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www.FredericksburgParent.NET 11 Sponsored Material Ask the Expert a sk t h e e x p e rt Q: How does Mary Washington Pediatrics work to make accessing healthcare more convenient for families? Dr. Kelly: Our patient portal, MyChart, improves convenience for par- ents in a lot of ways. You may have a quick question, and you can just send that through the portal over to our team and we can address that if possible via a quick message back to you. It may not always necessar- ily need a call-in or a visit, which of course is more time-consuming and may lead to kids missing school. Through MyChart, parents can also access important medical informa- tion such as vaccine records, lab results and well-check dates with ease. To learn more, visit practices.mwhc.com, and click on Pediatrics on the left-hand navigation. Dr. Nicole A. Kelly, MD, CLC, and Dr. Hala Hasan, MD, are two mem- bers of the Mary Washington team who are passionate about helping families and children. Dr. Hala Hasan, MD Dr. Nicole A. Kelly, MD, CLC Q: How are Mary Washington Pediatrics providers monitoring patients' mental health? Dr. Hasan: Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, but certainly since then, we have seen a rise in mental-health admissions among U.S. children and adolescents. We practice in accordance with the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines. Starting around age 12, we screen for depression, and then if we have a concern that a child may be exhibiting signs of anxiety, then we will screen for anxiety. Then we proceed to conducting additional screenings as necessary. This is an area where having a long- term relationship with our patients is a benefit, because the screening tools don't always capture every potential mental health issue. So, if we are aware of risk factors over the course of our treatment of the patient, we can specifically ask about potential problems that might not show up in the screenings. It's important for us to be vigilant and to catch things early, and also to incorporate mental health into our preventative visits, by educating children on things they can do to protect their mental health, like getting adequate sleep, exercising, connecting with family and friends and practicing mindfulness when they can. Finding providers for adolescent mental health can be difficult, and Mary Washington Healthcare is working to address this. The healthcare sys- tem recently welcomed Dr. Jamesha Lewis Bryant, DO, to the behavioral health team, giving area parents access to a child and adolescent psychia- trist without leaving the community. Q: As we approach cold and flu season, what is your advice for helping to keep children out of the doctor's office? Dr. Kelly: It's pretty basic, but hand washing is one of the best things parents can encourage to try to prevent the spread of these winter-time viruses. Having that bottle of hand sani- tizer in the backpack that kids can use and encouraging frequent hand washing while they are at school as well as when they get home is important, as well as discouraging things like sharing drinks at school. I would also encourage parents to stay up to date with the seasonal vaccinations that their child should be getting if they are eligible. Influenza, which we see in large numbers every winter, can make even healthy kids very sick. Those who are 6 months and older are recom- mended to have a flu shot every year. And for infants, the RSV injection is now recommend- ed for infants under 8 months going into their first winter. That can definitely help keep infants out of the hospital, and have a less severe infection if they do encounter RSV.