PEDIATRIC HEALTH ASSOCIATES

 We wish each of you a very Happy Thanksgiving and may the blessings of the holiday season fill your heart with joy. Media Time…How to devise a family media plan  Kimberly Gubbins, CPNP   From the desk of  Nurse Practitioner Kimberly Gubbins  All of us can agree that technology can be both helpful and harmful. We can also agree that our children can be influenced by technology both positively and negatively. Let us start by outlining some facts and figures.       1.  Families who own tablets (Ipads, etc.) have increased from 8% in 2011 to 40% in 2013.      2.  The average amount of time children spend on a mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) has tripled since 2011.  72% of children under 8 years old have used a mobile device for media activity.     3.  Television is the bulk of children’s media time.     4.  Children, 8 years and under, spend about 2 hours per...

              From the desk of  Brittany Jimenez, RN Brittany Jimenez, RN   Being a working Mom myself, I often struggle with keeping the fridge stocked and making healthy meals for my family. Luckily, websites like Pinterest and Facebook are loaded with quick and nutritious meal ideas. Now to just get everyone to the table for dinner! Sitting down as a family and eating with one another is just as important as the quality of the food that is served. So what exactly are some of the benefits of family mealtimes? Family mealtime offers a platform for children to develop social skills and table manners, become good conversationalists and can help to build a stronger vocabulary. Family mealtime creates links between the different generations and allows children to ask questions about their family’s history and hear family stories. Sitting down with one another promotes health benefits for the entire family. Children who eat...

Every year Drs. Shoshara and Shakir help co-coordinate a Turkey Drive - they raise funds in a grass roots effort to provide Thanksgiving turkeys to families in need on Chicago's South Side, in the Jackson Park, Woodlawn, and Marquette Park neighborhoods. According to school statistics, over 99% of the student population in these areas live on incomes below the federal poverty line. The drive is an all-volunteer effort that is run through the Sabeel Food Pantry, which is part of the not-for-profit that is run by Dr. Shakir's father. Last year a record  846 turkeys were donated to families who would otherwise not have been able to afford their own. This year, we have set an ambitious goal of 1,000 turkeys, and we once again ask for your support in this effort to help our neighbors in need. Each turkey only costs $15, but that can make the difference to a family in need this holiday. All donations are tax deductible! You can donate in one of two ways: 1) Online, at the Tur...

November begins our month of thanks—what better way to start but with Veteran’s Day. We offer heartfelt appreciation to the veterans in our practice—the moms and dads of our patients and even some of our former patients who have grown up and have served or are serving today. We realize the sacrifice you have made to keep us safe—many thanks. It is impossible to shield kids from all the chaos that is happening in our world.   Kids who have parents serving in the military may express a higher level of stress as they hear about the casualties of war.     Even if you don’t have the news on, they may hear about it at school or from friends.    Whether you have a loved one currently serving or not, we encourage you to talk with your kids about how our soldiers are working around the world to keep us safe.   It may just be the very thing they need to hear to reassure them. Give your kids a history lesson by bringing the past to life.     Perso...

Lisa Martin, MD Lisa Martin , MD, MPH earned her medical degree and completed her residency at the   University   of Chicago . Afterwards, she pursued a fellowship in general academic pediatrics at Children’s Memorial Hospital while earning her public health degree from Northwestern University . She has  spent the last ten years teaching medical students and pediatric residents at Loyola's Stritch School of Medicine as well as caring for patients in Loyola's outpatient clinic. Dr. Martin is passionate about training future physicians and she continues to be an affiliate faculty member at Loyola. Starting Monday, October 28th, she will begin seeing patients at our   Naperville ,   Plainfield and Bolingbrook offices. Her areas of clinical interest include newborn care, nutrition, obesity prevention, health promotion and injury prevention. Dr. Martin and her husband are the proud parents of a young daughter and she enjoys participating in CrossF...