Summerwood Pediatrics

Available COVID testing sites Additionally-Upstate at Community on Broad Road in Syracuse has a pediatric after hours urgent care open from 4 to 10 pm Monday thru Friday and 12 to 8 on Saturday and Sunday. They will evaluate your child and test for COVID. They are not just testing. Their test is a nasal swab with results within a few days. No appointment needed.

Dear Parents, I apologize for the fact that it has been a couple of weeks since I have written. We have been very busy with last minute immunizations, exams and dealing with notes needed for children so that they can return to school. As we anticipated, we have been seeing an increase in children being diagnosed with COVID, however most of them have not been that ill, and we have not witnessed the high degree of transmission we always worry about. I believe that the contin...Continue reading

As Halloween quickly approaches, we must remember to keep everyone safe and healthy during COVID. Please see Governor Cuomo's latest notice to staying safe and having a spooky, not scary, Halloween!

Check out this blog by summerwoodpediatrics.com

Dear Parents, Being Thanksgiving week, we are challenged with regards to what we should be thankful for. It is easy to feel cynical or negative about our current lives and society, given the changes we have had to endure and evolving preventative health measures telling us to not gather with our families and friends. Children too have obviously been affected by their irregular school schedules, difficulties with remote learning and the lack of social interactions with their c...lassmates and playmates. The pandemic and its associated unprecedented effects on the entire world have resulted in tremendous changes in public health measures and strained the health care systems of all countries. We have lost friends, colleagues and family members in an unpredictable manner due to a unique infection which has plagued all of us in one way or another. However, this unique coronavirus is not an enemy per se, nor does it consciously attack the weak and unsuspecting. It is an illness which is opportunistic in nature, easily spread to the world’s naïve population which has not had the benefit of prior immune experience or exposure which ultimately results in its spread and adverse effects. This virus is part of the world’s nature and biology, being no different than other pandemics which have afflicted humankind in the past. What is different at this juncture is our humanity, the commitment of our health care workers and the creativity and tireless efforts of the world’s scientific community in dealing with the urgent needs of our entire population. We have been told how to limit the spread of the illness through obvious public health measures including masks, distancing and personal and environmental hygiene. The identification of the causative virus was incredibly rapid, not only in the virologic identification of the pathogen, but also the complete genetic composure of the virus itself. There have been innumerable therapeutic and preventative studies implemented by all nations, the data from which having been shared without prejudice. Despite the fact that it seems like it is taking forever to have a cure and a vaccine, we will have effective treatment and vaccine options in less than a year, which is unparalleled in medical history. I would like to suggest that this Thanksgiving is more meaningful and significant than any we have previously celebrated since its inception in 1621. The harvest we can now celebrate can be that of love and caring for each other, and recognition that our societal harvest is that of measures to specifically eradicate a disease which is a product of our world’s nature. Now more than ever we need to continue to care for our families and children and to appreciate the efforts each of us can make for the benefit of humanity. Have a Very Happy Thanksgiving Sincerely, Dr. Dracker

Taco Tuesday and Covid pinata fun at lunch!

Dear Parents, Most schools are now back in session, regardless of the format they are using. Those schools who have children attending in person seem to be utilizing effective protocols in keeping your children safe, while being able to respond immediately if they are notified that a student or teacher has tested positive. As you know there have been continued reports of some school children being positive for COVID-19. We anticipate that this will increase with time and re...Continue reading

Dear Parents, As expected, we have been experiencing slowly increasing numbers of children that we find are positive for the COVID virus. Most of them have been only mildly ill and have not required hospitalization. Child with positive test results, however, do have a major impact on their families and schools if they are attending classes. Besides the need for quarantine of family members and close contacts, there are the unpredictable risks with regards to the possibilit...Continue reading

