Introducing Dr. Maria Martinez
We’re excited to introduce our newest doctor at the Point Meadows office, Dr. Maria Martinez. Born in Havana, she grew up in Central Florida where her family was sponsored by a local United Methodist Church. She earned her medical degree from the University of South Florida and practiced general pediatrics in her private practice in Miami. She returned to central Florida to work as an outpatient pediatrician for four years before joining pediatrics on December 8. Dr. Martinez has two children; one daughter and one toy poodle. In her free time, she enjoys reading mystery novels and exploring new places, cultures, and cuisines. Learn more about Dr. Martinez’ background on her Bio page.
Employee of the Quarter: Victoria Billings
Employee of the Quarter ~ Carlos Tandron
Carlos is not only outstanding in customer service when dealing with our patients but he is a true team player. He has worked at all three locations, all possible shifts, including overnights and weekends, and is always willing to help anywhere the managers need him. He has a fun personality and motivates others to stay positive! We are lucky to have him on our team! How long have you worked with us? Exactly 18 months Where are you from? Jacksonville, FL Where did you go to high school? Bishop Kenny What did you study at school? Health Science What are your hobbies? Running, Working out, beach/pool time Do you have any children or pets? No What are your future goals? Continue to work in healthcare What is your favorite part of your job? The people that I work with are amazing! Best moments at work are? Holidays when we get to do Potlucks with the entire office
Our Newest Location Now Open in Orange Park!
Our new Orange Park location, located at 1543 Kingsley Avenue, #9, is open from 8am-8pm Monday through Friday. Call (904) 264-1958 for appointments or information. Or visit our Locations page for directions.
Spotlight on Dental Health
With the major winter holidays just around the corner, treats may be in abundance whether you’re at home or visiting family and friends. We all recognize that too many sweet treats are a threat to dental health. Here’s some advice on good dental hygiene for your young ones from your Pediatric Care Centers pediatricians and nurse practitioners, the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Association of Pediatric Dentistry. Cavities in Baby Teeth Cavities matter, even in baby teeth. Cavities are caused by the bacteria that collect on teeth after sugars are eaten. The longer and more frequently the teeth are exposed to sugars, the more likely cavities will occur. Studies show that one in 10 two-year-olds have one or more cavities. Because cavities in baby teeth can negatively affect permanent teeth, it’s a good idea to start good dental hygiene habits early. Here are the most important steps to take once the first tooth has erupted: For babies and toddlers to age 3, the teeth should be brushed gently twice a day with a soft-bristled brush using just a rice-sized dot of fluoride toothpaste. By age three, use a pea-sized dot of toothpaste. Clean each tooth thoroughly, top and bottom, back and front. Supervise your toddlers as they brush so they’re sure to reach each surface. Children about age six to eight should be able to brush by themselves. Experts agree that by age one year, your young child should see a pediatric or general-care dentist to begin regular checkups. Cut the Sugar! Maintaining a balanced diet with few sweet snacks is the best way to ensure healthy teeth. Sticky foods like chewy candies, dried fruit, and gum are the biggest offenders. Sugar-containing beverages also pose risks for your child’s dental health, especially when given in a sippy cup or bottle. Here are some tips for making your child’s diet more tooth-friendly. Limit sugary treats to special occasions. Make sure your child brushes under your supervision after eating sugary treats. Avoid giving your child a bottle containing juice or milk at naptime or bedtime. Substitute plain water. Limit the time your child carries around and drinks juice or other sweet beverages in a sippy cup. Substitute plain water for hydration between meals. It’s never too early to show your child that good dental care is part of the family’s daily routine. Make twice-daily brushing a fun, stress-free experience for your child, and the result will be a lifetime of dental health. One Final Thought: Thumb Sucking and Your Child’s Teeth Thumb sucking and finger or pacifier sucking are not unusual in babies. The habit may continue through the toddler years, usually ending by the time the child is four. Experts say there is usually no reason to worry about a sucking habit until around age six – about the time the permanent front teeth come in. After age four, have your dentist reassess the teeth for any changes caused by sucking at each dental visit. We welcome your questions about dental care issues during your child’s regular checkups. The Pediatric Care Centers staff will be happy to advise you about ways to prevent cavities and encourage good dental hygiene.
Welcomes Vernora Hightower, M.D.
