Regularly Scheduled Well Child Visits
These are regularly scheduled appointments where we discuss age appropriate developmental issues or school performance, family issues including an updated family disease history, behavioral expectations, growth and nutrition, and age related safety issues. Your child will have a head to toe physical exam including vision and hearing screening, if age appropriate. If additional screening tests are needed they will be done in the office or at an appropriate facility. Your child’s immunization record will be reviewed and immunizations will be given following the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Center for Disease Control.
Newborn Visit
Congratulations on the birth of your new baby! We see infants within a few days of them being discharged from the hospital to check how they are growing and adjusting to life. They often are jaundiced and need to have that checked as well. Newborns grow and develop rapidly and new questions come up frequently. We are here to help you adjust to the new addition to your family. If you would like to speak with one of our nurses about your concerns or you think your infant is ill, please call the office at 616.393.0166.
Infancy through School Age
During infancy we routinely recommend visits at the ages of: 2 weeks, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 month and 18 months for scheduled immunizations and to check growth and development.
Toddlers and young children should have visits scheduled for 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, and 6 years to track their growth and development closely.
We recommend that children between 6 and 12 years old have a well-child appointment every year. A yearly health supervision appointment is highly recommended for any child that has a chronic disease such as asthma, allergies (requiring chronic medications), diabetes, ADHD, obesity or nutritional concerns, a history of prematurity, heart disease, Down syndrome or other genetic conditions. Children participating in organized sports may also require a yearly exam.
Adolescents
We recommend that teenagers have yearly health supervision exams. We encourage parents to accompany teenagers to our office. We suggest, however, the adolescents be seen by the physician alone to allow open discussion of concerns. This gives your child the opportunity to establish a good doctor-patient relationship as they move into adulthood. We will address parental concerns after the exam. We provide care for your child up to the age of 21.
Sports Physicals
We can combine your preteen and teenagers sports physical for school with their annual exam. Most schools require that the sports physical be AFTER April 15 for the following school year. For example, in order to have a valid sports physical for the 2017-2018 school year, the exam must be after April 15, 2017. Please bring the school’s sports physical form with you, filled out ahead of time if at all possible. Most of the school’s forms are available on our website in the forms section.