Help: Missing Dog!

Please help us out!

One of the employee's at Willow Creek has a lost dog!

Hannah is a brown, wire-haired pointer.

She weighs around 60 pounds.

She is wearing a red collar with a tag on it.

She was last seen on Wednesday, June 29th in the afternoon from Laird Way to the Foothill Village area.

If you have any information please contact the office at 801-942-1800 or if it is after office hours, you can call 801-652-9079.

Healthy Habits Checklist - #3 Food and Drink

The 3rd item on our F.U.N. checklist is food and drink. Children develop their eating habits at an early age, so it is important to teach them to appreciate healthy foods. Some ideas to encourage healthy eating include letting your child participate in food preparation and do not use food as a reward or a punishment. You can click here to find more tips and ideas to help promote healthy eating habits with your children.

Healthy beverages are also important in your child's healthy development. It is recommended to avoid sugary drinks and make room for milk and lots of water. Click here for more tips and ideas on how to incorporate healthy drinks into your children's diet.

Also, don't forget, you only have 4 days left to enter our summer blog contest for a chance to win 4 day passes to Lagoon Amusement Park!

*Information provided by http://healthykidshealthyfuture.org/

Lawn Mower Safety Reminder

Whether they are riding with an adult or just playing nearby, children should never be in close proximity to a running lawn mower. In a recent article in HealthDay News, it warns accidents can be devastating but can be preventable.
"Kids should never be around a running lawn mower. And children under the age of 16 should not be allowed to operate either a riding lawn mower or walk-behind mower," Dr. Edwin Harris, pediatric podiatrist with the Loyola University Health System, said in a university news release. Harris, who has treated children who have lost toes or portions of their feet in lawn mower accidents, pointed out that although such mower mishaps are devastating, they are totally preventable. Yet according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), over 200,000 people, including 16,200 kids, were injured in lawn mower accidents in 2007 alone.
This summer, Harris concluded, parents and guardians could prevent their child from becoming another grim statistic by following the CPSC safety guidelines regarding lawn mower safety:

**Children should be supervised by another adult who isn't mowing the lawn and kept away from the mowing area.
**Lawn mowers should be turned off if a child approaches the mowing area.
**Anyone operating a mower should look behind the mower and down for small children -- especially when moving backwards.
**Children should never sit on the lap of someone operating a ride-on mower -- even when the blade is shut off.
**Don't let young kids ever operate any type of lawn mower.
**The person operating the lawn mower should be mindful of the fact that blind corners, shrubs and trees could block their view of a child.
**Sturdy shoes with rubber soles or good traction should be worn to prevent any slipping while mowing.
"As we head into the peak of the lawn mowing season, I'm hoping operators of lawn mowers will follow these common-sense precautions," Harris said.

--Info provided by Dr Jopling, article from June 18th, HealthDay News
For More information The American Academy of Pediatrics provides additional tips on lawn mower safety.
Remember only a few days to enter into our "Lagoon Family Give Away"...click here for more details!!! We hope you are having a safe and FUN summer!

Dr. Ashton and Anita's Retirement Party!

Earlier this month the staff of Willow Creek Pediatrics put on an amazing retirement party for Dr. Ashton and his nurse Anita! The night was a Hawaiian themed party, full of great company. So many people came out to show their love for Dr. Ashton and Anita and had so many wonderful stories and things to say about them. It was definitely a night for the books! Here are some pictures from the evening:

Dr. Ashton's daughter, Erin

Dr. Ralston from our Cottonwood office

Dr. Ashton and his wife Joanie

Dr. Christensen

Dr. Ormsby

Dr. Jopling's nurse, Traci

All of the people who came to celebrate

Dr. Ashton's wife, Joanie

Anita

Dr. Ashton sporting his "retirement" hair!

Dr. Owen's from our St. Mark's office, and her husband

Dr. Ashton

Dr. Memmott

Wasatch Pediatrics administrator, Janis, and her husband

Dr. Lynch

Dr. Ashton's daughter, Brodi

Dr. Ashton's wife, Joanie, with Dr. Christensen and his wife

Dr. Ashton and Dr. Jopling

This truly was such an amazing night! We would like to thank Dr. Ashton and Anita for the many great years that they have spent making our office a better place! We love you and will miss you both!

