protect your children’s health. If you were not able to make it, we will continue to have influenza vaccines throughout the flu season for all our patients 6+ months of age or older.

Last month, the newest Covid-19 vaccine was approved for use. This vaccine is a monovalent vaccine designed to prevent severe disease from Omicron XBB.1.5 subvariant. This vaccine is different than the last bivalent Covid-19 vaccine which was introduced in the fall of 2022 and targeted the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants as well as the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. This new monovalent booster is available for all patients age 6+ months to 18 years of age. Please note that if you are 19+ years of age, we have not been allocated Covid-19 vaccines that can be used for your age range. Please consider utilizing your local CVS or Walgreen’s pharmacy.

Finally, many families have been hearing about the newest RSV injection called Beyfortus for infants age 0-8 months of age. If you haven’t heard, a link to the John’s Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health which is an excellent summary for the topic can be found here. Although AstraZeneca and Sanofi were aiming for a roll out date of Oct. 16, 2023, the Massachusetts State VFC program has not received any Beyfortus to distribute to any hospital/clinic/private practice including our own. We will continue to be in contact with our state VFC program and continue to provide updates.

Marblehead Pediatrics

Office Hours During Oct. 9th - Indigenous Peoples' Day

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is October 9, 2023. Our office schedule for this weekend will be as follows:

• Saturday - 10/7/2023 - open from 9 AM -1 PM (schedule unchanged)

• Sunday - 10/8/2023 - closed (schedule unchanged)

• Monday - 10/9/2023 - open from 9 AM - 1 PM (sick visits only)

If you would like your child to have an appointment on 10/9/2023, please call us at 781-631-7800 earlier in the day as appointments can fill up.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Covid-19 vaccine and RSV injections

Respiratory syncytial virus

Over the past months, the FDA/CDC have approved a RSV injection (click here) and a new Covid-19 vaccine booster (click here) for children. If you would like to schedule an appointment to receive these vaccines, our preferred method to contact us about scheduling an appointment is by sending a patient portal message. Please make sure to list your preferred dates/times if possible and the name(s) of all the children that will be participating. If you do not have a working patient portal account, you can also call us at 781-631-7800 to schedule an appointment.

We anticipate the Covid-19 vaccine boosters will be arriving this week. We anticipate the RSV injection will be available will be arriving by mid-October. Please note that we will not be able to provide these vaccines to you if you are utilizing our drive thru flu vaccine weekends due to temperature storage requirements.

Flu Clinic 2023

Marblehead Pediatrics is proud to announce the dates of our fourth annual drive-thru flu clinic!

Saturday Sept. 30th, 2023 8:40 AM- 11:40 AM

Saturday Oct. 14th, 2023 8:40 AM - 11:40 AM

Location: Parking Lot - Across from the church - Our Lady, Star of the Sea (We will be located in the back parking lot next to the tennis courts which is behind the Seaside Nursery School Building).

We want to thank all of our patients who participated the last three years for all the positive feedback. We apologize about the late notice, but we were not sure if we were going to be able to have a drive-thru flu clinic this year.

Our preferred method to contact us about scheduling an appointment is by sending a patient portal message. Please make sure to list your preferred dates/times if possible and the name(s) of all the children that will be participating. If you do not have a working patient portal account, you can also call us at 781-631-7800 to schedule your influenza vaccine today!

Closed Labor Day 2023 - Back to School Hours

Dear Patients and Families,

Our office will be closed on Labor Day, Sept 4th. If you require care this weekend, we will have our regular Saturday morning hours from 9AM - 12:45 PM. Please call us at 781-631-7800 if an appointment is needed or you need to speak with the on-call doctor after hours from Sept. 2nd - Sept. 4th.

Although we are also excited for all our students to return to school, the beginning of school also marks the beginning of flu and cold season for us. As such, we will be returning back to our original hours on Friday and will be open from 9 AM - 5:45PM.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Office Hours During Juneteenth

Juneteenth is June 19, 2023. Our office schedule for this weekend will be as follows:

• Saturday - 6/17/2023 - open from 9 AM -1 PM (schedule unchanged)

• Sunday - 6/18/2023 - closed (schedule unchanged)

• Monday - 6/19/2023 - open from 9 AM - 1 PM (sick visits only)

If you would like your child to have an appointment on 6/19/2023, please call us at 781-631-7800 earlier in the day as appointments can fill up.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Change in Office Hours from June - September

Dear Patients and Families,

To help provide just respite to our staff from a busy cold and flu season, we will be temporarily changing our hours on Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Old Friday hours: 9 AM - 5:45PM

New Friday hours: 9 AM - 4:45PM

As a reminder, we will still have our Saturday clinic from 9 AM - 1 PM.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Technical Difficulties: Patient Portal Not Working.

