On Saturday, June 8th, our Pediatric Asthma Shared Medical Appointments (SMA) officially began in Somerville! This SMA includes symptom evaluation, pulmonary function testing (PFT), individual examination, follow-up planning and providing the participants with their own Asthma Action Plan.
Children and parents came together to discuss what asthma is and to learn about the differences in their medications and about how to use a spacer. Families also learned strategies to remember medications. They learned a lot and they loved it!
Our Somerville practice is centrally located for many of our patients and is also next door to the Red Line, making it very convenient for families who live as far away as Quincy and Braintree as well as those who live in Cambridge and Boston. Driving is also extremely easy with free parking on Saturdays when we hold the SMA!
At the June 8th SMA, Kristen Beninati, our Medical Assistant from Burlington, and Tricia Benner, an RN from the Quincy Pediatrics Department, put the children and their parents at ease right away with warm greetings. They began the appointment by taking vital signs and administering PFTs. Every child completed an Asthma Control Test, and every child and parent had an opportunity to voice special concerns or to ask questions.
After the PFTs were obtained, each patient had one-on-one time during an individual exam to discuss their asthma history with Annette Grace, a Nurse Practitioner and Certified Asthma Educator from the Kenmore Pediatrics Department. Diane Janjigian, the SMA documenter carefully recorded the information from the exam into the patient’s medical record to provide a useful after visit summary for each family.
While those exams occurred, our RN, Tricia, answered questions, provided handouts, taught about allergies, inhalers and allergy appointments, and addressed specific concerns of the families. Families also had the opportunity to view all the individuals’ PFTs and learn what all those numbers and graphs mean!
At the end of the 90-minute SMA, the follow-up plans were reviewed and After-Visit Summaries (AVS) were distributed along with calendars for medication management. All these helpful items were sent home in a brand new “Breathin’ Easy” backpack. Families had a great time and learned a lot. Two-thirds of the families plan to attend the next SMA for 6-12 year olds in 2 months, on August 10th. On July 27th, we will have the first Asthma SMA for 13-18 year olds. People interested in attending either SMA should plan to arrive at the appointment at 10 am for check-in. The SMA runs from 10:30am to 12:00pm on these Saturdays.
For more information about the SMA or to register for one of the next appointments, please call your Harvard Vanguard pediatrician’s office or send a message to your pediatrician through Harvard Vanguard’s patient portal, MyHealth Online.
We look forward to seeing you there!