Category: General News

Should You Keep Your Regular Doctors Appointments During the Coronavirus Pandemic?

Posted on by Kimberly Wright

As we continue to navigate our way through the Coronavirus pandemic we’re often asked about whether our guests should continue to keep their regularly scheduled doctor appointments.

The short answer is yes. However, like everything else these days, the longer answer is a little more complicated. 

We absolutely want all our guests to continue to make and keep their regularly scheduled appointments and we want you to know that we are taking every precaution to keep guests safe when they visit The Wright Center. 

You can view those precautions in our COVID-19 FAQs. 

As you plan your next appointment we would like for you to consider beginning it as a telehealth visit. Our providers will perform an initial consultation via phone and bill the visit to your medical insurance, just like a standard in-person visit to our office. From there, we will determine after talking with you if you need to visit the office for an in-person appointment. 

Whether you need to travel to our office will be determined by a number of factors including the nature of the visit, the immediate need to see the doctor in person, and your personal exposure to those with Coronavirus, if any. 

We truly hope to be able to see all of our guests in person very soon. We miss seeing you.

But in the meantime know that all of us at The Wright Center are working hard every day to ensure the safety of our guests and each other. To schedule your next visit call us at (630) 687-9595 or complete our Request an Appointment form. 

How Does COVID-19 Affect Pregnant Women and New Moms?

Posted on by Kimberly Wright

Our Women’s Health Nurse Practioner, Emilie, recently reviewed the recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists and Center for Disease Control regarding COVID-19 and pregnancy. She recently took the time to sit down and answer some of the most frequently asked questions we’ve heard. 

By now, we know COVID-19 is a respiratory illness caused by Coronavirus, with symptoms appearing as shortness of breath, fever, and a cough. There are some stomach problems that can appear, but the main symptoms are shortness of breath, fever, and cough.

One of the questions we’ve heard a lot is “Do pregnant women have a higher risk of becoming infected with COVID-19?” The CDC and ACOG say that pregnant women don’t have a more severe chance than the general public to contract COVID-19, but there’s still a lot of research that still needs to be done.

ACOG, the CDC and the Wright Center for Women’s Health all recommend pregnant patients take the same standard precautions as others, such as: 

  • Washing their hands
  • Wearing a cloth mask when out in public
  • Staying home as much as possible
  • Staying away from sick individuals
  • Taking prenatal vitamins

Can COVID Affect a Fetus? 

There is nothing to suggest that COVID-19 can be vertically transferred to the baby when they’re still in the womb. There have been some pre-term births associated with moms who tested positive for COVID-19, but it’s not likely that COVID has been transferred to the baby during pregnancy. 

Will COVID-19 Affect My Prenatal Care & Postpartum Visits?

Depending on where you get prenatal care, the care may differ. However, The Wright Center For Women’s health is still open for essential visits and prenatal care. We are offering telehealth visits for patients, so they don’t even have to leave their homes. We suggest contacting your healthcare provider and ensuring their plans for prenatal care and postpartum visits. 

Will This Affect The Labor & Delivery Policy? 

The labor and delivery policy will vary depending on where you’re planning to give birth. At The Wright Center For Women’s Health, we suggest reaching out to your desired facility as close to the due date as possible for the latest information as far as the visitor policy goes. The policies are everchanging during this time, so it’s important to reach out to them as soon as you can before your baby arrives so you have the latest information.

I Think I Have COVID-19 & I’m Pregnant…What Do I Do? 

If you believe you have COVID-19 or Coronavirus, call your healthcare provider, or call us as soon as possible. Our center offers telehealth visits and we can triage you before you come in. Our team will have everything set up for you before you arrive, have a test ready for you, and we can help you out.

However, if you have an emergency, difficulty breathing, or shortness of breath,  please call 9-1-1 and seek help right away. 

Should I Change My Labor & Delivery Plans? 

The labor and delivery policies at hospitals are constantly changing. We suggest reaching out to the desired facility about their labor and delivery rules. As of right now, there is no consensus about which method of delivery – vaginal or cesarean section is safest for women who have been diagnosed with COVID-19, we suggest sticking to your desired birth plan to welcome your little one. 

Is A Home Birth Safer For My Baby & I?

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists don’t recommend having a home birth, simply because there are always additional risks to labor and delivery that can be unexpected. It would be best and we really recommend you deliver your new baby in a hospital. 

Can I Still Breastfeed My Baby? 

As of right now, nothing suggests that COVID-19 is affecting breast milk. It is still important, now more than ever to breastfeed new babies, because it provides them with so many antibodies to help them fight infections.

How Can I Avoid Passing COVID-19 To My Newborn?

If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, or are symptomatic but haven’t been diagnosed yet and have a new little one, it’s important to take the same precautions as anyone else would, but strengthen them a bit. 

  • Wash your hands every chance you get
  • Wear a mask while breastfeeding
  • Make sure the baby isn’t exposed to anyone else
  • Wash your hands before and after touching your breast pump
  • Stay clean as much as possible 

What If I Have Other Questions? 

We hope this answered your questions, but if you have any more questions, we encourage you to reach out to us, your healthcare provider or your hospital. The Wright Center For Women’s Health is still open for essential visits, including prenatal visits and telehealth visits. 