Dear Marblehead Pediatrics Parents and Patients,

We are experiencing technical difficulties with our website’s patient portal system which is normally used to message our staff. Until this issue can be resolved with our vendor, please call us at our main number (781-631-7800) for any appointment requests, refills or other issues you may be experiencing. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Dr. Daniel Shen and Marblehead Pediatrics.

May 11th - Changes to Mask Policy / Entrance Policy

Dear Patients and Parents of Marblehead Pediatrics,

“The Social Security Act Section 1135 will terminate with the end of the Covid-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE) on May 11, 2023. Providers are expected to return to normal operating status and comply with the regulatory requirements for emergency preparedness with the conclusion of the PHE.”

For full CMS article, click here.

What this means to our patients / parents / staff is that effective May 11, 2023, masks will no longer be required unless an individual voluntarily chooses to do so. All of our patients will be welcomed through the front entrance for both sick and well visits.

Our practice, however, is still committed to every individual’s health. We will be separating our front waiting area into a sick and well side. Masks will still be available to those who would like them and we will be running additional air filters in the waiting room. Our front desk may still ask patients to use the back entrance for specific cases as per our pre-PHE policies.

Thank you for your consideration regarding this matter.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Offices Hours During Presidents Day

Dear Families,

Presidents Day is Feb 20, 2023. Our office schedule for this weekend will be as follows:

• Saturday - 2/18/2023 - open from 9 AM -1 PM (schedule unchanged)

• Sunday - 2/19/2023 - closed (schedule unchanged)

• Monday - 2/20/2023 - open from 9 AM - 1 PM (sick visits only)

If you would like your child to have an appointment on 2/20/2023, please call us as soon as you can as we will have limited number of appointments on that day.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Technical Difficulties: Phone Line Not Working

Dear Marblehead Pediatrics Families,

We are experiencing technical difficulties with routing our main number (781-631-7800) to the answer service. If you request an appointment or wish to speak with a doctor over the weekend of 2/3/2023 to 2/5/2023, please call the answering service directly at: 781-477-8102. The answering service will contact the on-call physician. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Dr. Daniel Shen

Office Hours During Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Dear Families,

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is Jan 16, 2023. Our office schedule for this weekend will be as follows:

• Saturday - 1/14/2023 - open from 9 AM -1 PM (schedule unchanged)

• Sunday - 1/15/2023 - closed (schedule unchanged)

• Monday - 1/16/2023 - open from 9 AM - 1 PM (sick visits only)

If you would like your child to have an appointment on 1/16/2023, please call us as soon as you can as we will have limited number of appointments on that day.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Wishing You Happy Holidays - Holiday Hours

Dear Families of Marblehead Pediatrics,

We are wishing you a Happy Holiday Season and hope you are able to spend it with family, friends and loved-ones. We are writing to remind you that we will be doing the same and and thus our office will be closed for in-person office visits from Saturday, Dec. 24th - Monday, Dec. 26th and Saturday, Dec 31st - Monday, Jan 2nd.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause as holidays can be stressful when your child is sick. If you need to get in contact with us, the on call provider is still reachable for telephone advice at 781-631-7800 for urgent issues.

Wishing You Happy Holidays!

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Now Available - Bivalent Covid-19 Vaccination 6 month to 5 year old

Dear Families,

The FDA recently approved a bivalent Covid-19 vaccination for 6 month to 5 year old. Please click the link for the full FDA press release here.

Our office will be using the Moderna bivalent Covid-19 vaccine. To receive this vaccine, your infant/toddler must have completed the Moderna vaccine primary series at least 2 months prior to receiving a bivalent vaccine. Our office has only administered Moderna vaccines for ages 6 months to 5 years for the primary series. If your infant/toddler has received the Pfizer vaccine for the primary series, your child is not eligible for the vaccination at the current time.

We are currently scheduling appointments for this. Our preferred method to contact us about scheduling an appointment is by sending a patient portal message. If you do not have a working patient portal account, you can also call us at 781-631-7800 to schedule your child’s Covid-19 vaccine today!