Fact Friday: Portable Pool Safety

About two dozen children each year drown in portable pools, according to a study published this month in Pediatrics. Nearly all are under age 5.

Unlike permanent pools, portable pools aren't typically required to meet any local safety standards, says study author Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

Smith notes that portable pools are increasingly popular and come in all sizes. Hard-plastic wading pools, which hold about 18 inches of water, may cost only a few dollars at a local drugstore. Family-size, inflatable pools, nearly as large as a small, in-ground pool, can cost closer to $1,000, he says.

These pools pose unique risks, says Meri-K Appy, president of Safe Kids USA, an advocacy group. Few people, for example, are willing to invest in building a safety fence around a portable pool — one of the best ways to prevent drownings — because a fence could cost more than the pool itself.

"These pools are too small for people to invest in an isolation fence but too large to drain every time," Appy says.

**About 11% of all pool drowning deaths in kids under 5 take place in portable pools, the Consumer Product Safety Commission says.

**Children drowned in as little as 2 inches of water, according to the study, based on data from a total of 209 deaths from 2001 to 2009.

**About 43% of the children were being supervised when they went under water; 39% were unsupervised; and 18% of kids died during a "lapse" in supervision.

"Parents don't always understand that it just takes a couple of minutes for children to be submerged under water for their breathing and heart to stop," Smith says. "What's different about drowning is that it's quick, it's silent and it's final."

When supervising kids in the water, Appy says, caregivers need to give children their full attention and be only an arm's length away. Children have died at swimming parties, surrounded by others, because adults weren't within reach.

Drowning is the leading cause of death from unintentional injuries in children ages 1 to 4, causing 29% of these deaths — more even than traffic accidents, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They include not only pools and lakes but bathtubs. Parents also should learn CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, says Susan Baker, professor with the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. The study notes that few parents even attempted CPR, perhaps because they doubted their skills.

Full article click here or for additional information check out www.aap.org
**info from Pediatrics and USA today and CDC

Healthy Habits Checklist - #2 Screen Time

It's time for another way to incorporate F.U.N. into your daily lives with your family!

This weeks healthy habits checklist item involves screen time. While the television and video games may be an easy way for mom or dad to keep the kids busy so they can get things done around the house, it is only recommended for young children to get no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of screen time at home. It is also recommended for babies and toddlers under 2 years old to have no screen time at all, as it may interfere with learning, as well as healthy social and physical development.

A few tips for when kids do spend time in front of the television or video games:

• Avoid watching while eating


• Make it "quality programming"


• Communicate with other parents to find and share ideas about quality educational shows and DVD's.

You can read more on this here.

Also, don't forget to read up on F.U.N. and enter our summer contest for a chance to win 4 day passes to Lagoon Amusement Park! Entry deadline is July 4th and the winner will be announces on Tuesday July 5th! Happy Summer!

*Information provided by http://healthykidshealthyfuture.org/

Swimmer's Ear

Swimming is a great way for kids to stay active, especially during the summer months. However, the combination of heat, humidity and water can lead to an ear condition called acute otitis externa, more commonly known as swimmer’s ear.

The infection often is caused by bacteria being carried into the outer ear canal. Symptoms of swimmer’s ear include redness, swelling, itching, drainage of pus and pain.

Following are some tips from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent and treat swimmer’s ear:

Keep your ears as dry as possible.

Use a bathing cap, ear plugs or custom-fitted swim molds when swimming to keep water out of ears.

Dry your ears thoroughly after swimming or showering.

Use a towel to dry your ears well.

Tilt your head and hold each ear facing down to allow water to escape the ear canal.

Pull your earlobe in different directions while the ear is faced down to help water drain out.

If water is still in the ears, consider using a hair dryer to move air within the ear canal. Be sure the hair dryer is on the lowest heat and speed/fan setting, and hold it several inches from the ear.

Don’t put objects, including cotton-tip swabs, pencils, paperclips or fingers, in the ear canal.

Don’t try to remove ear wax. It helps protect your ear canal from infection.

If you think the ear canal is blocked by ear wax, consult your pediatrician rather than trying to remove it yourself. Consult your pediatrician if your ears are itchy, flaky, swollen or painful, or if you have drainage from your ears.

**Info from American Academy of Pediatrics.
Thanks Dr O'Mara for providing this information on swimmer's ear. If you have any questions please call us.