It's Annual Checkup Season! Don't forget Spring Sports Begin Soon!

Michelle Maloney, CPNP

From the desk of nurse practitioner Michelle Maloney:

Annual check-ups are an opportunity for parents to raise questions about your child�s growth, development, behavior etc. More time is taken during a well exam to discuss these issues which can�t be accommodated during a sick visit.  Many of the topics discussed included are sleep issues, behavior, learning problems, and toilet training, just to name a few.  Annual check-ups allow you, your child, and your MD/NP a chance to get to know each other for a relationship that will extend for many years.

To prepare for your visit, you may want to write down 3-5 questions that you want to discuss at the visit. Along with obtaining your child�s height, weight, and blood pressure, we at PHA will discuss your child�s diet, sleep issues, safety in and around the home such as car seat/seatbelt use, helmet use, if there are guns in the home, and sunscreen use among others.

Well check ups also give teenagers a chance to discuss some health issues with their health care providers in confidence that they may feel embarrassed to discuss in front of their parents.

Sports Physicals also known as Pre-participation physicals provided by your child�s primary pediatrician/NP are important because we have all you your child�s health history at our finger tips. If a concern should arise during the visit, we can coordinate a visit with a specialist if necessary in order to clear your child to play in the upcoming season.  An urgent care or quick care clinic can�t do this. If they discover something that needs further evaluation, they will send you back to us for that evaluation. This will delay your child�s readiness to start the season.

Ideally, you should schedule your sports PE 6-8 weeks prior to the start of the season to allow for any follow-up that may be necessary for your child to be cleared to play.

Whether it�s for an annual exam or a pre-participation sports physical, it�s a great idea to schedule these visits before the �summer rush�.  A good rule of thumb is to schedule a physical a few days after a birthday, it�s a good way to remember a check-up is due!

Physicals are valid for one year.

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You are Invited to a Free Seminar:

                         Raising Twins:

               How to Survive  and Thrive 

Presented by PHA Pediatricians and Parents of  Twins Shelly Flais, MD and Julian Tang, MD.

Dr. Flais is the author of the book "Raising Twins: From Pregnancy to Preschool" published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. 

A question and answer period will follow.

Wednesday, March 13th from 7:00-8:30 pm
Nichols Library Community Room
200 West Jefferson Avenue
Naperville, IL 60540

Questions?  Please call 630.717.2300.

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12th Annual Turkey Drive Update

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Jihad Shoshara, MD

???Thanks to Dr. Shoshara for being the co-coordinator of the 12th Annual Muslim Turkey Drive this year.  A record 845 turkeys were donated and distributed to families in some of the neediest neighborhoods in Chicago.   That's over 9,000 pounds of turkey!  

Thanksgiving is truly a great American holiday.  A special thanks to all those who donated and those who volunteered in the handling and distribution of the turkeys.  A special thanks to Midamar Foods who blessed the drive with a donation of 60 turkeys!  We would also like to recognize the members of the Free and Accepted Masons Union #155  whose members formed a human chain to unload the turkeys. The Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN), Sabeel Food Pantry, the staff at Emmett Till Academy and volunteers from the Southwest Organizing Project all worked together to organize, unload and distribute the turkeys.   Many supporters, including many PHA staff members donated to the cause.

Anyone listening to news about Chicago hears mainly about man's inhumanity to man.  Isn't it nice to hear about people helping people instead?  

Let's start a new tradition this year.....we encourage you to spread the joy and generosity of the season throughout the year.  This can be shown in so many ways.   Whether donating to a cause, lending a helping hand, providing comfort and assurance to those who are downtrodden or bringing a plate of cookies to someone down the street are just little ways we can make a difference.    Random acts of kindness generates good will and touches hearts.  

Spread the love......
?
?

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Have a teen? Want to help further research?

