Updates

Beacon Pediatrics Masking Policy

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We kindly ask all patients over 2 years of age that are sick and any accompanying family members (even if they are not sick) to wear a mask in our office. If you do not have a mask, we can provide one for you for $1 (all monies go to a local charity benefiting our community’s children).

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Why We Ask You to Mask Up

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• Protecting the Vulnerable: Our office often includes newborns with developing immune systems, elderly grandparents or guardians, and individuals with chronic illnesses or weakened immune systems for whom a common cold could be dangerous.

• Source Control: Masks are highly effective at "catching" respiratory droplets at the source (your nose and mouth) before they can spread into the air or onto shared surfaces.

• Keeping Our Doors Open: If our doctors, nurses, and front-desk staff get sick, we have to reduce our hours or reschedule appointments. Masking helps ensure we stay healthy so we can continue to provide care for you and your family.

• Asymptomatic Spread: Some illnesses are most contagious right before symptoms peak. Wearing a mask covers all the bases, just in case.

• Maintaining a Sterile Environment: Medical offices are high-traffic areas for germs. Masking is one of the simplest and most effective tools we have to keep our clinical spaces as clean and safe as possible for everyone.

 

Note: If you or your child are unable to wear a mask due to age (under 2 years old) or a specific medical condition, please let our front desk know so we can provide an alternative arrangement, such as waiting in your car or moving directly to an exam room.

 

We may be unable to provide care to you or your child if you are unable to follow our policy.

To Our Beacon Pediatrics Families:

 

Beacon Pediatrics fully supports the childhood immunization schedule developed and recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The AAP developed the very first childhood immunization schedule almost 100 years ago and has continued to research, review, and recommend such a schedule annually since then. The AAP schedule is based on evidence-based science and has only one goal: to protect children from preventable diseases with safe and effective vaccines. The most significant public health success in the US and worldwide has been the development and administration of immunizations. Millions of lives have been saved. Vaccines are given to not only protect the person who receives the vaccine, but also to protect others who are too young to be vaccinated and those whose immune systems are compromised such as by cancer or medications. Every vaccine on the schedule has been thoroughly studied and the reasons why and when each one is recommended has been very thoroughly considered. Because vaccines have been so effective, many illnesses have become so uncommon that their devastating consequences have been all but forgotten. Unfortunately, with the recent increase in vaccine hesitancy and decline in immunizations, many of those illnesses like measles, whooping cough, polio, and tetanus are already on the rise again, and we have already started seeing their tragic consequences.

 

Beacon Pediatrics does accept patients whose parents choose not to vaccinate their children, or who choose to follow their own unique vaccine schedule. We feel it is important for all children to receive excellent healthcare, even if they are not immunized. It should be noted, however, that we do not agree with those parents who choose not to follow the immunization schedule recommended by the AAP. We will continue to encourage families to choose to protect their children per the AAP’s guidelines, and we will continue to provide our patients with accurate, evidence-based information and compassionate care.

 

The pediatricians at Beacon Pediatrics have well over 100 years of collective experience regarding child care and vaccines. We would never recommend a vaccine that we would not take ourselves or give to our own children or grandchildren. We encourage parents that have questions regarding vaccines to speak with us. We are happy to go over any concerns, answer all questions no matter how detailed, and help untangle the many confusing messages. If you want to read and learn more about vaccines, you can find high-quality, evidence-based resources at the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (https://www.chop.edu/vaccine-education-center), the AAP’s parenting website Health Children (https://www.healthychildren.org/English/Pages/default.aspx), and the Vaccine Integrity Project at the University of Minnesota (https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/vaccine-integrity-project).

 

Respectfully,

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Beacon Pediatrics Providers:

Jeffrey Boxer, MD

Erin Fletcher, DO

Stacey Fox, MD

Nancy Gideon, MD

Meredith Luckenbaugh, MD

Lauren Arini, CPNP

Elizabeth Baldwin, CPNP

Wendy Gatto, CPNP

Addison Plume, PA-C

 

January 7, 2026