Announcement: Dr. Mudawwar’s Retirement

It is with mixed emotions that we announce the retirement of Dr. Fred Mudawwar. He has been an integral part of our practice. His contributions will always be valued and remembered. His hard work, commitment, and dedication are worthy of admiration.

“I have come to know many of my patients and their families closely and am truly honored to have participated in your care throughout the years. It has been my pleasure traveling throughout Western Massachusetts to ensure Allergy and Immunology care was accessible across the region.

While it is with mixed emotions, I am confident that I am leaving you in great hands with my colleagues at Allergy and Immunology Associates of New England. With five offices and 8 providers, I am sure you will find the quality care you deserve here.

Thank you for entrusting me to be a part of your medical care team over the years. I have very much enjoyed being your physician and wish you the very best of health and good fortune in the future”.

Fred (Fuad) Mudawwar, M.D.

It is important to AIANE that you continue to receive high-quality Allergy and Immunology care. Below you will find a listing of providers and their office locations with AIANE.

Please contact us at 855-763-3998 and our staff would be happy to assist you in this process.

Office Location

Provider

2 Medical Center Drive Springfield, MA 01107

David Robertson, MD

Jasdeep Badwal, MD

Kerri St. George, PA-C

53 Southampton Road Westfield, MA 01085

Vanessa Van Stee, MD

Kerri St. George, PA-C

269 Locust Street Florence, MA 01062

Jonathan Bayuk, DO

Margaret Sharron, NP

Erin Kolb, F-NP

2377 Boston Road, Wilbraham MA 01095

Margo Stevenson, DO

Jasdeep Badwal, MD

101 Munson Street Greenfield MA 01301

              

Vanessa Van Stee, MD

Jasdeep Badwal, MD

Margaret Sharron, NP


Update on Travel Guidelines (December)

Effective Wednesday, July 1, all travelers arriving to Massachusetts, including residents returning home, are instructed to self-quarantine for 14-days. This guidance does not apply to travelers from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York or New Jersey. As of December 1st, 2020 this guidance does not apply to travelers from Hawaii.

Additionally, workers designated by the federal government as essential critical infrastructure workers are also exempt from this directive. 

Travelers who are displaying symptoms of COVID-19 are instructed to not travel to Massachusetts and upon reentry to Massachusetts residents, should follow the 14 days quarantine guidelines.

AIANE will follow these guidelines.

COVID-19 Update

As you aware, AIANE has made the decision to move to appointment only allergy injections until further notice. This decreases the amount of people in our offices to ensure safe social distancing for both our patients and staff, as well as allows for ample time between patients for frequent cleaning of surfaces.  Currently, patients are able to schedule weekly appointments as schedules allow. There may be some weeks that allow for you to schedule more than one appointment.

Our providers constantly monitor COVID-19 data and adjust AIANE’s response accordingly; however, we do not anticipate any closure of our immunotherapy clinics. We encourage you to make your next appointment prior to leaving our offices as our schedules will fill up quickly.

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we navigate the COVID-19 pandemic together. We look forward to seeing you (with masks on) soon!

Update on Travel Guidelines

Effective Wednesday, July 1, all travelers arriving to Massachusetts, including residents returning home, are instructed to self-quarantine for 14-days. This guidance does not apply to travelers from Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, New York or New Jersey.

Additionally, workers designated by the federal government as essential critical infrastructure workers are also exempt from this directive. 

Travelers who are displaying symptoms of COVID-19 are instructed to not travel to Massachusetts and upon reentry to Massachusetts residents, should follow the 14 days quarantine guidelines.

AIANE will follow these guidelines.

Attention: Policy Enforcement

On March 27, all travelers arriving to Massachusetts were instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days until further notice. This is a state guideline and also a policy of AIANE.

We will not allow anyone with recent out of state travel into any of our offices that has not quarantined and anyone purposely withholding any travel information will be discharged from the practice immediately.

This is taken very seriously for the safety of our patients and of our staff. Thank you for your cooperation.

AIANE Patient Update

May 25, 2020

Dear AIANE Patients,

We have been through a lot over the last few months, and until a vaccine or treatment to COVID-19 is developed, we are unable to return to normal life. As Massachusetts begins to reopen, we want to inform you of some changes made to the offices for the safety of our patients, as well as our staff and what you should expect at your scheduled allergy injection visit.

  • You are required to have your temperature taken when you arrive at the office. If your temperature is 100° or higher, you will not be allowed to enter. Every staff member will have their temperature taken at beginning of every shift.

  • You are required to wear a mask or face covering when in the office and will see all employees wearing masks, in all areas of the office. Greeters and Injection nurses will be wearing full Protective Personal Equipment (caps, gowns, face shields and gloves).

  • A greeter will provide you with hand sanitizer and we request that you sanitize your hands right away.

  • Pens (sanitized after each use) will be provided for you to complete your Pre-injection Questionnaire but please feel free to bring your own.

  • All allergy injections will be by appointment only, no walk-ins will be accepted.

