Dear Hendersonville Pediatrics Families, Hendersonville Pediatrics is honored to care for your children. We are dedicated to guiding them, supporting you, and providing excellent care here at what we refer to as your child's medical home. We would like to take this opportunity to discuss access to quality, pediatric specific care. We are familiar with your child, their history and specific needs. Our pediatricians are “board-certified”, meaning they’ve passed rigorous exams given by the American Board of Pediatrics. Our advanced pediatric training and experience with diagnosing and treating childhood diseases provides a safe environment for your infants, school-aged children and adolescents. This sets us apart from urgent cares clinics. Despite the convenience of urgent care and school-based clinics, well checkups and sports physicals are best performed by your child’s doctor. We not only know your child well, but we are able to treat your whole child focusing on their emotional health in addition to their physical health. Our medical assistants are also pediatric trained, which creates a more nurturing environment. Hendersonville Pediatrics is open 364 days a year. We have weekend hours and evening hours during most months because we know children experience sickness at unpredictable times. Being readily available and connected among physicians allows for a continuity of care, which is important when caring for children. We can access your child's complete medical history, growth charts and vitals and can spot any concerning trends. Urgent care and retail clinics do not have the same access. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend urgent care clinics without providers that have expertise caring for children, specifically for children under the age of two. There are certain circumstances when we might advise you to bring your child of any age to an emergency room or urgent care based on time sensitive conditions or when a higher level of care is necessary, but please contact us first so that we can help you make the safest decision for your child. Lastly, the doctors and staff at Hendersonville Pediatrics thank you for your support since Hurricane Helene. We recognize that following the flood and subsequent destruction of our Hendersonville office, there have been times when it may have been difficult to get an appointment. We have worked hard to create temporary office spaces to ensure the availability of six physicians each weekday with same day sick appointments most days. We thank you for your patience. It is our pleasure to continue to be here for you, our families, as we have been for 73 years. We will continue to provide quality, compassionate, pediatric specific care for your children. Sincerely, Hendersonville Pediatrics’ Physicians
The counties Hendersonville Pediatrics serves are at an increased risk for a Measles outbreak due to lower than protective ("herd immunity") vaccination rates. At this time, in Henderson County, in children aged 5- 18, we are at +/- 80% MMR vaccination rate. It is generally accepted that a rate of 95% vaccinated against MMR is required for herd immunity to measles. There are many pockets in our counties where the vaccination rate is much lower. Babies under 6 months of age cannot be vaccinated for MMR. Babies 6 months to 11 months can receive MMR if there is a local outbreak or if traveling to a country/area where measles is common. Protective rates for measles if MMR given in the 6 to 11-month age are lower (83%). If someone enters one of our offices who we suspect has measles, we will have to close that office for 2 hours. Due to these above concerns, we have implemented some simple questions for our front staff to ask parents when scheduling sick visits. We will update this announcement as new information from the SCDPH is released. As of October 24, 2025, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed 25 total measles cases in the state this year, with 22 of them tied to an ongoing outbreak in the Upstate region. The DPH is providing free MMR vaccines at mobile health units in affected areas. Latest case counts Total cases (2025): 25. Upstate outbreak cases: 22, with all confirmed cases being in unvaccinated individuals. Spartanburg County: This area is the epicenter of the outbreak and has recently seen additional cases. Greenville County: At least one case has also been reported here. DPH response and public advisories Mobile vaccination units: To curb the outbreak, the DPH has deployed mobile health units to offer free measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines to unvaccinated individuals. Upcoming clinic dates are scheduled for Inman and Boiling Springs at local libraries. Containment efforts: The latest cases were identified through early quarantine efforts among close contacts of known cases, which the DPH says has been effective in limiting community spread. Vaccination reminder: The DPH is urging residents, especially families with young children, to ensure they are up to date on their MMR vaccination. Public information: The DPH maintains a dedicated webpage for the 2025 outbreak and issues updates twice a week. Context of the outbreak The DPH officially confirmed a measles outbreak in the Upstate on October 2, 2025. An outbreak is defined as three or more cases of a disease linked to a common exposure. Some cases have no identified source, suggesting that measles is circulating within the community and could spread further. Unvaccinated households are particularly vulnerable to rapid transmission. As of October 17, 2025, the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed a total of 19 measles cases in the state this year. Fifteen of these cases are part of an ongoing outbreak in the Upstate region, centered around Spartanburg County. In response, DPH has deployed mobile health units to offer free vaccinations in affected areas. Outbreak details Case count: As of October 17, there were 19 total measles cases in South Carolina since July 9. The most recent increase confirmed three new cases in Spartanburg County. Upstate concentration: The outbreak was officially declared on October 2. The majority of cases are concentrated in Spartanburg County, with a recent case also confirmed in Greenville County. Community spread: The DPH has stated that some cases have no identified source, which suggests that the virus is circulating within the community and could continue to spread. This is primarily linked to lower-than-recommended vaccination rates in some areas of the Upstate. Vulnerable populations: Unvaccinated people are at the highest risk. All cases in the ongoing outbreak have been in individuals who were not vaccinated. A study cited by the CDC noted that nationally in 2025, 97% of people who contracted measles were unvaccinated. Public health response Quarantines: At least two schools in Spartanburg County—Global Academy of South Carolina and Fairforest Elementary—have experienced outbreaks, leading to mandatory quarantines for more than 150 unvaccinated students. Mobile vaccination clinics: The DPH is using mobile health units to provide free measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines to the public in the Spartanburg area. Specific locations and schedules for the week of October 20 were announced by the DPH. As of October 14, 2025 , the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has confirmed 16 total measles cases in the state since July, with 12 linked to an ongoing outbreak in the Upstate. This update follows the confirmation of five new cases among individuals who were already in quarantine after being exposed at school. Upstate outbreak details Case count : 16 total cases in 2025; 12 are associated with the Upstate outbreak. Concentration : Most outbreak cases are in Spartanburg County. Quarantined individuals : 139 students from Global Academy of South Carolina and Fairforest Elementary remain in quarantine at home due to school-related exposures. Officials noted that the five new cases were identified within this quarantined population, preventing further public exposure. Public exposure site : The DPH has identified the Crunch Fitness at 1332 S. Pleasantburg Drive in Greenville as a potential exposure location from September 30, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Anyone who was there during that time is advised to contact a healthcare provider. Community transmission : The DPH has stated that some cases have no known source, suggesting unrecognized community transmission. https://dph.sc.gov/diseases-conditions/infectious-diseases/viruses-parasites-bacterial-infections/measles-rubeola/2025
Kids Corner with Dr. S
Kids Corner with Dr. S
Kids Corner with Dr. S
Kids Corner with Dr. S
Kids Corner with Dr. S
Kids Corner with Dr. S
Kids Corner with Dr. S
Kids Corner with Dr. S