Pediatric Health Associates has long been engaged in medical research to help our patients (and all children!) to receive the latest standards of quality care. In the past we have studied cholesterol in children, obesity and most recently dental health.  Now we are pleased to assist in a new research project from the American Academyof Pediatrics (AAP) that is looking to improve adolescent health and preventative services.  This study will ask participating teens questions about their health behaviors and evaluate physician intervention.

When you are scheduling your teen�s checkup our staff may ask you on the day prior to your visit about participating in the study.   We  greatly appreciate your participation in helping us provide information for the researchers.

The study is very simple and for all teens who are chosen to participate in follow up calls will receive a $10 gift card from the AAP as a thank you.   Here is what the study entails:

Parental permission

Teen consent

Survey to be filled out by teen

5 questions about health behaviors asked by the provider

Literature

Up to 3 follow up phone calls with the teen (with gift card for each call)

The AAP would like for 100 teens to participate from our practice.   This is completely voluntary.     

Your help is greatly appreciated!

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Tune in tonight!

12/27/2011 UPDATE:

To view more on the story of families in our community helped by Hesed House please check out the YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io5UTInn2XU&feature=related


This evening at 6 pm the Rosie O'Donnell show on the OWN network will highlight a situation all too common in our community. A mother with her two young sons who currently reside at Hesed House in Aurora will be the guests.

Hesed House provides shelter for the homeless in our area. It is the second largest homeless shelter in Illinois. Within the past couple of weeks, the State of Illinois was going to severely reduce funding for Hesed House. Some of the children who are living at Hesed House are patients here. We contacted our legislators asking them to reinstate funding so that no child is left out in the cold. We are happy to report that funding was approved and Hesed House will be able to continue to provide services.

A few of our families have spent time at Hesed House until they could find permanent housing. Our non-profit foundation, CareLink, provides free health care exams at Hesed House and other homeless clinics sponsored by area churches. Physicians from the area, including our beloved Dr. Wall, donate their time and talent at these clinics.

This holiday season, please consider helping our families in the community by donating to Hesed House. You may donate online at: https://help.hesedhouse.org/

Here are some other places that we recommend for holiday giving:

• Feed My Starving Children where a single meal can be provided for just 24 cents! 93% of all money donated goes directly to feeding the hungry. You can donate at: http://www.fmsc.org/
• How about enabling a family a way to feed themselves? Several ideas can be found at: https://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/Giving/gift_catalog
• Over 1 billion (that�s billion with a B!) people around the world go hungry on a daily basis. Each day children die of starvation. You can save the life of a child by donating life saving food, clean water and medicine at http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?section=10680
• Want to help people in your own community? Please consider a gift to the CareLink Foundation to provide medical interpreters, caregivers at our autism support group or pay for transportation for a child with special health concerns. Or perhaps you would like to further your reach by providing funds for a family in Honduras to set up their own small business. For just $300 a family there can become self employed and self sufficient. You can donate online at: http://www.carelinkfoundation.org/to-donate/

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Community Caring and Sharing

This Saturday, October 22nd, volunteers will be accepting donations of all kinds at the Whole Foods parking lot in Naperville. Whole Foods is located near the intersection of Rt. 59 and 75th Street.

All donations of household materials such as paint, nails, or roofing shingles will be taken to ReStore of Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity near the Westfield Fox Valley Mall. They in turn will sell the products with the money being used to raise funds to help put roofs over the heads of working families who can�t afford to shop the regular housing market.

And don�t forget that the holiday season is fast approaching! Please check your pantry shelves for items you bought on sale but never got around to using to help families with Thanksgiving and Christmas. Whether its cereal, soup or a box of stuffing, you will help make the holidays a little brighter!

Winter is supposed to be pretty brutal this year. Please take a look at your closets and see if there are warm coats, boots, mittens and hats that maybe the kids have outgrown that you donate.

Even though we live in a rather affluent area, many families have been affected by the economic downturn in this country. You probably have homes in your areas that are in foreclosure and perhaps you are noticing more people who are homeless these days. You see them standing near a stoplight with a sign, maybe pushing all their worldly goods in a shopping cart or passing by someone who is down trodden. So many have lost their homes, their jobs and their savings. For those of us who have been able to maintain our quality of living, won�t you please consider helping those in our community who have not been as fortunate.