Join us for a Back-to-School Supply Giveaway! On Sunday October 4th, 2020, we will be hosting a supply giveaway in conjunction with Fidelis Care. There will be multiple vendors giving away school supplies to help our school-aged children. There will also be an ICE CREAM TRUCK, providing each child with 1 free ice cream of their choice. Come enjoy this event with us! Please be aware that all face masks are required and we will be maintaining social distancing guidelines. ... Please note: The office is closed this day! If your child is sick, please stay home and call the office on Monday morning if you think your child needs an appointment. We look forward to seeing you there!!! #summerwoodpediatrics #fideliscare #backtoschool #giveaway #icecream

Dear Parents, Well school, for most children, is back in session in one form or another. Education seems to range from traditional in-school with masks, distancing, washing and bag lunches to remote learning at home, increasing the burden to parents and to children themselves. For the most part, people in Central New York have been very compliant with efforts to minimize infectious risks. We continue to have very low, test positivity rates and few COVID related hospitaliza...Continue reading

Flu Vaccination Clinics Please be advised we have opened our Flu Clinics for the season. We will be performing vaccinations on Saturday mornings and Monday afternoons/early evenings. We are offering both the Flu injection and the Flu Mist (nasal)forms this year so let us know when scheduling which form you prefer. We are utilizing new protocols and procedures to ensure patient safety, so we ask for your patience and understanding. Please arrive at the scheduled appointment ti...me and not earlier. You may enter the building if you are here for Flu vaccine administration (no need to call and check-in over the phone). We do remind you that we are still requiring face masks upon entering. A receptionist will take the temperatures of all of those entering the building. If your child has a fever, they will need to reschedule. Additionally, if you or your child have been tested for COVID and are pending test results, or are showing COVID symptoms, we will need to reschedule. Thank you for helping us keep the children safe and healthy. Dr. Dracker See more

Please see the attached story regarding Covid testing

Dear Parents, Like many of you, I sometimes dread the first two weeks of school. It is a time when the kids urgently need physical exams, when they might need required vaccines or notes for school regarding medications or activity limitations or refills of their medications. This year has been much more complicated and difficult with regards to classes being full time for some, part time for others or none at all if either parents or school districts have decided to keep ki...Continue reading

Dear Parents, To be very honest with you, I am just as confused as you might be with regards to what direction we are all headed in! The end of the summer will officially be here this weekend, although for me, it has been the summer-that-wasn’t. Fortunately, very few of our patients have been affected by COVID and none have been hospitalized or have developed any complications. I am very proud of my staff for making efforts everyday through their concern and courtesy exten...ded to your children and families. We will all be dealing with shifting advice and recommendations this fall and winter. School attendance for now will vary from full time to part time to none, utilizing remote learning. Obviously, this will change quickly if we start to experience an increase in COVID positivity in either students or the teaching staff. Regardless of what decision each of you make for your children, I continue to be impressed with the flexibility of the schools and teachers in making sure that your children receive the academic attention they need. I am hopeful that through the continued use of masks when in public and in school, frequent hand washing and efforts to reduce close contact, we will have fall and winter seasons with very low influenza activity, upper respiratory tract infections and no abrupt increases in SARS-CoV2 cases. We will start to provide influenza vaccines, in both injectable and nasal mist forms during the third week of September. We will also be having scheduled flu clinics for your families which will be posted on our website and Facebook page. We will post here and on our website when we begin to schedule flu shots. I promise to keep all of you informed with regards to illnesses that we are experiencing and treating in our office and any new recommendations or therapies relevant to the COVID pandemic. For those of you who are normally seen at our Camillus office, we are hoping to reopen the office during late fall depending upon safety issues related to COVID. There are a number of new providers joining our practice over the next two months, including physicians and nurse practitioners. I will be providing you with introductions to them as soon as they start seeing patients. Thank you for partnering with us in keeping your children safe and healthy, and as always, please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions that could be helpful. Sincerely, Dr. Dracker

Check out this adorable video posted by the World Health Organization (WHO)! "The Minions and Gru are supporting WHO in making sure people of all ages stay safe and healthy during this COVID-19 pandemic: physically distancing being active at home... being kind to each other" See more