JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – If your kids are crawling the walls having to stay at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re likely finding creative ways to stay occupied, and that could mean a bigger risk of sprains and broken bones.
With that in mind, Nemours Children’s Hospital is now making it easier to treat kids for issues not related to novel coronavirus.
When the pandemic started, Nemours closed all of its satellite offices. This month, Nemours started using one of them, as a “safe space” to examine kids’ injuries with minimal exposure to COVID-19.
7-year-old Addyson Janson’s outdoor activities will be a little more subdued for the next month as her wrist heals from a fracture.
“My favorite part about the day is normally going swimming and I can’t go swimming anymore until this is off,” she said.
A pediatrician suggested they go to the new walk-in Injury Clinic at Nemours Children’s Specialty Care on Old St. Augustine Road, a satellite office, now being used to handle dislocations, sprains and bone breaks, away from any coronavirus cases.
“When we first started, my first day we opened up, we had five patients show up, and now we’re averaging eight to 15 patients a day,” said Dr. Eric Loveless, Chairman of Orthopedics said.
Dr. Loveless says arriving patients are met by a staff member who takes their temperature, fills out a health questionnaire and gives them a mask before tending to any orthopedic injuries.
A quick visit so kids like Addyson can quickly focus on more important issues.
To limit the spread of COVID-19, Nemours asks that only one healthy parent or caregiver bring a child. If you feel sick, they ask that you find a healthy caregiver who can bring your child to the clinic.