We are pleased to announce that Vernora Hightower, M.D., has joined Pediatric Care Centers. Dr. Hightower was born and raised in Chicago, Ill. She moved to New Orleans to attend Xavier University of Louisiana for her undergraduate degree, and upon graduation moved back to Chicago to attend the Rosalyn Franklin University/Chicago Medical School. She received her medical degree in 1996. There was never any question in her mind that she would become a pediatrician. “From the time I was a little girl, I wanted to be a pediatrician, even though no one in my family was involved in medicine,” she said. She has spent the last 17 years in pediatric practice, first in West Point, Miss., and later in Pine Bluff, Ark., where she was also a mentor/preceptor for the many family practice residents, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and medical students in training there. Dr. Hightower learned about Pediatric Care Centers while in Arkansas mentoring a former employee from Jacksonville who was training to become a physician’s assistant. The practice and location sounded appealing, so she applied and was hired to join the team. She and her family, her husband and fourth-grade daughter, are delighted with their new home. “It’s been a whirlwind coming to Jacksonville from my previous practice,” Dr. Hightower said. “In the last two years we’ve had many health challenges for my husband and my parents. But we really needed a change, and we are glad to be here with all of the activities and resources available, like the beach, the Blue Angels air show, and musical events.”
Welcome, Dr. Mendoza!
We are happy to announce that Dr. Julio Mendoza has joined our Pediatric Care Centers family of health care providers. Dr. Mendoza’s experience is extensive and varied, including providing medical care at the world’s hot spots since completing his medical studies in Cuba. In 2005, he traveled to Pakistan for six months to help in that country’s recovery from a devastating earthquake. After returning to Cuba, he then traveled to Venezuela where he worked as a general physician for almost two years. He arrived in the United States in 2008, where he spent time at Miami Children’s Hospital – an experience that changed his life. “The children were so good to work with, so friendly and sincere,” he said. “It made me decide to specialize in pediatrics, and I’m glad I decided to take that path.” After passing the U.S. medical board exams in 2012 and spending three years in pediatric residency at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx, New York City, Dr. Mendoza fulfilled another life wish – to make a home in Florida. He and his wife Anny, who is a dentist, moved to Jacksonville for his new position with Pediatric Care Centers. They welcomed the arrival of their son David eight months ago.
Common Childhood Habits
The causes of habits remain unknown. Their repetitive nature suggests that they serve a soothing or calming process for the brain. Interestingly, even in adulthood many people cling to some of these self-comforting traits during times of stress: sucking on pencil tips or their fingers, pulling their earlobes, fingering their hair. Common Self-Comforting Habits Here are some of the most common self-comforting habits of middle childhood that concern parents: Thumb-sucking Body rocking Head banging Fingernail biting Cuticle picking Hair twirling Masturbating Growing Out of Certain Habits Some self-comforting habits – such as thumb-sucking and body rocking – begin in infancy and gradually fade in middle childhood. During these middle years, most thumb-suckers will confine their sucking to the privacy of their home, at bedtime, while watching TV or when they are upset. Often, this behavior is accompanied by other vestiges of earlier years, such as cuddling with a blanket. As children mature and develop greater self-control and self-understanding, their thumb-sucking usually disappears, most often by ages 6 to 8. Also, with increases in peer pressure, children tend to assume greater mastery over their behavior. Similarly, a small number of middle-years children exhibit the normal behavior of rocking themselves to sleep in bed. They may curl into a knee-to-chest position and rock with such vigor that the bed shakes and even bangs the walls until they are fast asleep. A few children roll their head back and forth, at times banging into the wall. Still others sit up and rock. As unsettling as parents may find these unusual habits, children may exhibit them every night in order to settle into sleep. The rhythmic motion seems necessary to soothe or calm the central nervous system in the transition from wakefulness to sleep. Other “Annoying” Habits Fingernail biting, cuticle picking, hair twirling and nose picking are also very common – and annoying – habits of childhood, developing between ages 3 and 6. This behavior may continue throughout middle childhood and perhaps longer. Like other self-comforting habits, they are tension reducers, “time-wasters,” and seem to be outside of consciousness or awareness. Frequency and Intensity The frequency and intensity of these habits tend to ebb and flow, often without apparent explanation or parental intervention. Some observers have noted that the child who bites his fingernails or picks his cuticles often causes bleeding or pain; perhaps