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Dear Colleagues,

Over the last several weeks, our state has moved from starting to examine how to transition ourselves into a “recovery” footing to actually doing it. Granted, our entry into this time has been bumpy thanks to the political winds swirling between our branches of state government. Your Wisconsin Chapter was proud to have been part of a friend-of-the-court brief that brought detailed, careful, well-reasoned science to the discussion. While it was not heeded by the Supreme Court majority, the facts were laid out and are in the record, where they need to be. We will, as always, continue to speak up for the needs of children and families, and for you, our members, as things progress.
And please recall: if you have thoughts you can quickly share with us about new things that have worked well, big and small — or not so well — we want to hear about them. Let us know at this survey.

Nevertheless, as you well know, the process of moving away from strict isolation is not an easy task. While much is known about the SARS-CoV-2 virus, much of the specificity we crave does not yet exist. Many of you have no doubt been bombarded with questions from parents about the advisability of summer camps, group activities, parties, swimming pools, and more. I myself have wrestled with these recently in a number of settings, as part of a medical leadership team making the difficult decision on a summer camp opening, but also in several conference calls and webinars to early childhood centers and libraries, who are even more bewildered by the confusing and often conflicting information out there.

It is at this time that we’re proud to help encourage families to reach out to you, their primary care medical homes, with their questions. Even if none of us have the best, most perfect answer in our hands, we have an answer that is better than none — and even saying that there is no answer can offer a sense of comfort to a concerned parent. So, nationally and in our state, we’re telling families to #CallYourPediatrician via this campaign. We’re hoping that they’ll take this opportunity to reconnect, have their own immediate concerns addressed, and then take a moment to think about all the health needs that their child might have that have fallen by the wayside — well visits, immunizations, chronic care, medication refills, and so forth. Whatever your office is ready to take on, we’re trying to help make sure people know that.

Because in that line “Call Your Pediatrician” is more than a simple business or marketing exhortation. It’s a reflection of the trust we all collectively build, over countless hours, days, months, and years, with untold numbers of children and families. A trust that we’ll do right by them, even when what’s right isn’t so clear. A trust that we can easily handle the simple, and thoughtfully evaluate and address the complex. A trust that the best for all children is always at the forefront of what we do, each and every time.

Because it is. Thank you for all that you do — your Chapter is here to help you be as successful as possible in that mission, because we believe it too, to the bottom of our hearts.