Dear Parent,
As your child approaches adolescence and young adulthood, we would like to partner with you to make sure your child is healthy and safe. We will be talking to your teen about all aspects of his/her health, including pubertal changes. We will also be having discussions with your teen about drinking, smoking, drugs, and sexual behavior.
We would like you to be present for all of your child's health visits. This will allow us to obtain any pertinent medical history from you, and to get your consent for any recommended vaccinations, blood work, or other testing. However, as children mature into adolescence, it is important that they have the opportunity to talk to us in private about concerns that arise as they grow into adults. This also helps them build trusting relationships with their doctors. Thus, we request that you remain in the waiting room during this part of your child's visit and physical exam.
We will have frank discussions with your teen about the all of the behaviors that can affect his/her health—particularly those behaviors related to alcohol, drugs, and sex. While we always encourage our patients to share concerns with their parents, it is important that teens know that they have another safe place to talk about these issues. We tell children that we keep everything they tell us strictly confidential. We will only disclose a confidence if we feel that your child is in grave danger. We hope you understand that this allows children to speak freely with their health care providers.
Please let us know of any of your concerns. As always, we look forward to helping to keep your child healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Shea Cronley, MD
Cynthia Hill, MD
Janet Crino, MD
Melissa Mondello, MD
Beverly Viscusi, MSN, CRNP, IBCLC
Shobha Sharma, CRNP
Nicole Bieler, CRNP
Jessica Stickley, RN, MSN
