We anticipate transition to our new office location late Summer, 2022. New location: 426 Industrial Ave at the White Cap Business Park in Williston. This will be a newly renovated facility with expanded space and health and safety upgrades. Services will include Primary Care, Sports Medicine, X-ray, and Mental Health and Social Work services all in one place and on one floor. If your current primary care provider (PCP) office is Evergreen in Williston (28 Park Ave), Evergreen Junction (55 Main Street in Essex Junction), or Charlotte Family Health (currently in Shelburne Green Business Park), your new medical home office will be this new space on Industrial Ave in Williston. For our patients who are seen at Alder Brook Family Health, there will be no change at all.
Author: Jan Ferris
Annual well child visits are important!
Even though your child may not need any vaccines this year, they should still see their PCP annually for a well visit. This is not only a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians, but also our philosophy at Evergreen Family Health. Please call your child’s provider office to set up an appointment. We hope to see you soon!
Evergreen Family Health Partners Consolidating Practice Locations
Evergreen Family Health Partners is announcing consolidation of three of their four offices into one central location that will reduce costs, increase efficiency, and stabilize the practice for the long-term. A newly fit-up modern medical practice at White Cap Business Park in Williston is planned for late summer to accommodate all practitioners and staff from Evergreen Family Health in Williston, including Evergreen Sports Medicine and x-ray, Evergreen Family Health in Essex Junction, and Charlotte Family Health Center, which is currently in temporary space at Shelburne Green. “We have been divided not only by the pandemic, but we have been physically separated into multiple sites as a result of growth fueled by the ever-rising need for high-quality primary care,” reports Michael Johnson, MD, Managing Partner. Alder Brook Family Health, located on Essex Way in Essex, joined the Evergreen Family Health Group in 2018, and will remain in their current location.
Evergreen became an independent medical practice in 2002. Charlotte Family Health Center joined the group in 2017 and relocated to Shelburne in 2019 while exploring a possible new building in Charlotte. Andrea Regan, MD, Evergreen Partner at the Charlotte practice, explained: “We looked for every opportunity to stay in the Shelburne/Charlotte area to remain convenient for our many local patients, but the ability to maintain a small independently owned office in Vermont’s health care environment is challenging.”
During 2021, several Evergreen Williston practitioners relocated to Main Street in Essex Junction to allow for more clinical space and physical distancing. Evergreen Sports Medicine was established as a consult service in 2020 with the addition of x-ray and two additional sports medicine physicians. “It was the commitment to meet the strong demand for independent primary care practitioners, the need to accommodate more accessibility for our primary care and sports medicine patients, and to lower costs that necessitated our new facility,” said Paul Reiss, MD, Senior Partner. “We are excited for our patients and our staff. We are confident that we can bring our culture of personal care to this wonderful new location, and trust that our patients will be supportive of this move.
This move will allow the efficiency of combining three laboratories and reception areas, reducing redundant equipment and phone/IT systems, while promoting improved
teamwork between practitioners, nursing staff, mental health practitioners, and other ancillary staff. On-site x-ray and social work services will become more broadly available and Evergreen Sports Medicine will have further expansion space. Evergreen participates in the Vermont Blueprint for Health, and all offices are certified as patient- centered medical homes by the NCQA. They are committed to continued participation with government programs including Medicaid and Medicare.
Evergreen has signed a long-term lease with White Cap Ventures to design and build a cost-efficient and modern facility that respects privacy, patient safety, and accommodates 18 practitioners. “Medical practices do not often move. This is a huge undertaking and we are approaching this transition with a very long-term perspective,” adds Dr. Johnson.
COVID-19 testing update
If you have symptoms consistent with Covid illness and have tested positive with a rapid antigen test (at home or elsewhere), a PCR test is not recommended at this time. This link is a helpful guide : COVID-19 Testing Decision Guide (healthvermont.gov)
If you have a positive at-home rapid Covid test, please report the information to the Vermont Department of Health by completing this online form: Vermont COVID-19 Self-Test Result Reporting Form (alchemer.com)
ABOUT DIABETES
More than 34 million Americans have diabetes (about 1 in 10), and approximately 90-95% of them have type 2 diabetes. Type 2 diabetes most often develops in people over age 45, but more and more children, teens, and young adults are also developing diabetes.
