COVID-19 Updates

[Updated January, 2022]

Click to read Dr. Dina’s weekly newsletter series on COVID-19. There’s good news and bad news, which would you like to hear first? Read more .. 

Kidcrew is available to all kids in Ontario.

If you have a friend or relative who cannot access their primary care physician, we are available for you.

Kidcrew is available for sick/urgent calls. However, we are not accepting new patients for ongoing care. Please see all our information on joining Kidcrew and virtual visits.

Download our Guide to Virtual Visits?.

Important: During this pandemic, we are doing our very best to be available to any child in Ontario. We have pediatricians available 7 days a week to see your child virtually, and in-person. We are open seven days a week.

We are accepting new patients for our many Allied Health services. For more information on Kidcrew accepting new patients, please call our medical desk at 416-654-5437, or email to medical@kidcrew.com, or click here for information on virtual care.

Hello Kidcrew Family!

As we continue to provide comprehensive care for your children and family, seven days a week, these are our new operational changes.

SICK VISITS and VIRTUAL CARE

If your child is sick, please contact us to book a screening appointment with one of our doctors. The doctor will review your child’s illness with you and determine next steps, including whether an in-person visit is recommended.

If your child is sent home from daycare or school because they are sick, our doctors cannot provide return-to-school notes. We do not have COVID-19 tests in our office and therefore cannot give a note stating that it is safe for the child to return to school.

Our doctors are happy to review your child’s illness and provide counsel.

Please see kidcrew.com/virtual-care for more details.

FLU SHOTS

For more information on flu shots, click here.

VACCINE and ROUTINE VISITS

Many of your children are due for vaccines and routine visits. It is unpredictable how long this pandemic will last, and we do not want to delay vaccinations as we want to continue to prevent vaccine-preventable illnesses. Rest assured, there are very few patients coming through Kidcrew, and all are healthy.

When the pandemic calms, we will want to minimize the volume of patients through the doors for fear of future outbreaks of COVID-19. We will not be able to catch up on all vaccines that are delayed in a safe way all at once (like we have previously done with flu shot clinics).

Please consider keeping your routine well-baby visit, or at least schedule a virtual visit with your doctor to ensure we review your child’s health and development as we continue to practice preventative medicine.

WE ARE AVAILABLE TO ANY CHILD IN ONTARIO

Our primary care and specialist physicians are still providing consults virtually.

We know that many doctor’s offices have closed, and few are offering virtual care to their patients.

We want to minimize unnecessary emergency room use and want to avoid delayed access to care. Therefore, our pediatricians will gladly see ANY child in Ontario through phone-call and virtual calls, to ensure all Ontario children have access to a pediatrician.

If you have friends or family members who do not have access to their physician right now, and they have a question or concern, please have them call (416-654-5437) or email us (medical@kidcrew.com) and we will arrange a virtual visit.

WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER!

This is a difficult time for children and parents. It is unprecedented, stressful, anxiety-inducing, and exhausting.

We worry about the emotional burden on you and your family.

Our team of pediatricians, mental health practitioners and psychiatrists are here to help.

If you or your child are struggling with big emotions, stress or anxiety, please let us know. We can schedule an in-person or virtual visit to provide care.

VIRTUAL CARE IS AVAILABLE AND WORKING WELL

COVID-19 is placing stress on Canada’s public health system. Kidcrew is offering virtual care to make sure that we can continue to care for our patients safely and effectively.

This means that we will be using video and audio technologies for some patient visits rather than asking all patients to come into our office.

Some health concerns can be addressed with virtual care alone, but in some cases, your doctor may ask you to visit us in Kidcrew, a hospital, or other health care facility if necessary, for a physical examination.

Many illnesses, questions, and concerns can be assessed on the phone or through a virtual visit.

If you want to avoid a routine visit in person, we do recommend scheduling a phone or virtual visit with your physician instead, as it will be difficult to accommodate all missed routine visits when the pandemic calms.

Your doctor can discuss your child’s health and development, and vaccines can be arranged at a later date.

FEELING STRESSED OR ANXIOUS? WE CAN HELP

COVID-19 has caused a rise in anxiety and stress for families and children.

Our therapy team is available for in-person, by phone or through virtual visits to discuss any concerns you may have. Please call or email to enquire.

SELF-ASSESSMENT

If you think that you might have COVID-19, you can complete a COVID-19 self-assessment:
COVID-19 SELF ASSESSMENT LINK

If you or your child screens positive here, it is critical that you call 1-866-553-7205 to be screened and verify if you should attend an assessment center or self-isolate at home for 14 days.

For information about COVID-19 Assessment Centres:

Please practice social distancing, and if you can, stay home.

To keep people safe, and to keep the pandemic from spreading in Toronto, it is very important that people stay at home except for essential tasks.

If you go out in the world:
• practice social distancing
• stay at least 2 meters from others
• avoid touching your face
• wash your hands well, at least 30 seconds, multiple times a day

Where can one find reliable information about Covid-19?

For reliable, up-to-date information on the Covid-19 outbreak, we recommend:

1. The World Health Organizations Novel Coronavirus Information Page

2. The CDC Novel Coronavirus Information Page

3. Health Canada’s 2019 Novel Coronavirus infection Outbreak update page

It is our goal to treat every child in need of care while protecting our families, our staff, and our community.

We thank you for your patience during this challenging time.

Team Kidcrew

Comments and feedback are welcome at client-services@kidcrew.com

Dr Dina Kulik Kidcrew Medical

Dr. Till Davy, MD, FRCP(C), FAAP

My thoughts on Virtual Visits

We always ask: “What is in the patient’s best interest. I have been impressed by how much help we can give during virtual visits.”

After 40 years in pediatrics – and teaching medical students about the importance of direct contact with patients and the enormous value of the physical examination – I have been impressed by how much help we can give during virtual visits when the pandemic made us re-evaluate the way we practice.

Sometimes it is necessary to make sure a child gets a full examination, but very often it is possible to help over the phone and use technology to spare parents and children the trip to the office or emergency room and help with excellent results – it has been a tremendous learning experience for all of us.