Please let us know if you would like to speak to one of our healthcare professionals or schedule a visit with us. Follow us on social media and check out our blog for more information on the Coronavirus, our services, and how we’re staying safe. Stay safe and well!

BioTE Hormone Therapy, the Coronavirus Pandemic and You

Posted on by Kimberly Wright

If you’re a guest of The Wright Center for Women’s health, chances are you’ve heard us talking about BioTe® Therapy hormone optimization. 

BioTE is designed to deliver biologically identical hormones in the exact and proper amounts determined by our accurate testing and expert analysis of the results. According to patients of this groundbreaking hormone therapy, benefits can include:

  • Boosting immune system health
  • Protecting against respiratory illness
  • Rediscovering mental focus and clarity
  • Protecting against heart disease and stroke
  • Relieving of menopausal and PMS symptoms
  • Preventing osteoporosis, senility and Alzheimer’s disease
  • Improving cholesterol levels, muscle mass and strength

BioTE and Coronavirus

As we continue to navigate our way through the current Coronavirus pandemic we believe BioTE® Therapy to be more important than ever. Why? Because many of the BioTE products contain immune system enhancements such as testosterone and thyroid optimizers — both of which aid the body in creating a healthy immune system. 

Further, BioTE nutraceuticals also contain Vitamins A and D and Zinc, which can help the body defend against respiratory illness.  

BioTE is administered to our patients in a pellet delivery process, which requires office visits for safe and effective injection directly into the bloodstream. For those concerned about whether these treatments are considered an essential service during the pandemic we believe they are and we will continue to see our BioTE patients during this time.

We are also accepting new BioTE patients and may conduct telehealth visits for initial consultations and before comprehensive blood work analysis is ordered.

If you are a current BioTE patient please know The Wright Center is taking all precautionary steps to keep you safe during your visits, including recommended social distancing guidelines, pre-health screenings for patients before they enter the building and staff members fitted with all necessary personal protective equipment. Read more about our safety precautions here. 

For patients who wish to know more about BioTE Therapy hormone optimization and how it can improve your overall health and well-being, please call our office at 630-687-9595 or complete our online contact form and someone will contact you shortly. 

How We’ll Keep You Updated During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on by Kimberly Wright

To Our Guests,

Thank you for your patience while we navigate through the necessary changes that have been forced upon us from the current pandemic caused by COVID-19.

From Day 1 my email has been inundated with emails from dozens of emails from businesses telling me how they’re handling COVID-19. Our affiliated hospitals send daily, and often multiple times a day, updates on what they are doing. This made me think that this is something we should be doing, as well.

Our guests need to know more, but we just didn’t have the manpower. Now, this particular post isn’t really telling you about how we’re dealing with it but how we plan to get you the info (scroll down to previous posts to see what we’re doing). NO, this is the story of how we plan to be better and more consistent at getting this information to you.

So for the past few days, Chas and I have investigated and interviewed well over a dozen different marketing firms who could help us with this endeavor. The selection ran the gamut from a one-person operation operating out of his studio apartment (literally we could see his entire apartment, bed, bathroom and all on the zoom call) to highly sophisticated large corporations who had teams in 38 states.

The firm we chose is called Idea Marketing Group, which is located in nearby Yorkville. They had 3 of their team members join us for an online meeting. Their Marketing Director Bill Skowronski seemed to be running the show. He asked what we were looking for and in my true long-winded form, I tried to list all the many things that we do and how we’re fighting COVID, how this practice got started, my life story, blah blah blah.

Then he had to pin me down. So, he asked, If you had to boil it down to one thing that sets you apart that is the main thing you do, what would that be? What a great question. I think the same thing popped into both Chas and my head at the same time. This time Chas took the lead.

Chas said, “Personalized Luxury Healthcare.” I nodded emphatically thinking yep EXACTLY! Chas went on to tell a story about how he had just left a room of a pregnant woman and her husband who had called several offices and due to the coronavirus pandemic, no one would let her husband come into the visit with her. They had called many offices.

The husband was a physician and moving away to New York for residency soon. They really had no risk factors and he wanted to see the baby. We are limiting the number of guests in our office, limiting schedules and working with a skeleton crew, but we realized that we must look at each guest and situation individually. So, because the husband was leaving town and wanted to see the baby we secured all the appropriate PPE and our team made it happen.

This is where Bill got me. He revealed that he and his wife had a two-week old baby at home and he can really relate to that. After they went through infertility and tried for years, he now has to sit in the car while his wife and baby visit the doctor at a time when he wants to be them, and I’m sure they with him. He appreciated that we saw the need and adjusted accordingly.

No overly done graphs, no pre-done slide presentation, no market analysis and one size fit all packages. Just the ability to relate. I knew this was a good fit.

So, there you go. We have started this relationship with a group that’s like us. I’m proud of our search and our find. A group that is not a volume-based business. They know it’s about quality. They heard us when we said we need our guests to know what we’re doing to keep them and our team safe. This is how we plan to keep you all in the know. Thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Dr. Wright, The Wright Center Team, including Idea Marketing Group

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