CASTLE ROCK, Colo. (KDVR) — A Castle Rock pediatrician never expected to be put in such a difficult situation after the local school district voted to require masks for certain students.
Dr. Michael Milobsky with Pediatrics of the Meadows, told FOX31 he and his staff have been fielding hundreds of calls into his office asking for exemptions to the mask mandate.
After the Douglas County School District finalized the vote, parents immediately picked up the phone to request doctor’s notes for their kids.
“We abruptly started to see a huge demand for our physicians and our office to approve mask exemptions for children, based on request,” said Milobsky. “We would love to say yes to everything people want and to keep people happy, but if that happened, it would have snowballed very quickly.”
Milobsky refused the majority of those requests from parents, but with a heavy heart.
“I understand why masks make kids anxious and uncomfortable, and those were also the main reasons they wanted an exemption. They saw in their child discomfort and distress. They also didn’t agree with the mandate, and were asking us to allow their child to not wear it,” Milobsky explained.
The Castle Rock pediatrician and father of seven took to social media, explaining in a Facebook post his decision-making after major pushback from parents.
Milobsky’s post said in part:
“In response to our stance, we have come under attack, with many parents threatening physical, financial and political revenge. To these families, please understand this….When I qualified as a doctor, I took an oath; an oath to preserve the health and wellbeing of my families and my community…to first, do no harm. If I issue a mask exemption for your child, and they happen to contract COVID-19…end up in the ICU or become one of the rare but possible fatalities…I AM RESPONSIBLE. If I issue a mask exemption for your child, and they infect a child who is undergoing chemotherapy, a newborn, or a pregnant teacher, who, as a result of being infected or die, I AM RESPONSIBLE. It is my responsibility to look out for the greater Pediatrics at the Meadows community, and my aforementioned stance is, I believe, the best way I can do so.”
Many doctors in Colorado have granted exemptions to students, including Milobsky. Students that typically qualify fall under severe cases where a child cannot mentally and physically manage their own mask during the school day.
