Check out our new website!

We are excited to announce that we have given our website a facelift. This is just a part of our ongoing effort to provide our patients and their families with the most up to date, and easily accessible medical information and resources. Please take a moment to check it out, and if you have any comments or suggestions, use our new "Contact Us" feature to let us know what you think. Please bear with us during this construction period, some of our links might not work at first, but we are continuously working to provide you with the best resources available.

We are offering a Free Child ID and Safety Session

Wednesday July 12th 3pm - Lt. Gunter from the Chapel Hill Police Community Services Department will be coming to Chapel Hill Children's Clinic with Child ID kits and to offer general safety tips to interested parents. This will be a great opportunity for parents to have their safety questions answered by a professional and also a great opportunity to ensure the safety of your child with the ID kits. Lt. Gunter will be guiding parents on how to complete the ID kits. These kits can either be completed at our office or at home, so bringing your child is optional. The informational session is expected to last for approximately 1 hour. Space is limited so please R.S.V.P to our office at: (919)967-0771 by Friday July 7th.

Grand Opening Celebration news!

We had our Grand Opening Celebration on Sunday, June 4th. It was a huge success! We had many existing and future patients come to celebrate with us. The Bouncing Bulldogs jump rope team was here to do a demonstration, an amazing display of athletic ability! It was a great way to kick off our new beginning in our new home, and we are sure there are many more good times to come!.

Welcome New Faces to the Staff at Chapel Hill Children’s Clinic!

We are very happy to welcome more new faces to CHCC. We welcome Sandy Walker to our nursing department. She has many years of pediatric nursing experience and we are very happy and fortunate to add her to our staff. Goodbye to Julia Lebetkin, who leaves our front desk staff to move to Colorado.

Sun Fun

Summer sunshine is warm and wonderful, but it can be hard on your skin. The perils of overexposure to sun have gotten a lot of attention, but they deserve that attention. Painful sunburns, skin cancer, and premature aging of the skin are the most common sun-related problems.
                                             
Sunburn is insidious. It takes hours after you get out of the sun to develop fully. You may go inside feeling that you got a little sun, but a few hours later realize you have a painful burn.

Babies, children, and adolescents have special issues with sun over-exposure. A baby’s skin is more sensitive to burning and burns are more serious in babies. They are dependent on others to notice their danger and to protect them. Children’s skin is more sensitive than that of adults, and they often spend extended periods of time outside playing at the pool or beach or playground. Adolescents are often sun worshippers who feel that they cannot look good unless they are tan.

Sand and water
Sand and water (and snow/ice) can increase your exposure to the ultraviolet rays that cause sunburn. They act like a reflector and help the sun get to places such as the bottom of your nose or under your chin, as well as vastly increasing the amount of exposure to the usual parts of your body. Extra caution must be exercised to protect you from sun on water, sand, and snow/ice.

Cool and cloudy
Cool temperatures don’t protect you from sun. Cloudy days can’t give you sun safety either. Clouds may reduce exposure somewhat, but most of the UV rays get through. And clouds may give you a false sense of safety from sunburn.

Medications, etc.
Many medications can increase sun sensitivity, some more than others. Many of the topical acne medications, oral antibiotics (such as the tetracycline/doxycycline family, ciproflox, sulfa drugs), antifungals (like griseofulvin), Lasix, and ibuprofen can increase sun sensitivity. Lime juice and other plants juices can increase sun sensitivity if they get on the skin. Some illnesses also make you more sun sensitive.

Sun ProtectionThere are 3 principle ways to protect yourself and your children from sun over-exposure.

• Stay indoors during the time of most direct sunshine, approximately 11am to 3pm.
• Wear protective clothing, hats with brims, sun glasses, beach umbrellas.
• Use sunscreen.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is even saying it’s OK to use sunscreen on tiny babies on a small percentage of their bodies, for example, their faces. Apply sunscreen liberally, optimally 30 minutes before going out into the sun, repeat applications frequently, and remember that even sunscreens with a high SPF cannot protect you indefinitely.

Care of sunburns
Once you have a sunburn, what should you do? First, get out of the sun and stay out. Take ibuprofen as soon as possible. Drink plenty of fluids.

Like other burns, sunburns vary in severity. Very severe widespread burns some times require admission to the hospital or even to a burn unit. Mild (first degree) burns may require only management of pain and itchiness. Moderate burns—those that blister—can be helped by cool compresses or lukewarm baths, oatmeal (for example, Aveeno) baths, calamine lotion applied 3 times a day, ibuprofen for pain, and/or benedryl for itchiness. Some children can get quite sick from sunburn—swollen face, fever, vomiting. They may need evaluation by a physician.

Though unlikely, infection can complicate burns. Watch for increased pain, redness, and swelling.

We are happy to see your child if you are concerned that you don’t know how to manage his sunburn.

Learning from mistakes
Anyone can get a sunburn. But if you get a sunburn twice, you probably are not learning from your mistakes.

Some helpful links (click or Ctrl-click on the following addresses)

• www.cdc.gov/ChooseYourCover/guide.htm
• www.epa.gov/sunwise/kids/challenge.html
• www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2005/205_tan.html (for teens, users of tanning beds)
• www.kidshealth.org/parent/firstaid_safe/sheets/sunburn_sheet.html

Margaret Morris, MD
June 27, 2006

Reminders:

Well Child Checks: Don’t forget to schedule your child’s Well Child Checks in advance.  Most school sports and camps require that your child have a physical within 12 months of the start date.

Walk-in Clinics: Please remember, walk-in clinics are for acute, sick office visits and rechecks only.  If your child has multiple problems, a long-standing problem, or if you cannot wait during walk-in hours, please schedule an appointment.  Walk-in hours are: Monday – Friday 7:30 to 9:00am, and 4:30 to 5:45pm; Saturday 9:00 to 11:30am; and Sunday 1:00 to 3:00pm.  We plan to extend our evening walk-in hours on Monday through Thursday to 6:30pm starting June 12th.

Insurance/Billing Questions: It is important for us to see your insurance card with every visit to our office.  With the many changes in insurances, verification of your current insurance at each visit will help us catch any changes preventing any future problems and frustration.  Please feel free to call our office with any billing questions you may have regarding a bill from our office.  If you have a questions specific to your insurance or are wondering if your insurance will cover any particular visits or tests, please contact your insurance company at the number listed on your card, or your Human Resources Department.

BillPay Customers: Don’t forget to change our address with your bank to ensure your payments are getting to our new location!

 

Clinic Hours:

• Monday - Friday 9:00am to 4:30pm

Walk-in hours:

• Monday - Friday: 7:30am to 9:00am AND 4:30pm to 6:30pm
• Saturday: 9:00am to 11:30am
• Sunday: 1:00pm to 3:00pm

After Hours Phone:

• 919/966-3820 OR 888/267-3675

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