You are at increased risk to develop diabetes if you :
– have prediabetes or borderline blood sugar
– are overweight (BMI > 25) or obese (BMI >30)
– are 45 years or older
– have a parent or sibling with type 2 diabetes
– get fewer than three days per week of physical activity
– have had gestational diabetes
– are African American, Hispanic, Latino or Alaskan native or Indigenous
You can prevent or delay getting type 2 diabetes with lifestyle changes such as losing weight if you are overweight, eating healthier, and getting some regular physical activity. Talk with your Evergreen provider for more information on how to prevent or delay diabetes, or how to better manager this chronic condition if you have it.
Covid vaccination for children ages 5-11; Covid vaccination boosters
Children ages 5-11:
Getting our children vaccinated will keep them safe and healthy and help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. The Pfizer vaccine dose is specially formulated for this age group, using one third the size of the dose for people 12 and older. This provides enough protection with the least potential for side effects. Just like adolescents and adults, children will receive two doses of the Pfizer vaccine given three weeks apart. All Evergreen Family Health Group Practitioners recommend your child receive this vaccine.
The four offices of Evergreen Family Health Group do not currently have pediatric Pfizer vaccines for children ages 5-11. You can make a vaccine appointment for your child(ren) by visiting the VT Department of Health website, or by calling the VT Dept of Health. Should we receive pediatric vaccine in the future, we will update our website accordingly.
Boosters for people age 18 and older:
If you have already received one Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or two Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, you are very well protected against serious illness and hospitalization should you contract Covid-19. However, many individuals are recommended to have a booster. Boosters are recommended for adults age 65 and older, people age 18 and older with serious underlying health conditions, and all people whose occupation exposes them to higher risk. The details of booster recommendations can be found on the CDC website and are copied here:
Older adults age 65 years and older
People ages 65 years and older should get a booster shot. The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age and can also increase for adults of any age with underlying medical conditions.
Long-term care setting residents ages 18 years and older
Residents ages 18 years and older of long-term care settings should get a booster shot. Because residents in long-term care settings live closely together in group settings and are often older adults with underlying medical conditions, they are at increased risk of infection and severe illness from COVID-19.
People with underlying medical conditions ages 50–64 years
People ages 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should get a booster shot. The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age and can also increase for adults of any age with underlying medical conditions.
People with underlying medical conditions ages 18–49 years
People ages 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions may get a booster shot based on their individual risks and benefits. The risk of severe illness from COVID-19 can increase for adults of any age with underlying medical conditions. This recommendation may change in the future as more data become available.
People who work or live in high-risk settings ages 18–64 years
People ages 18–64 years at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may get a booster shot based on their individual risks and benefits. Adults who work or reside in certain settings (e.g., health care, schools, correctional facilities, homeless shelters) may be at increased risk of being exposed to COVID-19, which could be spreading where they work or reside. That risk can vary across settings and based on how much COVID-19 is spreading in a community. This recommendation may change in the future as more data become available.
Examples of workers who may get COVID-19 booster shots: [ 1 ]
- First responders (e.g., healthcare workers, firefighters, police, congregate care staff)
- Education staff (e.g., teachers, support staff, daycare workers)
- Food and agriculture workers
- Manufacturing workers
- Corrections workers
- U.S. Postal Service workers
- Public transit workers
- Grocery store workers
1 List could be updated in the future.
Flu vaccines
Adult and pediatric influenza vaccines are here. If you have an upcoming visit with a provider already scheduled, please feel free to ask for a flu vaccine during your visit. You may also call for an appointment for one of our many flu vaccine clinics with a nurse.
On site x-ray at Evergreen Family Health in Williston
We are pleased to offer x-ray services at our Williston office, available to our entire family of patients. If your Alder Brook, Charlotte, Evergreen or Evergreen Junction provider determines an x-ray is needed, it can be scheduled expediently at our Williston office.
Telehealth visit updates
We will continue to be able to offer telehealth visits for many different visit types, with important EXCEPTIONS. From now on, we will need to conduct preventive visits (well child checks, adult “physicals”, Medicare annual wellness visits) in-person only. If you are currently scheduled for a telehealth preventive visit, please call us to switch this to an in-person visit, or to discuss alternatives if coming to the office in person is not possible for you.
Telehealth visits will be billed to your insurance in the same manner as if the service was provided in the office; you may be liable for copayments, deductible or coinsurance.