Allergy and Asthma Care of Saint Louis

As we head into the holiday season, COVID is still very much here and continues to grow as a burden on all of us physically, socially, financially and emotionally. While the holidays are a time for gatherings and celebration with our loved ones, we ask you to consider the CDC's recommendations to celebrate at home with the people you live with. Should you travel during the holiday season, we at Allergy and Asthma Care ask that you allow extra time following your travel and monitor for symptoms before coming in for an appointment or allergy injection. We hope that such precautions will allow us to continue to provide conscientious and responsible care for you and your families through this next season and beyond. Happy holidays!

We know that spring can be a rough time for many of you. To add a pandemic on top of it is not helping! We hope you know that although we cannot see you in person, we are happy to see you from the safety and comforts of your own home for any allergy, asthma, or food allergy questions. All of our doctors are available for virtual appointments. You can schedule them by: 1. Calling our office 9 am-12 pm, Monday through Friday to set up an appointment over the phone with one of... our staff 2. Copying and pasting the link by your doctor's name below. It will direct you to SignUp, an online scheduling tool where you can sign up for an appointment yourself. Dr. Berson: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/3240266/true Dr. Park https://signup.com/go/xHeiwwj Dr. Kemp: https://signup.com/go/sWHAxid We have done several appointments already and they have gone very well! As a reminder, please read the consent under the VIRTUAL VISITS header from our website allergyandasthmacarestl.com. Please also notify your doctor if your insurance has changed. As of 11 am on 4/3, there were 1834 cases of COVID-19 in Missouri with 1033 of them being in St. Charles County, St. Louis City and St. Louis County. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we try to do our part to shelter-in-place and keep our patients and staff home so that we can be on the other side of this curve. THANK YOU and please know WE ARE HERE FOR YOU! Stay safe and healthy!

As of this afternoon, Missouri surpassed the 1000 threshold for COVID-19 cases. We are obviously not on the other side of this, but hopefully true shelter-in-place measures are helping us get there As of yet, it is not clear that asthma is a true risk factor for more severe consequences from COVID-19. Attached is some helpful information from the ACAAI regarding asthma and COVID-19 **Please refer to prior Facebook posts or our website allergyandasthmacarestl.com for guidance ...as to how to get in touch with us, including via telemedicine so that we can assist you with your allergy and asthma needs during this time. Also, if anyone has masks (preferably N95, but anything will do), face shields, or any other supplies that could be used as medical personal protective equipment, please let us know. We would happily collect and get them to our brave colleagues who are on the frontlines of this pandemic. THANK YOU! https://acaai.org//covid-19-and-asthma-what-you-need-know-

Things are changing day by day. Thank you for your patience! Our phones are open for limited hours but we are available for you in multiple ways! -If you need PRESCRIPTION REFILLS. please request through your pharmacy. We hope to take care of them within 24 hours. If URGENT, please consider using our telemedicine portal or emailing us at [email protected] -For MEDICAL QUESTIONS, we are available via telemedicine. Instructions and waiver on our website allergyandasthmacare...stl.com. You can also request an appointment via our email [email protected]. -If the office is closed, you can also reach us through the exchange 314-388-5561. Please know we are here for you! We want to keep you healthy and safe!

We are now open for virtual visits (telemedicine) for follow-up and select new patient consultations! For all patients who were recently canceled or those that would like to follow-up while abiding by "shelter in place", please go to allergyandasthmacarestl.com and click on the Virtual Visits heading for more information. You will need a reliable wifi connection, preferably on a laptop or desktop for better connectivity. The doctors will be seeing patients virtually by app...ointment. Please contact our office at 314-878-2788 or email [email protected] to make your appointment. Please note that the email address will be used ONLY for making appointments and not for answering medical questions. Please also include your doctor's name in the subject line. We appreciate your patience as we explore this new way of medicine!

*Please read our previous posts regarding our office temporarily closing. We have not traditionally had an active social media presence but are hoping to use this page to communicate and provide care as we try to social distance/isolate in an effort to #flattenthecurve. As spring rolls in, here is a chart to help you distinguish between cold, flu, allergies, and COVID-19. We are still available by phone if you have other questions and are now offering telemedicine visits! ... Stay safe!

***ATTENTION: South County will be closed Friday 10/30 and Saturday 10/31. Sorry for the inconvenience and thanks for understanding!

As COVID-19 numbers rise in our area, we hope we can all do our part to help contain the spread yet again. With that in mind, we would like to remind you of a few things. -ALL OFFICES ARE OPEN for office visits, allergy testing, allergy shots (by appointment). Our doctors are also available by TELEMEDICINE if you prefer. We unfortunately cannot safely offer lung function tests at this time. Please keep in mind these precautions are so that we can remain open, and keep you an...d our staff healthy. If you are COMING INTO our offices, for shots or an appointment, PLEASE: 1) Wear a mask covering nose and mouth while in our offices 2) Come unaccompanied if an adult patient. For minor patients, 1 adult may come in as well. Please no siblings or extra family members. 3) Call from the parking lot upon your arrival so that we can be sure to allow for safe social distancing and to ask our screening questions 4) Understand that if you do not pass the screening questions or cannot abide by these restrictions, we will ask you to reschedule so as to keep our patients and staff as healthy as possible. PLEASE RESCHEDULE IF: 1) You have had fever, respiratory symptoms, loss of smell/taste or other symptoms suspicious of COVID-19 2) You have been in close contact with a COVID+ person or someone who potentially could have COVID. Per CDC guidelines, you should stay home for 14 days after exposure to a +COVID-19 patient. 3) It has been less than 10 days since you tested positive for COVID-19 and less than 10 days since you have been symptom-free 4) You are awaiting the results of your own COVID-19 test Please see below for the CDC's current recommendations regarding when you can be around others if you had or are likely to have had COVID-19 https://www.cdc.gov//if-you-are-si/end-home-isolation.html Finally, please wear your masks, wash your hands, and socially distance. Be healthy and well!