The need is greater than ever. It is the time for all of us to work together to help one another. Please don�t let a child go without a present at Christmas, walk to school without a warm jacket or go to bed hungry this year.

Sharing your blessings will not only help your neighbors but will do your heart good!

Another opportunity to donate to the community is through: http://www.givingdupage.org/

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What can our kids learn from the Japanese devastation?

The recent earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan has wreaked tremendous havoc on the families who live there. Can you imagine losing your home, your family, your job, your vehicle, your pictures and all your possessions at the same time? Their entire lives have been turned upside down. Trace amounts of radiation is showing up in the food supply and electricity is being rationed. Hundreds wait in line for water, food and other basic needs. The things we all take for granted every day have been taken from them. Mourning, shock, grief, sadness, depression, anxiety, feelings of helplessness and loss will have a tremendous psychological impact and may break the spirit of many. You may read more about the impact the disaster is having on those affected at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/20/weekinreview/20psyche.html?src=recg.

This disaster can help us as parents teach our children about giving to those in need. Kids like helping other kids. Here are some ways they can help:

� Give a portion of their allowance to be added to the family donation
� Organize a bake sale at school or church
� Sacrifice the money they would use to purchase a toy or game to relief efforts
� As a family, forego one meal out. This could be an ongoing family effort over a certain period of time with the savings going to relief efforts
� Set up a �pennies for Japan� fundraiser at school. Perhaps the class that raises the most can receive some kind of reward

All around the world people feel great sadness for the people of Japan. Their lives have been forever changed. Although millions of dollars have been donated thus far, the devastation will cost billions to repair. If ever there was a time of need it is now.

You may find several relief agencies at the following website:
http://www1.networkforgood.org/help-survivors-pacific-quake-tsunami

or you can just click on one of the links below:

Habitat for Humanity: http://www.habitat.org/
Catholic Relief Services: http://www.crs.org/
Salvation Army: http://disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/
Feed My Starving Children: http://www.fmsc.org/page.aspx?pid=398
Catholic Relief Services: http://www.crs.org/
Salvation Army: http://disaster.salvationarmyusa.org/
World Vision: http://www.worldvision.org/
Send International: https://www.send.org/donate/?contributable=389
ECLA: https://community.elca.org/netcommunity/page.aspx?pid=631
Feed the Children: http://www.feedthechildren.org/
Islamic Relief USA: http://www.islamicreliefusa.org/japan?gclid=CObota2T46cCFU9pKgodR0zN-Q

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Thanksgiving blessings

Most of us are fortunate enough to afford food on the table every night. But for many families in the Chicago area, children go to bed hungry on a regular basis. For many the only food they have available to them each day is at their school breakfast and lunch program.

Each year we hear heartbreaking stories of children who ask Santa for basic necessities or toys for their baby brother or sister. Many don�t even ask anything for themselves but for their mom to be able to pay the rent. We tend to only hear these stories only during the holidays. But children go to bed hungry all through the year. While many people are fed through food pantries imagine your child having to eat whatever is available, not what they like and oftentimes things that don�t necessarily go together. Can you imagine eating canned tuna with sauerkraut?  YUCK!

To kick off this year�s holidays we thought we�d share with you pictures of the 10th Annual Chicago Muslim Turkey Drive organized by Dr. Shoshara and Dr. Shakir. Many staff members contributed to the cause as well as many people from the community. Enough donations came in to purchase and distribute 660 turkeys to needy families on Chicago�s south side. Held at Emmett Till Academy this past Monday, Drs. Shoshara and Shakir helped out with the unloading of the trucks, the distribution to the families and the cleanup afterwards.

Many of our staff members work behind the scenes in our community. Some are soccer coaches. Some help out at food pantries. Others donate their time to charities or write checks to organizations like the American Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/) or the CareLink Foundation (http://www.carelinkfoundation.org/). (Please note that CareLink�s office has moved to the new PHA office in West Chicago at 946 North Neltnor Blvd., Suite 120).

