Illness does not recognize holidays, so here is how RCAM plans to be available during the holiday season:
It is our wish to be your child’s medical home – one place where all your child’s care resides.
That means being available for questions:
Every day of the year one of our pediatricians is on call 24-hours-a-day for urgent health concerns.
If you ever have urgent concerns about your child’s health – you can always call us:919-781-7490(If there is trouble with the above number, our on call backup number is 919-831-5526)
That means being available to be seen – even if it is a holiday or a weekend:
We strive to keep our patients out of Urgent Cares and Pharmacy Clinics.
Emergency Rooms provide a vital service but – when possible – we want to keep you from having to go there too.
On weekends and holidays, we will see children with urgent medical concerns beginning in the morning by appointment only (call first – there are no walk-in appointments on holidays or weekends).
Christmas Day is the only day of the year that we do not see patients in our office (but we are available by phone all day).
Wednesday – November 27
Typical, regular weekday business hours at both the Duraleigh and Brier Creek offices
September 26, 2019 – It came a little later than usual – but still with plenty of time to have your child vaccinated before we see increasing flu illness.
Now Is A Good Time To Schedule Your Child’s Flu Vaccination
We have flu vaccine for ALL children ages 6 months old and up
Call and schedule an appointment for your children in one of our Flu Vaccination Clinics
Flu illness is most common in the fall and winter; the incidence starts to go up in October; the peak incidence is typically not until February
Flu vaccine provides coverage for about six months – that means if you get a Flu Vaccine today, you can expect it to be working for you through the end of March
Some Facts About Flu Vaccine
Flu vaccine decreases the likelihood of catching the flu. In other words, some children who get flu vaccine may still catch the flu – but you have a better chance of not catching the flu if you have had your flu vaccine
Flu vaccine does not cause the flu – the CDC has more details about why we are so sure that flu vaccine does not cause the flu (and other flu vaccine misconceptions) here
We again are only offering the ‘flu shot’ version of the flu vaccine – maybe next year, but so far the information about Flumist (the ‘nasal spray’ version) has not convinced pediatricians that it is back to being effective again
We have both state-supplied and private-supplied flu vaccine – both are the same flu vaccine – the only difference is who is providing the vaccine
Dr. Gessner Demonstrates the Appropriate Mood…
…When all your children have had their flu vaccine prior to flu season…
September 5, 2019 – We are having regular business hours at both our Duraleigh and Brier Creek offices.
As the rain is coming down now and with the winds to come this evening, we will finish up like typical this afternoon but will cancel tonight’s Weekday Evening On Call Clinic.
To summarize:
We will be in both offices until about 5pm today
Thursday Night Evening On Call Clinic is cancelled
Dr. Sarah Owrey is on call tonight and will be available for urgent phone calls
The plan right now for tomorrow is to have a regular day. We will of course reassess as we get up tomorrow in the early morning and know more about the affects of Hurricane Dorian passing by overnight.
Patients are seen by appointment only on all holidays and weekends.
If you think your child may need to be seen this Saturday, Sunday or Monday, call 919-781-7490 in the morning after 9 am and speak to the nurse working with the On Call Pediatrician.
Saturday Weekend Clinic, Sunday Weekend Clinic and Monday’s Labor Day Holiday Clinic will all begin at 10am. Clinic ending time will vary depending on how busy we are.
After clinic, we are available to speak by phone about any urgent concerns you may have.
August 30, 2019 – In an historic first, we will be changing our website banner a wee bit early.
Fall doesn’t come until September 23rd but announcements have been piling up.
Also, the weather has been a little cooler (I know – I am sure we’ll be in the 90s by the time this posts) and college football begins a full schedule this weekend so here we go…
With Dr. Carr retiring and Emily now Dr. Mims, it is taking some time to update letterhead, name tags, door placards,etc…. but don’t let that confuse you when you see or hear Dr. Mims’ name.
It wouldn’t be a Fall Banner change without mentioning Influenza (“Flu”) Vaccine.
Our supply won’t arrive before October (though it appears the pharmacies already have their supply). October and November are typically good months to get your flu vaccine. Injectible flu vaccine lasts about 6 months. If you get your flu vaccine in October, it should last through March – which is good because that is typically a busy month for flu. Stay tuned though as there have been some reports of early flu activity.
August 28, 2019 – Short, meaningful story: One day in the late 1970’s, a medical student witnessed a pediatric resident spending her lunch with a young patient in the Burn Center at the North Carolina Children’s Hospital and thought to herself, “That’s the kind of pediatrician I would like to be.”
Story twist: Turns out that story includes two now former pediatricians from our office as the medical student was Leigh Lehan, MD and the pediatric resident was Marjorie Carr, MD.
Fast forward: June 22, 2018: Dr. Lehan retired from RCAM.
August 28, 2019: Dr. Carr retires from RCAM.
Summary: RCAM has said goodbye to two legends in the last 14 months.
Today was Dr. Carr’s last day. Tomorrow will be a different day for her. And it will be a very different one for our office.
Dr. Carr brought real passion and skill for pediatric medicine to RCAM when she arrived in 1979. if you are wondering about her impact, check out the reactions to a recent Facebook post about her nearing retirement:
Thank you Dr. Carr for forty years of attentive and excellent care for the children of the Triangle!
What you have been doing each day – caring for our most vulnerable and most important members of society – our children – has been so important and so splendidly done!
Their is a lot of wellness going around again this summer with a lot of families taking care of their annual physicals.
If your child needs a sports physical, your child’s annual well visit will cover that.
Also, remember that a sports physical is valid for sports participation in Wake County Public Schools for 13 months after the date of exam.
So, if your health insurance is like mine and requires 365 days between each will visit, you still have another month to schedule your child’s next well visit / sports physical. Don’t be pressured into going to an Urgent Care of Minute Clinic –taking your child to see their pediatrician for their annual visit is very important.
2-Nurse Shannon B. Had a Baby Boy
Many of you have been following the pregnancy of Shannon B., one of our nurses from our Brier Creek office.
A few weeks ago she gave birth to her baby boy. He weighed in at a healthy 6 lbs and 9 oz. Everyone is doing great.
3-Dr. Carr’s Last Day at RCAM is August 28th
Dr. Carr has been a huge part of Raleigh Childrens & Adolescents Medicine for quite some time.
Next month she will retire after almost 40 years of caring for the children of the Triangle.
How do you say goodbye to a legend?
4-Happy 4th of July
Reminder: this is a holiday week:
Monday thru Wednesday, July 1st-3rd: Duraleigh and Brier Creek Offices both open regular weekday hours
Thursday, July 4th – Duraleigh and Brier Creek Offices both closed for the Independence Day holiday; holiday coverage described here (in short, a limited clinic starting at 10am at the Duraleigh office)
Friday, July 5th – Duraleigh and Brier Creek Offices back to being open regular weekday hours
