Parents:

01/07/2022: NY Covid19 Vaccination Registration -   http://vaccineform.health.ny.gov/

Covid Questions and Answers:  Covid Vaccine Q & A

01/07/2022: The West/Camillus office will be reopened this coming Monday Jan 10th. We appreciate your understanding with the office changes during this time. Stay well and call us with any questions or concerns.

Dear Parents, 

This morning I was informed that our practice is dealing with an acute shortage of administrative, nursing and provider shortages, due to COVID infections as well as personal issues and limitations.  We are doing everything we can to accommodate the health care needs of your children.  I will be working extra hours at the Liverpool office in order to provide care for your children if they are ill and need to be seen.  Unfortunately, alternate care sites such as WellNow, Community Afterhours and the Emergency Rooms are overwhelmed as well.  The nursing staff is available to you by phone if you need health care advice for your children.  I will make every effort to care for your children if they are very ill and need to be evaluated.  Please be patient with my staff during this very difficult time and as always, we remain committed to your family’s needs.  

Dr. Dracker

11/5/2021 Office Update:

Please know that when you call our office it is our goal to help you the best that we can. Sometimes, there can be stumbling blocks and matters that may not be ideal. We are working hard to make sure our patients get the care they need with the utmost respect and urgency. Please as you call in or visit, know we are busy this time of year and sometimes we might not be able to help as quickly as we would have previously. We understand your frustrations during these times, but ask that you treat us just as you would want your family to be treated. Yelling, verbal abuse, vulgar language is not called for and will not be tolerated. We thank you all for your continued support and look forward to helping you all through this year and hopefully into a brighter 2022. If you have any questions or concerns, you are more than welcome to contact me here. 

Joshua – Office Manager

12/7/2021: Attention Parents/Legal Guardians: We are now using a new Appointment Reminder system. This system only allows for Text and/or E-mail reminders. If you need to update your information, you can update your demographics in your portal or give the office a call.

10/4/2021: UPDATED CHECKIN INFORMATION:

Effective 10/4/21, we would like to ask that whenever possible, only one parent attend their child’s appointment due to the increase of COVID cases/exposures. For newborns, we will allow 2 healthy parents up and through the 2 month well visit. We prefer that no other siblings/children come to the office if possible. If your child has been ill and is scheduled for a well visit, we ask that you call ahead to see if you should reschedule. If your child has been tested and is pending COVID test results, or if your child has been exposed, we ask that you reschedule your appointment as well. Additionally, we want to remind parents that we are still enforcing mask wearing whenever you are in the office (including in the exam rooms). We appreciate your consideration of this request and our efforts to keep everyone safe and healthy and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call.

Please follow our Facebook @summerwoodpediatrics for more up dated information.

2/22/21: It is now an office policy that if you need to obtain a form or document electronically, you must have an active patient portal for us to send it to you. If you do not currently have access to you child's portal, please call the office for details. Thank you!

We now offer telemedicine appointments! For more info....

6/21/21: EMAIL POLICY

Effective July 1st, 2021 we will no longer be emailing medical information from the office. All information requested will need to be either picked up, faxed (with proper release on file) or submitted to the patient portal. If you need portal activation information, please contact the office. Additionally, the release to share information with schools, daycares, camps, etc. is now available to be filled out electronically through our website (www.summerwoodpediatrics.com). It can be found under the Patients tab, under Forms (Third Party release).
Thank you!

A Letter from Dr. Dracker  - dated 12/29/2021

Dear Parents and Children

The one consistent aspect of this COVID Pandemic is that nothing is consistent!  The virus itself changes, vaccination guidelines and recommendations change, treatments change, and the responses to infections change.  Usually, I am the first one to say that “Change” is a good thing.  But recently, all of these experienced changes have resulted in undue anxiety, interpersonal strife and daily uncertainties.   My staff, patients, relatives and friends all ask me why there is so much uncertainty with COVID, and believe me, I consider all of the related issues constantly.  I thought I would share some of my personal opinions and explanations for some of the most pressing issues and misunderstandings. 

• The predominance of current COVID infections are considered to be due to the OMICRON variant, which as compared to the Delta variant, has enhanced infectivity and transmission but with decreased virulence and disease complications.
• The corona viruses as a class are prone to mutation.  Coronaviruses are very old and varied viruses which are known to infect humans and many animal species.  When a particular coronavirus infectious a large population and is very infectious in nature, mutations are very common.  As a result, the OMICRON variant will not be the last version we will be dealing with.
• The immune response to corona virus infections are not durable or long lasting, and antibody levels fall and become less protective after 3 to 5 months, therefore you can have subsequent infections with the virus.  Studies have shown that an infections in individuals who have been fully vaccinated develop very robust or strong immune responses which are much longer lasting.
• We now know that even if you have been fully vaccinated with three COVID vaccines, you can still develop and spread an infection.  The injectable vaccines do not necessarily result in adequate protection at the site of virus entry, specifically out nose and respiratory tract.  Injectable vaccines do however prevent serious systemic or body wide infections which usually do not require hospitalizations or serious complications.  The majority of patients who are requiring hospitalizations and intensive care support or who die from an infection are usually those not vaccinated.
• Antiviral medications which have been developed and approved by the FDA are not yet readily available and may not be useful for all patients due to its limited use when individuals are taking other medications that may cross react in some manner.  These medications could be useful in those who have not been vaccinated and who are at risk for developing severe infections, such as those with pre-existent medical conditions.
• The use of masks, good personal hygiene and avoiding crowds of individuals who might be unvaccinated or infected are still and will continue to be very effective preventative measures.
• In my opinion, the ultimate development and distribution of an intra-nasal vaccine which will result in an immune response in the respiratory tract where the virus first attacks, will by the most effective means of stopping this pandemic.  Multiple studies are currently being conducted to develop this alternate vaccine approach which I believe holds the greatest promise.

I will continue to keep you informed of any information I become aware of and please let me know if I can be of assistance to you and your families,

Dr. Dracker