this natural consequence plays a significant role in the eventual disappearance of the habit. In any case, these habits frequently fade with time. Management vs. Punishment As a first step in the simple management of your child’s self-comforting habits, ignore them! Most commonly, they will disappear with time. When you call attention to them with harsh words, ridicule, or punishment, the tension that the habit presumably relieves will increase, and the habit will get worse. Punishment is not an effective way to eradicate habits. Ignoring these habits, however, can be a difficult process for most parents. After all, if the mother or father finds a habit irritating or frustrating, ignoring it does not make the feelings disappear. Even so, try to withhold your negative comments and wait for the habit to pass. If your child sucks her thumb or bites her fingernails, she may be interested in overcoming the habit and thus will cooperate with your own efforts toward that goal. Try using these techniques: When you notice that your child is not doing the behavior for extended periods, reward her in some agreed-upon way. Use over-the-counter agents, such as bitter-tasting compounds that can be placed on the fingers or the cuticles, to remind your child when she begins to bite or suck her thumb. This approach has a relatively low rate of success, but it is simple and, with your youngster’s cooperation, may be an effective strategy. Ask your pharmacist about these products. Positive reinforcement is the most successful way to produce a change in behavior. Accentuate and reward the new behavior you want to see adopted. Star charts and daily rewards are very helpful. Last Updated 5/5/2015 Source Caring for Your School-Age Child: Ages 5 to 12 (Copyright © 2004 American Academy of Pediatrics) The information contained in this article should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and advice of your pediatrician. There may be variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on individual facts and circumstances.
When to call the pediatrician ~ Fever
The most important things you can do when your child has a fever are to improve your child’s comfort by making sure they drink enough fluids to stay hydrated and monitor for signs and symptoms of a serious illness. It is a good sign if your child plays and interacts with you after receiving medicine for discomfort. Call your child’s doctor right away if your child has a fever and Looks very ill, is unusually drowsy, or is very fussy Has been in a very hot place, such as an overheated car Has other symptoms, such as a stiff neck, severe headache, severe sore throat, severe ear pain, an unexplained rash, or repeated vomiting or diarrhea Has immune system problems, such as sickle cell disease or cancer, or is taking steroids Has had a seizure Is younger than 3 months (12 weeks) and has a temperature of 100.4°F (38.0°C) or higher Fever rises above 104°F (40°C) repeatedly for a child of any age Also call your child’s doctor if Your child still “acts sick” once his fever is brought down. Your child seems to be getting worse. The fever persists for more than 24 hours in a child younger than 2 years. The fever persists for more than 3 days (72 hours) in a child 2 years of age or older. Last Updated 11/4/2014 Source Fever and Your Child (Copyright © 2007 American Academy of Pediatrics, updated 5/2012)
Differences in Organic, Natural and Health Foods
Differences in Organic, Natural, and Health Foods Although these terms are often used interchangeably, they have different meanings. Organic foods are grown without artificial pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides. Organic meat, eggs, and dairy products are obtained from animals that are fed natural feed and not given hormones or antibiotics. Natural foods are free of synthetic or artificial ingredients or additives. “Health foods” is a general term that may be applied to natural or organic foods, or to regular foods that have undergone less processing than usual, such as stone-ground whole-grain flours. Although some have claimed that organic foods have a higher concentration of some nutrients, the evidence is mixed. The nutritional content of foods also varies greatly according to when the food was harvested and how it has been stored or processed. Unless they are fresher, there is also no evidence that organic, natural, or health foods taste better than regular foods. However, taste is determined by plant genetics, rather than by whether the crop is organically or conventionally grown. Harvesting and handling also affect taste. A peach or tomato that is picked when it is too green will never develop the full taste of fruit that is allowed to ripen on the tree or the vine. Although the type of fertilizer may not affect taste or nutrition, it does have an effect on the environment. Many people prefer to pay premium prices for organic foods because their production does not cause environmental damage from pesticides and herbicides, and composted fertilizers help restore soil and are not as damaging to the environment as artificial fertilizers. However, simply stating “organic” does not protect the food from being contaminated from field to market. Last Updated 7/9/2014 Source Nutrition: What Every Parent Needs to Know (Copyright © American Academy of Pediatrics 2011)