One of our midwives did a podcast on being pregnant and precautions for pregnant women and their partners during this pandemic. We hope that you find this information valuable and interesting!
AFA Ob/Gyn COVID-19 Update for 3/18/20
AFA Ob/Gyn wants to make sure that the necessary and urgent health care needs of our patients are met. We are working to minimize your risk as well as risk to our staff while we ensure that women still receive needed care. Please check in with either our Facebook Page or website for updates as we have them. There may be more than one update each day.
1. We are prioritizing appointments that have already been scheduled. Women may be asked to reschedule or you may be offered a Telemedicine appointment, if appropriate and depending on your health condition. Our office will contact you to discuss your options or if you have an upcoming appointment please call us so we can determine what is your best option.
2. If an in-person appointment is needed you will be the only one allowed into our office for this appointment and/or ultrasound. We ask that your partner or family member either stay home or in their car if they drove you to your appointment.
3. We can continue to meet many of your healthcare needs with Telemedicine for existing as well as new patients. Some examples of appointments are listed below. If you have a concern and wonder if a Telemedicine appointment is appropriate please call us and we can help determine if this is an option for you.
• Some prenatal appointments
• Contraceptive counseling or follow-ups
• Postpartum concerns, including anxiety and depression
• Lactation concerns
• Perimenopause concerns
• Menopause concerns
• Infections requiring antibiotics or other treatment
• Preconceptual counseling/Fertility concerns
• Counseling regarding hereditary cancers and family history of breast, ovarian, colon, uterine, pancreatic cancers.
• Counseling regarding results of hereditary cancer risk testing
• Painful menses or irregular menses
Coronavirus (Covid-19) Update 3/15/20
AFA Ob/Gyn is making every effort to keep you, your family, our staff and their families healthy we would like to share the following.
All of us at AFA Ob/Gyn want to be able to continue to provide necessary outpatient care. It is our goal to make sure everyone can receive the care they need as well as keep women out of Urgent Care and Emergency room settings. We are enlisting the help of the women we care for.
— Please plan on attending your appointments as well as ultrasound appointments in our offices alone.
— If you require someone to drive you to appointments, we would ask that person to wait for you in their vehicle.
— We will be rooming women in exam rooms ideally as soon as they arrive to adhere to “social distancing” practices.
— Exam rooms will be completely cleansed with anti-bacterial and anti-viral wipes in between every single patient.
— We will continue to make calls and confirm every appointment and ask screening questions during these confirmation calls and at time of check-in.
— Please call us to reschedule if you are experiencing any respiratory symptoms and/or fever.
— If you are 60 and over and scheduled for an annual exam, please call our office to reschedule.
— Please be patient – we expect a high call volume for both our reception and nursing staff.
Please follow our FB page. We will provide any important updates regarding our office and any changes that may impact appointments here.
Information for our patients about The Coronavirus (Covid-19)
The health of the women we care for and their families are of the utmost importance to us here at AFA Ob/Gyn. We are closely monitoring all information and recommendations by the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control as well as the Massachusetts Department of Public Health regarding the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
We have and continue to implement strict cleaning and sanitizing protocols of patient areas within all of our offices since the very first concerns were raised for COVID -19 within the United States. This pandemic has changed certain policies within our office. These changes are aimed at limiting exposure to you and our staff.
Here is what this may mean for you:
- We will be screening all patients for any symptoms and travel history when appointments are confirmed and when you are checked in.
- We would recommend that you limit the number of people accompanying you to your appointments.
- If you have an ultrasound in our office only one person will be allowed to attend this appointment with you.
- Emerson Hospital Birthing Center has instituted a one visitor/support person when in labor.
- We will be waiving cancellation fees with less than 24 hours notice. We still require a call to advise us that you need to reschedule your appointment. A fee will be charged if we are not notified that you are unable to attend.
- If you are 60 or over and scheduled for an annual exam please call us to discuss if your appointment is appropriate to be rescheduled.
Best Regards,
Emily Strehle, DO
Laura Silk, MD
Sherriann Perivolotis, CNM
AFA ObGyn, P.C.
(978) 371-1396
DR. Ingrid Balcomb to Retire on April 26, 2019
It is Geoffrey Chaucer who coined the phrase, “All good things must come to an end.”
After much “soul searching” and having had a rewarding career, I have decided it is time to end a part of my life journey to begin another. The time has arrived for me to officially announce my retirement from AFA OBSTERTICS & GYNECOLOGY and the practice of women’s healthcare. My final day will be April 26, 2019.
I was welcomed into the Emerson family some 25 years ago. I was blessed along the way with many opportunities which included, but not limited to, having served as a member of the active staff, member of the Board of Directors of Emerson Hospital, and past Department Chairperson of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. One of my proudest accomplishments was my involvement in “Project Score” which included the addition of the new Post-Partum Wing of Emerson Hospital providing much needed private rooms for our mothers and newborn infants.
Once I made the decision to move forward with the creation of AFA I was fully supported by Emerson administration. As I look back at that journey, I have very few regrets because it enabled me to meet and work with some very dedicated, competent and knowledgeable colleagues some of whom became dear and valued personal friends and who will continue providing excellent services in women’s healthcare. I am absolutely most proud of AFA introducing “Midwifery” services to Emerson Hospital at a time when this service was becoming an option that more and more expectant mothers were requesting.
But most importantly, I will miss my patients. During the past several weeks, I have been saying goodbye to some of these patients especially those who I have been seeing for many years. Some of these “goodbyes” have been tearful but at the same time have made it very clear to me how meaningful those relationships have been, both to me and to the patient.
I now move forward with the next chapter of my “life” journey and I do so with the knowledge that AFA will continue to provide the care to patients that it was intended to do from its inception.
Thank you all.