Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
IN-OFFICE and TELEMEDICINE VISITs ARE AVAILABLE
We offer new patient and established visits via telemedicine or in-office visits. Our providers are committed to providing quality care while keeping you and the public safe.
Call 972-539-0086 to request your appointment.
POST DATE: APRIL 20, 2022
pOST DATE: AUGUST 19, 2021
MASK POLICY UPDATE: AUGUST 11,2021
- Due to the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases here and around the country, we ask that you wear a medical-grade mask and social distance.
- We have a medical-grade mask for you; ask the business office representative or a nurse if you need one.
Thank you so much for being so cooperative.
Let’s Stay Healthy Together!
age 12 and older now eligible for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
POST DATE: May 13, 2021
Although fewer children have been infected with COVID-19 compared to adults, children can be infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, can get sick from COVID-19, and can spread COVID-19 to others. CDC recommends COVID-19 vaccination for everyone 12 years of age and older to help protect against COVID-19. Children 12 years of age and older are able to get the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine.
JOHNSON & JOHNSON VACCINE UPDATE
POST DATE: April 14, 2021
As of April 12, more than 6.8 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine have been administered in the U.S. CDC, and FDA is reviewing data involving six reported U.S. cases of a rare and severe type of blood clot in individuals after receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
At present, the adverse events of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine appear to be extremely rare. The 6 reactions noted occurred in woman between 3-13 days after the vaccine. If you have received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine and develop a severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of breath within three weeks after vaccination, contact your healthcare provider, or seek medical care.
Report adverse events following receipt of any COVID-19 vaccine to VAERS.
covid-19 vaccine
POST DATE: January 5, 2021
We are encouraging all of our patients to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. If you have concerns regarding the COVID-19 vaccine or have had a reaction to a vaccine in the past, we would like you to schedule a telemedicine or in-house appointment to discuss this with your provider.
At this time, FAAC does not have the COVID-19 Vaccine available.
Questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine? CLICK HERE
POST DATE: May 1, 2020
For more information, see Executive Order GA-19 and Texas Medical Board’s standards for safe practice related to COVID-19.
POST DATE: April 22, 2020
Dear patients,
FAAC strives to be a source of accurate, helpful information for our community. To that end, we would like to share the following information with our patients.
1. In the spirit of caring for our community and assisting our healthcare colleagues on the front-lines of the current pandemic, FAAC is committed to staying available to you, our patients. We are here for you, wherever you are. While you are at home, we have Telemedicine up and running. We are also seeing patients in the clinic with added protections. These policies are updated often based on current evidence. Current protections include:
§ Disinfection of all surfaces every 2 hours and between patients.
§ All staff wear masks at all times and are screened daily for fevers.
§ In-person appointments are only scheduled at your Physician or Physician Assistant’s discretion after you are seen through a telemedicine visit.
§ When a provider feels that their patient should be seen in person, the patient is pre-screened, checked for fever, and wears a mask while in the clinic.
§ Appointment times are spaced out to allow adequate physical distancing.
§ Only well patients enter through the front of the clinic.
2. The symptoms of the novel coronavirus can overlap with allergies and asthma. We want all of our patients to stay as healthy as possible, which is why we are continuing immunotherapy with added protections. Currently:
§ All immunotherapy patients are pre-screened by a nurse at the door.
§ The number of patients in shot waiting room is strictly controlled. If there are more than 10 patients waiting, you may be asked to wait in your car until you are able to receive your injection. All patients must still remain in the clinic during the post-injection wait period in case of allergic reaction.
§ The post-injection wait period has been shortened to 20 minutes for patients with no asthma or history of systemic reactions in order to reduce the amount of time that patients are in the clinic.
§ Patients older than 60 years on immunotherapy are encouraged to come in the morning to minimize their exposure to others.
§ We request that all patients wear a mask when coming into the clinic for allergy shots. Masks help protect your family in addition to other patients and our staff.
3. To stay healthy, we encourage you to review the following guidelines:
§ Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds as often as possible.
§ Follow social distancing guidelines from the CDC.
§ To find trusted and accurate information about the pandemic, we encourage you to turn to public health institutions like the CDC and state health departments.
§ If you are experiencing an allergic reaction and there is time, please call us first before going to an ER or urgent care. This helps limit your possible exposure to COVID-19 and decreases the burden on emergency and urgent care centers during this time.
§ For our patients with life-threatening allergies: be sure to have at least 2 working epinephrine auto-injectors with you at all times.
§ Finally, if you have any medical questions, we highly encourage you to schedule a telemedicine visit to discuss your concerns with our providers.
We are grateful for all of you and each other in these times. To those of you working to keep our utilities, grocery stores, pharmacies, and other essential services running: we appreciate you. To our patients who are immunocompromised: we are here for you. To everyone: help keep your friends and neighbors safe.
FAAC is taking this journey together with you, and we are committed to our mission of bringing good health and peace of mind to our patients and our community.
Thank you
Post Date: April 6, 2020
Coronavirus or Allergies?
