What COVID-19 Means for Medical Professionals
June 21, 2022
Dear Physicians and Healthcare Teams,
At Make-A-Wish®, the health and safety of our wish children and their families is our highest priority. We rely on the expertise of the pediatricians and pediatric specialists who are part of our National Medical Advisory Council, guided by the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). The National Medical Advisory Council provides essential policy guidance regarding wish and travel safety. After pausing wishes that involved domestic air travel or large gatherings in March 2020 due to the pandemic, Make-A-Wish made the decision to resume these types of wishes in September 2021 for wish children and their families who have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
There have been many phases of emergence in travel and large gatherings as we work to continue to put the safety of our wish children and families first. After much consideration, we will begin the next phase of our re-emergence plans by transitioning away from a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for travel wishes and large gatherings to enhanced safety precautions. These safety precautions include the following:
- Recommending and providing masks for wish children and their families prior to the wish
- Recommending COVID-19 testing prior to the wish
- Guidance and support to referring providers on the medical appropriateness of a travel wish
- The development of a tracking and reporting system for wishes affected by COVID-19
- The development of isolation and health protocols should a family be exposed to or contract COVID-19 on a wish
Please note, the Make-A-Wish National Medical Advisory Council, aligned with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), strongly advises all wish participants to be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations before travel and/or large gatherings.
We value your expert opinion as a pediatric healthcare provider. If for any reason you feel that travel and/or large gatherings are not safe for your patient, or that this would cause a great risk to their health, we would ask you to state this on the Wish Clearance form and notify your local chapter.
It is important to highlight that there are many other types of wishes we are currently granting, including road trips to national parks, virtual celebrity meetings, outdoor playhouses, shopping sprees, staycations, room redecorations and many more. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Make-A-Wish has safely granted more than 22,000 wishes to children and families and we couldn’t do this without you.
We will continue to vigilantly monitor guidance from national and international public health and government organizations while keeping the best interest of the children and families we serve at the center of all policy decisions we make.
We ask you to partner with us by reinforcing with your patients that Make-A-Wish remains committed to granting a timely and safe wish for the child by encouraging the child to think about the wide variety of wish ideas that inspire them locally, regionally or virtually. When the wish experience comes directly from the child, it showcases their own unique creative vision and builds resilience through the wish journey. We also ask your support in encouraging your patients to choose their own special wish from their heart to maximize the life-changing impact of a wish.
We thank you for all you do as healthcare professionals and for being part of a wish child’s health journey. Each Make-A-Wish chapter has physicians serving as Chapter Medical Advisors in your communities who also support and provide medical guidance to chapters. If you have questions or comments, please contact your local chapter.