  • To maintain social distancing between patients in our waiting room, we ask that arrive on time for your appointment. If you are early, you will be asked to wait in your car and if you are late, you will be required to reschedule.

  • We have implemented one way traffic flow in our offices and traffic direction is marked on the floor, with white tape.

  • To limit contact, payments will not be accepted in the office until further notice and statements will be mailed to the address on file. Payments can be made by calling (855) 763-3998 or visiting our website at www.allergyimmunodocs.com

  • The mandatory 30 minute post injection wait time is required. This time must be in the office (not in your car) and no exceptions will be made.

We are following recommendations made by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Governor Baker, Mass Department of Public Health and will update as needed. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at (855) sneezyu or (855) 763-3998.

Allergy Injections

Our plan at this time is to resume allergy shots in early June by appointment only. In order to restart each patient safely and efficiently, we are requiring each patient to have a televisit with their provider to coordinate a dosing plan.


Please call the office to schedule the appointment.


We will be taking the highest level of precautions necessary to keep our patients and employees safe by closely monitoring all recommendations from the CDC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

In addition, we will continue practicing social distancing and strictly enforcing protective measures throughout all offices.

To keep everyone as safe as possible, we will only be allowing patients to enter the offices. Any patient under the age of 18 will be allowed (1) parent/guardian to accompany them to their appointments.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Temporary measures for shot patients

March 23, 2020 

Dear Patients of AIANE,

As you know, we are in a time that requires all of us to make constant changes to our daily lives in order to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Our AIANE offices continue to follow all of the recommendations provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). However, there have been few recommendations given with regards to handling patient flow in medical facilities such as ours. To date, we have been practicing social distancing and have massively increased sanitation protocols in all of our offices.

However, we have been working for several weeks on establishing temporary measures to provide the safest possible environment for both patients and our staff.  Beginning Wednesday, March 25, 2020 all shot patients will be required to schedule an appointment in order to receive allergen immunotherapy and biologic medications in all AIANE offices.    We will limit the number of shot patients scheduled at a time, maximizing social distancing and allowing us to disinfect at an even more frequent rate. We understand this is another challenge for you as patients, and that some of you may choose to suspend your allergy shots. If you choose this option, please be assured that we will get you back on schedule as quickly as possible when the pandemic recedes. In addition, we will be transitioning some patients, on a case by case basis, to monthly injections as appropriate.  This will lessen the volume of shot patients requesting appointments while continuing to be beneficial to our patient’s health.

In addition, while our providers will still be available for necessary in-person visits, AIANE is transitioning to Telehealth online visits.  As medical providers, we feel obligated to do our part to keep the burden of non-emergency visits out of our local emergency departments. Most insurance companies are covering these visits without any patient financial responsibility. We will be providing step-by-step instructions to you on how to access Telehealth as soon as we are ready to roll it out.

 I am asking all of you to please be understanding and patient. In time, we will resume normal operations.   Be well, stay safe. Wash your hands and don’t touch your face.

Thank you,

 

Dr. Jonathan L. Bayuk

President of AIANE

COVID-19 UPDATE

March 15, 2020

AIANE is taking measures to protect our patients and employees.  For this reason, beginning Monday, 3/16/2020 our policy is:

  • Only patients will be allowed in our office 

  • Patients under the age 18 shall be accompanied by only one (1) adult

We understand this may cause an inconvenience for families with multiple children, however, this is a precaution we must take at this time.

Information with regards to AIANE office preparedness and the new Corona virus (COVID-19)

 

March 2, 2020

Dear Patients of AIANE,

 I would like to take this opportunity to provide you with some information with regards to AIANE office preparedness and the new Corona virus (COVID-19).  While it is possible that this will have little impact on us locally, all of us here at AIANE are preparing for the chance that Western Massachusetts may be affected in the coming days and weeks.

 While the clear majority of COVID-19 cases have led to flu-like symptoms and resolve in 2-3 weeks, it is prudent to be proactive and very aggressive in preventing infection.  The most effective thing that all of us can do is to wash our hands with soap and water (or alcohol-based hand sanitizer when not available) and to avoid touching our faces.

 As a medical professional, my most serious concern is for people who are immunocompromised or suffer from other serious health problems.  To insure these patients can be seen in the healthiest and safest possible environment, if you have a fever or think you might be infected, do not come to the office for your appointment or for shots. Call our front desk and we will be happy to provide you with a new appointment.  AIANE employee policy requires our providers and staff to stay at home if they are ill as well.  Be assured that all AIANE employees are following the protocols recommended by the World Health Organization.  Please see the World Health Organization (WHO) link below for additional information: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

 We will continue to closely monitor all aspects of the COVID-19 situation, and will update any changes on our AIANE website http://www.allergyimmunologydocs.com/ and Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AIANEdocs/.

 AIANE has and will continue to be a safe place to get your medical care.

  

Be Well,

  

 

Dr. Jonathan Bayuk

AIANE President