The spring pollen season is upon us! Our FAAC pollen counters are reporting record high tree pollen and the grasses are starting to bloom as well. (www.faaccares.com/pollen). All the visible yellow pollen on cars, driveways and trashcans is causing the usual spring miseries of sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes and coughing. Currently, the COVID-19 pandemic is making these symptoms particularly worrisome to the more than 50 million allergy sufferers in the U.S. because of the overlap of symptoms seen with ordinary allergies and COVID-19. An otherwise annoying spring sneeze or cough now has the potential to cause fear and anxiety.
Although cough is a common symptom in both the pandemic and seasonal allergies, there are several differences in symptoms between the two diseases. Allergy symptoms include sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, and occasionally cough. On the other hand, COVID-19 causes fever, shortness of breath, and body aches in addition to cough. Runny nose is rarely a symptom of the novel coronavirus.
COVID-19 tips for spring allergy sufferers.
Your allergy symptoms may lead to the feeling of constantly needing to scratch your eyes, nose, or face, but this behavior makes it easier to spread the virus. Here’s what you can do to help:
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Use tissues as much as possible to cover your sneezes. Throw the tissue away after use into a closed container.
- Continue to take your routine allergy medications consistently, including nasal sprays, decongestants, and antihistamines.
- Remove clothes you’ve worn outside and shower to rinse pollen from your skin and hair.
- Close doors and windows at night and on days when pollen counts are high.
- Avoid outdoor activity in the early morning when pollen counts are highest.
Remember, the best way to give yourself peace of mind about whether your symptoms are a result of allergies or COVID-19 is to take your allergy medications consistently. If your symptoms go away after taking allergy medications and you don’t have other coronavirus symptoms, it is likely that you are dealing with allergies, not COVID-19
Dear Family Allergy & Asthma CARE
Your health, safety, and continued well-being remains our number one priority. Due to the current COVID-19 outbreak, we’ve made some updates to our treatment plans for existing patients.
CLINIC IS OPEN with the following modifications:
- If you have an upcoming appointment scheduled within the month, we will be contacting you to convert your in-office visit to a telemedicine visit. These visits allow you face-to-face time with your provider.
- Telemedicine visits limit our ability to perform physical exams and vital signs. If you have a peak flow meter, pulse oximeter, thermometer and/or blood pressure cuff, please have these available during your visit. It is also helpful to have your medications or medication list present.
- Our goal with these visits is to help you manage your allergies and asthma so that you can adhere to the very necessary stay-at-home orders currently in effect. Managing your allergies and asthma is more important than ever during this pandemic.In person office visits (after appropriate pre-screening)
– Patients who need ongoing treatment such as Xolair, Fasenra, and Nucala
– Patients in need of emergency care (such as allergic reactions to foods or medications)
– Patients identified during a tele-med visit as needing to be seen
SHOT ROOM is OPEN with the following modifications based on national guidelines:
- A nurse will screen everyone who enters. If your temperature is >99.5 you will be asked to step out, and the nurse will assist you with any necessary triage.
- We will require appropriate social distancing by limiting the number of patients in our waiting rooms. You may be asked to wait in your car based on the number of patients in the waiting room after you are screened. We will call you on your cell phone when your shot is ready.
- As always, it is important to remain in the clinic after your injection for our staff to monitor and care for you promptly in case of an allergic reaction.
- Shortened wait times after shots to 20 minutes for patients who have never had a systemic reaction and do not have asthma
FAAC PATIENT PORTAL / PHONES ARE ON
Due to heavy phone call volumes, we encourage you to communicate through the patient portal.
While we strongly recommend that you and everyone in your family follow stay-at-home orders and practice strict social distancing in order to stop the spread of this virus, we also believe that helping you control your allergies, asthma, and immune dysfunction is essential to decrease your risks related to COVID-19. We will continue to provide the safest, most up-to-date care possible with strict screening and infection control protocols in place.
We understand this is a stressful and anxious time for everyone. We want to be here for you now more than ever! Getting through difficult times reminds us of our collective strength and to be thankful for what truly matters.
Thank You
POST DATE: March 15, 2020
Thank you for reaching out to us about your health concerns as they relate to Covid-19. For background information on this novel virus, please click the link on our website to access the Center for Disease Control website for the most up to date information. Family Allergy and Asthma CARE is following the recommendations of the CDC because they are in the forefront of the situation and are the best place to find the most up to date information regarding travel recommendations as well as other needed information about COVID-19.
If you are concerned that you may have COVID-19, have been in contact with someone who is infected with the virus, or have traveled recently to an area with a high rate of infection, please call the office and ask to speak to the COVID – 19 triage desk for instructions and coordination of your care. We will help you identify the best place to go for triage and testing.
Ultimately, the question that we want to help you address is whether your asthma or immunodeficiency diagnosis puts you in the high-risk population for more severe symptoms if you contract the Covid-19 virus. FAAC providers believe that the optimum way to help you make informed decisions is through our phone triage and /or a tele-med visit with a FAAC provider. Please call the office (972-539-0086) to let us help you navigate through these unprecedented times.
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