Pediatrics – Here for Life

Mobile clinic brings health care to patients’ doors–from a bigger, brighter van

April 19, 2022

A three-year-old patient was behind on her vaccine appointments, and a look at her chart showed other medical needs—a history of seizures and some missed appointments with her specialist. When Nurse Practitioner Katie Brown saw the toddler’s chart, she knew she had to find out what was happening—and she had to help.

Katie learned that it was nearly impossible for the child’s mother to show up for the appointments she was scheduling due to conflicts and caring for her other children– whether it was routine vaccines or other care. (more…)

Don’t eat that!

February 1, 2022

Taking the bite out of choking, poisoning and system-traveling hazards

Babies and toddlers often explore their world using their mouths, where we’ve seen them place fingers, toes, dog food, toys, insects and other benign objects. Most of these aren’t cause for alarm but in addition to choking dangers small items can cause life-threatening problems if they are swallowed. Commonly ingested items that can cause medical emergencies include coins, button batteries, toys, toy parts, magnets, safety pins, screws, marbles, and bones. (more…)

Healthcare that gives adolescents and young adults a voice

December 21, 2021

Adolescence is an important time of development. Young people are developing physically, emotionally, and socially. Their brains are developing rapidly. While early childhood involves rapid brain growth, adolescent brain development is focused on a process called “pruning,” in which the existing neural pathways are refined and trimmed over time, especially in the main decision-making areas of the brain. This process goes on well into a person’s twenties. As a result, in adolescence, many neurons, including those in the reward pathways, are firing rapidly. This creates an environment for rapid socioemotional development, learning and sometimes behaviors that involve risk-taking and high rewards. The adolescent years is a period of opportunity and vulnerability for health and development. (more…)

Exciting news and milestone: COVID vaccines available for children ages 5–11 years

November 10, 2021

Recently, the Federal Drug Administration and Centers for Disease Control approved and recommended the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for children 5-11 years, taking us one step closer to controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. Too many children have been infected with COVID-19 and serious cases can occur even in healthy children. Cases have increased dramatically since the arrival of the Delta variant. Nationally, over 1.9 million 5-11 year-olds have been infected and more than 8,300 hospitalized with COVID-19. Some children can also have long-term health effects, and COVID-19 is now a leading cause of death for this age group. (more…)

What’s a parent/guardian to do when their student “hates school”?

October 18, 2021

It’s that time of year when the leaves are falling, the kids are back in school, and they love it. Right? Well, this may not be your experience and you are not alone. It is common for children to not like school at certain times in their lives. You may have even heard the dreaded words, “I hate school!”

Now it’s your job to do some detective work and find out why. What is at the root of not liking school? (more…)