Nurse Triage

Need advice from a nurse? Our highly trained nursing staff is available to answer your questions and concerns 24 hours a day.  Each day our nurses provide advice on a wide range of topics from fevers, respiratory problems, to medication dosing.  During business hours, our experienced in house nurses will be answering your concerns.  Each of our LPNs and RNs take turns providing advice.  Jenni in Cary, Tina in Apex, and Amber in Fuquay-Varina are some of our most experienced nurses providing triage.  After hours, we have contracted with WakeMed to provide nurse advice.

Ear Piercing

Several of our providers now provide professional ear piercing for our patients.  We prefer to see children from two to six months, and over 8 years of age. Please call our office if you would like to schedule your child’s first ear piercing with us.

Breastfeeding / Lactation Consult

Appointments are scheduled in our Apex office. Please speak with the front desk or call 919-290-1090 to set up your appointment.

• Please arrive 15 minutes prior to appointment time.
• Please bring a list of questions or concerns you have
• Please bring all items that you use regularly when nursing or pumping. This may include pillows, pumps, shields.
• If you have a support person available to attend, please invite them to join us if you feel comfortable.

Vaccinations

Our Vaccine Policy

We believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.

We believe in the safety of our vaccines.

We believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

We believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

We believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

We believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health-promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you perform as parents/caregivers.  The recommended vaccines and their schedule are the results of years and years of scientific study and research, with data gathered on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

These things being said, we recognize that there has always been and will likely always be controversy surrounding vaccination.

The vaccine campaign is a victim of its own success.  It’s precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we even discuss whether or not they should be given.  Because of the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis, or even chickenpox.

Over the past several years, some people have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR vaccine after publication in Europe of an unfounded suspicion that the vaccine caused autism.  This claim was later discredited and retracted.  Unfortunately, decreased vaccination rates have resulted in a rise in the number of measles cases across Europe.

Please understand that delaying or “breaking up” vaccines to give one or two at a time over several visits goes against expert recommendations and can put your child at risk for serious illness or even death.  Doing these things also goes against our medical advice.

As medical professionals entrusted with the lives of children we believe strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is the right thing to do.  With rising rates of pertussis being seen in this country we have made the decision here at Cary, Fuquay, and Apex Pediatrics to require our patients to meet certain vaccine standards to be part of the practice.  This is to protect the health of your child, our patients, and our community.

Finally, if you should refuse to vaccinate your child despite all our efforts and recommendations, we will ask you to find another health care provider who shares your views.

We write this statement not to scare you, nor to coerce you, but to make you aware of the facts, and to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child.

Please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you have about vaccines with any one of our providers.  Please also recognize that we will do everything we can to convince you that vaccinating your child according to the recommended schedule is the right thing to do.  It is our job to advocate for children and their health is our priority.

TYPICAL VACCINE ADMINISTRATION SCHEDULE:

2 month series (3 shots):  Pentacel (DtaP, IPV, HiB), Prevnar, Hep B, and oral Rotateq

4 month series (3 shots):  Pentacel (DtaP, IPV, HiB), Prevnar, Hep B, and oral Rotateq

6 month series (3 shots):  Pentacel (DtaP, IPV, HiB), Prevnar, Hep B, and oral Rotateq

1 year series (4 shots):  MMR, Varivax, Hep A, and Prevnar

15 month series (2 shots): DTaP, HiB

18 month or 2 year (1 shot): Hep A

4-6 years old (2-4 shots depending on combination used): MMR, Varivax, DTaP, IPV

11-12 years old:  TdaP, Menactra, HPV (2 doses needed)

16-17 years old:  Menactra, Meningitis B (2 doses needed)

To meet our practice standards, the following are required:

1 year standard:  Each infant should have 3 doses each of DTaP, IPV, HiB, and Prevnar by 1 year of age.

2 year standard:  Each toddler should have the 1 year standard + 1 dose each of MMR, Varivax + boosters of DTaP, HiB, and Prevnar (total of 4 each) by 2 years of age.

6 year standard:  Each child should have the 2 year standard + boosters of MMR, Varivax, DTaP and IPV. Note that Hep B is required for Kindergarten entry.

12 year standard:  Each child should have the 6 year standard, + TdaP booster and Menactra.

17 year standard: Each child should have the 12 year standard + Menactra #2

Vaccination Facts from the Centers for Disease Control

Bear in mind that diseases we vaccinate are not gone.  The number of cases of measles last year was more than any single year since the 1990’s; most of the cases in children who have not been vaccinated either because of age or by choice.

See the Downloads list below for fact sheets about each vaccine.