Here at PHA we have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We are grateful to our patient families for entrusting us with the care of their children. We are grateful to our staff who make it all happen. We are grateful for our own families who put up with us when we work later than expected. Most of all we give thanks to God for his provision to each of our families we serve as well as our staff.  Thankfulness means rejoicing in the source of all our blessings.

As we reflect on our past year, we also know that at least four of families in the practice are having a very difficult time being thankful. We mourn with them the loss of their children. Others have begun to face the long road of fighting cancer or other chronic illness. May God bring comfort to the families mourning and healing to our children.

From our families to yours we wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season. May God�s blessing to be upon all of you and that next year will be one of peace, prosperity and joy.

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Dr. Wall goes to Honduras this week to provide care.

This week Dr. Wall is in Honduras with the Good Shepherd Church �medical brigade�.   In partnership with World Gospel Outreach the medical team will provide health care services to approximately 1,000 people!  For most, this is the only time they have access to medical care.

With an average annual income of $1800 medical care is a luxury for most of its citizens.  Nearly 8 million people live in Honduras yet there are only 57 physicians per 100,000 people.  

To read more about Honduras and World Gospel Outreach please visit the following sites:

http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/1922.htm

http://www.wgoreach.org/

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Community Outreach

This week�s �Interfaith Youth Core roundtable with Chris Stedman� on Chicago Public Radio WBEW 89.5 FM featured leaders of the Chicago Muslim community to discuss how their faith motivates them to serve others. On the panel was our own Dr. Jihad Shoshara, a board member of the Inner-city Muslim Action Network (IMAN) which runs the only free medical clinic sponsored by a Muslim charity in the Chicago area. Dr. Shoshara as you may remember also coordinates the annual Chicago Muslim Turkey Drive every Thanksgiving holiday to provide free turkeys to needy families on Chicago�s South Side.

Other panelists included Anisha Ismail Patel, Founder & Executive Director of the Muslim Women�s Alliance and Angela Salva who is a teacher at a suburban Islamic school.

Together they discussed misconceptions of the Islamic faith and their collaborative efforts within the interfaith community to help the underserved of Chicagoland. It was a great opportunity for area Muslims to be represented positively and for others to hear of their efforts to show compassion, to extend a hand to those in need and to feed those who need it most.

As with believers from all faiths, the Muslim community puts their faith in action by helping to minister to their neighbors and by loving one another. Here at PHA we are blessed to have Drs. Shoshara and Shakir live their faith every day by taking care of our patients as well as our staff. They along with all the other docs in the practice make Pediatric Health Associates one of the premier pediatric practices in the Western Suburbs.

To read more go to: http://nonprophetstatus.com/2010/02/09/muslims-mobilizing-chicagoland-communities/

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Haiti earthquake relief

The earthquake in Haiti has caused massive destruction. The news media describe it as destruction of �biblical proportions�. Over 200,000 people are believed to be dead with thousands more still buried beneath the rubble most of whom will more than likely die before they can be rescued. Many children have become orphans. Can you imagine the terror these children are experiencing by the loss of their parents? Who is there to comfort them and ensure they will receive food and shelter?

Thus far approximately $310 million dollars has been pledged from around the world to help rebuild Haiti. Though it sounds like a lot of money in perspective it is less than 3 times what it cost to build Bill Gates� home in Washington.

What infrastructure Haiti had will need to be totally rebuilt. The poorest of all countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haitians lacked basic needs that you and I take for granted even before the earthquake hit. 80% of the population lived on less that $2 per day....not even enough money for a Starbucks latte here in this country.

Our own current economic situation is difficult but nothing in comparison to what Haitians live with every single day of their lives. We have a wonderful opportunity to truly extend a hand to another and show compassion to those whose needs are great.

