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fficials at Austin Regional Clinic (ARC) aren’t trying to set a new trend in vaccination policy, nor are they aiming to take a stand against the vocal minority of parents who believe vaccines are unsafe. They say they’re simply


trying to maximize safety for their patients. At a press conference on June 30, seven white-coated physicians and ARC Chief


Executive Officer Norman Chenven, MD (above, third from right), formed a backdrop behind Alison Ziari, MD, as she announced that beginning the next day, July 1, ARC would no longer accept new pediatric patients whose parents or guardians don’t permit vaccinations.


Dr. Ziari, cochief of ARC’s Pediatrics Department, explained to media that ARC expects the parents of patients already in its system to comply, as well, if they want their children to continue receiving medical care in the clinic sys- tem. She said ARC physicians would begin discussing vaccination concerns with those families, with the intent of convincing them to implement the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) vaccination catch-up schedule. “For those parents who are unwilling to commit to a vaccination schedule,” Dr.


Ziari said, “they will need to find a medical professional outside of ARC who is more aligned with their choice of medical care for their child.” ARC’s new policy includes an exception for any patients who have adverse


reactions to vaccines or those with severely compromised immune systems. But aside from those patients, ARC is working toward a near future with no unvac- cinated pediatric patients. It’s an eye-opening step that seemingly few, if any, medical systems of ARC’s size have undertaken, at least in Texas. But trends within ARC’s patient popula-


24 TEXAS MEDICINE September 2015 PHOTO BY JIM LINCOLN


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