Back in March, the United States went from a hustling and bustling hive of activity to a ghost town, seemingly in the blink of an eye. As businesses shuttered their doors and families sheltered at home, maintenance of our homes, cars, and even our bodies was put on indefinite hold as we watched and waited.
Now that we’re beginning to get back to a new normal, your list of things to do is long, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned along the way, your health is paramount.
At Primary Care Associates of Maryland, our team, under the expert direction of Dr. Praveen Bolarum, is ready to pick up where we left off, and that starts with your all-important primary care. From preventive care to management of chronic conditions, we’re ready to move forward, and we’ve taken the necessary steps to ensure your safety and ours.
When you come to see us, things may be a little different from what you’re used to as we follow local, state, and federal guidelines regarding protection, sanitization, and distancing.
To start, we’re staggering appointment times so that our waiting rooms can accommodate proper social-distancing guidelines. As well, we take great care to sanitize our offices, from surfaces to instruments.
All of our staff members are properly outfitted with personal protective equipment, and we ask that patients wear face coverings as well.
When you come in, we take your temperature, but we do ask that if you’re feeling ill, you call us beforehand and let us know.
As we all wait for a vaccine for COVID-19, let’s not forget that we already have vaccines for other serious and contagious diseases. Vaccinations in the United States dropped by 60% in April, which is worrisome.
Even more concerning is that measles vaccinations dropped 73% during the same month and were still down by 36% at the end of June. We had all but eradicated measles in the US, and we’d hate to see a resurgence of this disease, as it can tear through our younger population very quickly.
If your child hasn't been vaccinated yet, we urge you to get that done as quickly as possible. And everyone in the family should get their flu shot this year, as we have enough to worry about without adding another viral infection to the mix.
When it comes to important screenings like colonoscopies and mammograms, these procedures dropped off by 88% and 77% respectively in April, and both were still down in June. These simple screenings are so very important to your health, so if you’ve put them off because of COVID-19, let’s get you back onto a healthy screening schedule as quickly as possible.
The bottom line is that we’re here to help you catch up on — and stay one step ahead of — your family’s health through our primary care services, and that starts with an annual physical. To schedule your annual exams or to get your vaccinations, contact one of our three offices in Frederick and Clarksburg, Maryland.