Welcome Amanda Bowers MD!!!

Dear families of Marblehead Pediatrics,

I am so proud to announce our newest pediatrician, Dr. Amanda Bowers, who joined our practice last month. She was locally trained at Tufts Medical Center having graduated in 2019. Her residency director describes her as one of the most intelligent, book-smart, and hard working pediatricians to come through the program. I can already tell that she is one of the most compassionate and thorough pediatricians and is dedicated to helping improving the health for all our children.

Welcome aboard Dr. Bowers!

-Dr. Daniel Shen and Marblehead Pediatrics

Similiac Ready-to-Feed Liquid Product Recall Information

Dear Families,

Similac has issued a voluntary recall on Ready to Feed Liquid Products that was distributed to doctor’s offices and thus may have been distributed to you. We encourage you to please check all your Similac products. For the official recall information, please use the link here.

~Marblehead Pediatrics

Flu Clinic 2022

Marblehead Pediatrics is proud to announce the dates of our third annual drive-thru flu clinic!

Saturday Oct. 1st, 2022 8:30 AM- 12:30 PM

Saturday Oct. 15th, 2022 8:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Location: Parking Lot - Across from the church - Our Lady, Star of the Sea (We will be located in the back parking lot next to the tennis courts which is behind the Seaside Nursery School Building).

We want to thank all of our patients who participated the last two years for all the positive feedback. We apologize about the late notice, but we were not sure if we were going to be able to have a drive-thru flu clinic this year.

Our preferred method to contact us about scheduling an appointment is by sending a patient portal message. Please make sure to list your preferred dates/times if possible and the name(s) of all the children that will be participating. If you do not have a working patient portal account, you can also call us at 781-631-7800 to schedule your influenza vaccine today!

Covid-19 immunization - 6 months - 5 year

Dear Families of Marblehead Pediatrics,

Over the weekend, the CDC has authorized Covid-19 immunizations for children ages 6 months to 5 years. Our practice will be receiving an allotment of the Moderna vaccine. Our current times for administering the vaccine will be as follows:

1st dose June 29th (9AM - 12noon)

2nd dose July 27th (9AM-12noon)

OR

1st dose July 13th (9AM - 12noon)

2nd dose Aug 16th (9AM - 12noon)

If you would like to schedule your child’s appointments for his/her immunization, please call 781-631-7800.

Outpatient Pediatrician Opportunity

Dear Families of Marblehead Pediatrics,

Marblehead Pediatrics is looking to add a new pediatrician to our ranks. If you know of an excellent candidate to join in caring for our children, we would love to hear from you. Our job description and ideal candidate would be as follows:

Job description - Pediatrician

Marblehead Pediatrics provides comprehensive health care to infants, children, adolescents and young adults from birth to age 22. Our medical staff currently includes three pediatricians, one certified nurse practitioners and additional medical support staff. We pride ourselves on providing personalized care to all our patients.

MD/DO Pediatrician in a well-established, thriving practice.  PT (2-3 days) or FT (4 days) plus On-Call Medical Care on a rotating basis (equally shared by 4 providers) when the office is closed, including early morning, lunch and evenings.  Weekend on-call includes Saturday morning office hours. Level 2 Nursery, with neonatal coverage.

Great benefits include fully paid health insurance (single plan), 401K, vacation and sick time.

Job Type: Full-time or part-time

Qualifications

1.      MD or DO

2.      Current Massachusetts Medical License

3.      Current D.E.A. Certificate

4.      Board Eligible or Board Certified in Pediatrics. If Board Eligible at the time of hire, must be Board Certified within 3 years of hire date.

5.      Insurability (malpractice)

Send inquires and CV to our office manager Lisa Smith at 781-631-7800 or marbleheadpediatrics@yahoo.com

A Message from Hillary Johnson

Dear families of Marblehead Pediatrics,

It’s bittersweet. After a lot of consideration I have decided to step away from my position at Marblehead Pediatrics in order to devote time to my growing family. I am overjoyed to now join your ranks as a mother and parent as we welcomed our son Ollie to the world in January. I’m grateful and humbled that you've allowed me to be in partnership with you, in caring for the wellbeing of your children and I’ve been deeply enriched by our relationships. I wish you all well and anticipate I’ll still be seeing you around town. Be well.

~Hillary Johnson