The shortage of H1N1 vaccination has been big news locally, nationally and internationally. We are making every effort to obtain enough vaccination for each patient at Performance Pediatrics who wants one, and two doses for children 6 months - 10 years of age. We believe that federal and state government will distribute enough vaccination for all children in our community although vaccination will not arrive as quickly as we'd like.

Dr. McAllister is happy to speak with parents who have questions about the vaccination and about the H1N1 flu in our community.

Children's Hospital Boston has an excellent website that is updated frequently with reliable news on H1N1: CHB H1N1 Information. We encourage our families to utilize this valuable resource.

For now, encourage children to practice good flu-season hygiene including frequent hand washing. Don't share cups and utensils with other people. To the extent possible, stay away from sick people. Try to keep the touching of surfaces (banisters, etc) in public places to a minimum (and wash hands afterward). Don't touch your eyes, nose, or mouth, as that spreads germs. Also, please follow your child's school rules for keeping sick children home.

Minor-aged patients are often brought to the pediatrician for non-urgent acute medical care or health supervision visits by someone other than their custodial parent or guardian. These surrogates can be members of the child's extended family, such as a grandparent or aunt. In cases of divorce and remarriage, a noncustodial parent or stepparent may accompany the patient. Sometimes, children are brought for care by adults living in the home who are not biologically or legally related to the child. In some instances, a child care professional (e.g., au pair, nanny) brings the pediatric patient for medical care.

When you need a surrogate to take your child to an appointment at Performance Pediatrics, please complete the Consent By Proxy For Non-urgent Pediatric Care Form. The surrogate must submit this form as well as their driver's license to our receptionist prior to being seen by Dr. McAllister. As long as you do not list a time restriction on the form, you do not need to complete a new form if the same surrogate brings your child(ren) to Performance Pediatrics in the future. There is also a link to the form on our website.

Our office will be closed for the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays. Please plan ahead and call for referrals and prescription refills ahead of time.

For Thanksgiving we will close at 5 pm on Wednesday, November 25 and reopen at 9 am on Monday, November 30.

For Christmas we will close at 5 pm on Wednesday, December 23 and reopen at 9 am on Monday, December 28.

For New Year's we will close at 5 pm on Wednesday, December 30 and reopen at 9 am on Saturday, January 2.

For established patients, Dr. McAllister or a trusted colleague is available by telephone when our office is closed at 508-747-8229. Please use this service with respect; it is available for families with urgent and/or semi-urgent questions and concerns only. After-hours average response times for emergency calls are under 5 minutes, less than 10 minutes for urgent calls, and within 30 minutes for all other calls.