Please consider donating to one of the many agencies that have sent rescue workers to Haiti. No contribution is too small. Remember, these people are used to surviving on less than $2 per day. Your donation will help rebuild this country and help repair their hearts.

Some of the agencies that you may send financial aid through are:

The American Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/

World Vision: www.WorldVision.org/Haiti

Save the Children: http://www.savethechildren.org/

Unicef: http://www.unicef.org/

Habitat for Humanity: http://www.habitat.org/

The Salvation Army: http://www.salvationarmy.org/

World Relief: http://worldrelief.org/


Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37913760@N03/4275397038/sizes/m/

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PHA's Community Involvement

For the past four years, Drs. Shoshara and Shakir have coordinated the annual turkey drive for the Chicago Muslim American Community. Here at Pediatric Health, staff members donated to the cause along with many others in the Chicago area bringing enough funding in to provide 668 frozen turkeys for needy families in Chicago's Jackson Park and Marquette Park neighborhoods. 500 of those turkeys were provided to families whose children attend Emmett Till Elementary School at 65th and Champlain. The school is the one that Emmett Till himself attended and it has a poverty rate of 99%.

Dr. Shoshara (right rear) and Principal Mary Rodgers

(holding turkey) with some of the other volunteers.

The turkeys were distributed on Monday, November 23rd by volunteers including the principal of the school, Mary Rodgers.

Frank Mathie of ABC news covered the story last year and we thought we'd put a link to it for your reading pleasure: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=6523354

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Your help is desperately needed.

As you know, there have been many natural disasters that have happened in the world. Earthquakes in China and Japan, hurricanes in the United States, heavy flooding in Honduras and Haiti are some of the recent challenges the people of the world are experiencing. Although we are all currently worried about our economy and having to cut back on things, we should remember that our grass is greener than many parts of the world. Last week, Dr. Wall returned from Honduras where he helped during the recent flooding from heavy rains. Joining other professionals in the effort, over 1,000 people were given free medical services including health exams, eye tests and dental check-ups.

During the week, one family right in the area died from the flooding. Many were struggling to find food and shelter, help elderly parents and save what crops they could. And we think we have it bad!

Please consider donating to World Vision or World Relief (links below) to help out this poor nation. Even if you can afford to give just $10, you will be a lifeline to these families. Thank you for helping those in great need.

To volunteer or donate go to: http://www.worldvision.org/

http://www.wr.org/

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The Children of Haiti Need Our Help

In the past month, four hurricanes have hit Haiti, causing massive flooding and destruction. Being a poor country, it has always been difficult for the people to have adequate amounts of food but now they must face unbearable hunger as aid workers struggle to reach them.

The only food that Haiti exports is mangoes. The crop is severely damaged, limiting the amount of revenue workers will receive this coming harvest season. Although 115 shelters have been set up, only 10 have food available.

Desperation is setting in and children are starving to death. Aid workers are doing all they can to rescue these little ones and many humanitarian agencies are working around the clock to save them.

These are difficult days for all of us. Economic woes, unemployment and spiraling prices are making it very hard for people everywhere. People find they need to tighten their belts to make ends meet. And yet, with all the economic unrest we are suffering, we somehow find a way to feed our children and provide shelter. We have been given so much in this country compared to other areas of the world. And in a season of strife we must band together with others to take care of one another.

If you would like to get your family involved in helping impoverished people, we recommend spending just 3 hours packing high protein meals at �Feed My Starving Children� in Aurora, Illinois. To volunteer you may contact them at 630-851-0404. Additional information can be found at http://www.fmsc.org/. This is a wonderful way to introduce your children to the gift of giving.

Many agencies that are running out of funds. Please consider making a contribution to one of them so that children can live to see tomorrow. We have provided websites below if you are looking for an agency for your donation. Thank you for your spirit of compassion and generosity to those who need it most.

http://www.worldvision.org/

http://www.savethechildren.org/

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

http://www.chfinternational.org/

photo courtesy of: globalvoicesonline http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/05/05/haiti-finding-relief-for-hunger-in-children/

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