As our COVID-19 numbers increase in the area, please remember to socially distance when possible, wash your hands, and wear a mask!! https://med.stanford.edu//stanford-scientists-contribute-t

Here is an update from AAAAI regarding COVID-19 and asthma: "The bottom line for people with asthma during this pandemic is to keep doing what you have been doing all alongcontinue taking your controller medication and inform your healthcare provider of any symptoms that you may develop. And of course, remember to practice social distancing and wash your hands." https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatme//covid-asthma

***UPDATE*** We want to thank you for your cooperation and patience as we have collectively worked to stop the spread of coronavirus! As restrictions loosen across the state, we are hopeful that we continue to see some stabilization of this COVID-19 pandemic. ALLERGY SHOTS at Ladue, Chesterfield, Progress West and Waterloo have been going well and we appreciate your cooperation with the new protocols! ... We are continuing with a phased opening and are preparing to see you IN-PERSON in addition to our virtual or telemedicine visits. We will operate at a reduced schedule and our in-person visits will have a new format: We will first remotely discuss your questions, medications and health updates with you over the phone or via telemedicine. This can be on the day of your visit, from your home or even from your car in the parking lot prior to coming in. You would then come into the office for in-person physical exam and/or diagnostic testing. These measures are taken so that you can reduce overall time in our office and thus potential exposure for you and for our staff. Telemedicine is still an option for visits. All patients with respiratory symptoms or other symptoms of illness will be seen only via telemedicine. We are implementing other safety measures as well, including but not limited to: - Spacing out allergy shots and office visits to help control the flow of patients and thus exposure - Screening all patients prior to entering our offices as outlined in prior posts - Having patients call from the parking lot before coming in so as to prevent unnecessary waiting time in our office - Asking all patients to come unaccompanied into the office. If patient is a minor, one guardian can enter with the patient - Requiring all patients and staff to wear masks at all times - Staff have additional PPE and are regularly washing hands and implementing safe practices - Using patient room as waiting area for our shot patients to prevent crowding in our waiting rooms - Detailed disinfecting of our exam rooms between patients If you had an appointment that was cancelled over the past few months, PLEASE CALL our offices at 314-878-2788 (Chesterfield) or 314-725-8844 (Ladue) to reschedule. As restrictions loosen, it is very likely that there will be an increase in COVID-19 cases. For your health and safety, please be cautious and please wear a mask if you have to go out. Depending on the magnitude of that spike, we may have to change our schedule again. We will continue updates here. We are looking forward to seeing you in person but want to do so safely and responsibly! Thank you!! Stay safe and healthy!

We have GREAT news! We are resuming ALLERGY SHOTS!! We are NOW OPEN for injections at our Chesterfield and Ladue locations. Shots will be given BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. Please call our offices at 314-878-2788 (Chesterfield) or 314-725-8844 (Ladue) to schedule your injections. -South County will begin Friday May 8. -Progress West will begin Thursday May 14.... -Waterloo will begin Monday May 18. Please READ THROUGH THE FOLLOWING IN ENTIRETY as there are many adjustments and restrictions to our usual protocol that we feel are necessary so that we can provide allergy shots safely and responsibly. ALL allergy shot patients are asked to: 1)Take your temperature before coming in and please show a screenshot of your reading to our staff. 2)Stay home if you have been ill, traveled domestically or internationally in the past month, or come into contact with anyone who has had or is suspected of having COVID-19. 3) Wear a MASK covering nose and mouth throughout your stay in our office. 4) Come unaccompanied. If your child is the allergy shot patient, one parent/guardian can accompany him/her. Please no additional family members. 5) CALL FROM YOUR CAR once you have arrived in our parking lot. We will let you know if we are ready to have you come into the office. There may be a slight delay. Please be patient as we are diligently cleaning after each patient leaves and that may take more time than anticipated. 6) Have your arm readily available for our staff to administer the injection. We would like to avoid any extraneous physical contact beyond administering the shot and will not be able to assist in rolling up sleeves. This is true for children as well. 7) If you have asthma, bring your rescue inhaler with you (i.e. ProAir, Ventolin, etc.). 8) Bring something to occupy your time for your wait after receiving your shot. All books and magazines have been removed from our office. 9) Please note we will be giving injections at most on an every 2 week basis. Our wait times will remain 30 minutes for allergy shots, 60 minutes for venom, and up to 2 hours for Xolair. 10) Please understand that our staff may refuse to give your injection if any of the above requirements are not met. There are such unprecedented times and we know that we are asking for unprecedented things. Thank you for your understanding and helping us provide the best care for you, our staff and our community. Your friends at Allergy and Asthma Care of St. Louis

Our area has done an excellent job thus far protecting our hospitals from the effects of COVID-19 that were seen in Seattle, New York, Detroit and other cities. THANK YOU for your patience and involvement in that!! COVID-19 is far from over however and we want to continue to do our part to minimize its impact on our health care system and most importantly, our loved ones. We are continually working on how to safely and responsibly resume allergy shots. We anticipate a "soft opening" soon and will post here with updates as soon as we can!

Allergy injections continue to be on hold. We are here for you! If you would like to have a visit with your doctor, you may go to allergyandasthmacarestl.com and follow the instructions on our website to set up a virtual appointment.