Forestream Pediatrics welcomes new patients. Choosing the right pediatrician for your child is one of the most important decisions you will make. By selecting Forestream Pediatrics, you can feel confident and comfortable that you have made the right decision.
To understand what to expect for your child's first visit to our practice, please read through this page.
Our Mission
Forestream Pediatrics’ Support of Vaccination Statement
We as the providers of Forestream Pediatrics, recognize that maintaining the health and well-being of your children is our primary mission. Critical to this mission, is routine vaccination. Vaccination is one of the most important steps that can be taken to keep a child healthy and safe, and is used worldwide.
- We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.
- We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.
- We firmly believe that all children should receive all the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
- We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence, and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.
All the children of our doctors and nurse practitioners have been fully vaccinated. All our providers believe that vaccinating your children may be the single most important health-promoting and life-saving intervention that you can perform as parents. Public health policy exists to promote the well-being of all the children in our community.
The AAP and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention both recommend a vaccine schedule administering multiple immunizations at scheduled intervals and not “splitting” vaccines. Multiple shots and combination vaccines are utilized for three main reasons:
- to provide broad immunologic protection to children when they are young and most vulnerable to these serious diseases
- to minimize the absolute number of shots needed
- to minimize the number of office visits which could potentially expose children to other illnesses in the waiting room
The administration of simultaneous immunizations has been extensively studied and determined to be safe and effective. There is no negative effect on the childhood immune system. There is no medical benefit to splitting shots (and there is increased potential for harm by doing so).
We strongly support these recommendations. Non-standard vaccine schedules may lead to medical errors and increase risk to the under-vaccinated child. In addition, they pose a risk to other children who may come in contact with your child.
Our policy states:
- All children must receive all vaccines recommended by the AAP that are mandated for school entry by the State of New York.
- All children must begin receiving their immunizations by age 3 months and be up to date on all required vaccines (including MMR and Varicella) by the age of 2 years.
- Exceptions for the AAP window include: Hepatitis A, Influenza, and Gardasil.
- The Hepatitis A series, although strongly recommended by our providers, may be deferred until such a time that NY requires it for school entry.
- The Influenza vaccine is strongly recommended yearly for all children over the age of 6 months; however it is not mandatory at this time.
- The Gardasil (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine series is approved and strongly recommended for older children and teens, ideally between the ages of 10-13, but it is not mandatory at this time.
The provider you are seeing during your visit, will review recommended vaccines during the appointment. If you refuse a vaccine after agreeing to it and the vaccine has been prepared for administration, you will be responsible for the cost of the wasted vaccine. If you are hesitant on a specific vaccine, or have questions, please review this with the provider before consenting.
Parents or guardians who don’t agree with the Forestream pediatrics vaccine policy will be given a 1-month grace period to find another Pediatrics practice. We do not keep a list of such providers and will not be able to provide families with names of physicians who accept families who choose not to vaccinate their children. Please recognize that by not vaccinating you are putting your child at unnecessary risk for life-threatening illness and disability, even death.
Our practice is working together to build life-long relationships between our staff and our patients by consistently providing our patients with compassion, excellence and value. To fulfill this mission, we are committed to:
- Improving the lives of the children we serve by providing quality care in a child-centered environment.
- Listening to our young patients and their families who we are privileged to serve.
- Guiding our patients along a path of optimal health and wellness.
- Continually pursuing excellence at all levels through continuing education.
What to bring to your first visit?
We work hard to ensure that your child receives prompt medical care in a comfortable, child-friendly office setting. To help expedite the first appointment, we ask that you please bring your child's immunization records and be prepared to complete paperwork regarding your family medical history, your child's medical history, and insurance information.
****A parent or legal guardian needs to accompany the child to the initial appointment.***
Patient Forms
We are also happy to offer you the option to download, print and complete our office forms to reduce wait times during your first appointment.
- Patient Medical History Form
- Record Request Incoming
- Record Request Outgoing
- Patient Information Form (PIF)
What to Expect
On the day of your child's first visit to our office, we recommend arriving FIFTEEN minutes early. This allows extra time for finishing up any registration forms and ensures you have plenty of time to get acquainted with our staff and office. We look forward to meeting you and joining with you to help your child maintain optimal health.
For More Pediatric Help
Visit this link for more helpful tips about your child's health: healthychildren.org