With summer break and a new school year on the horizon, it’ll soon be time for children to head in for yearly physicals, check-ups, and other medical assessments before classes resume in the fall. While it may seem like an overwhelming task at first for families to get their child’s appointments under wraps in just a few short months, there is a way to help calm the chaos while keeping the child's health and well-being the utmost priority – and it all starts with a visit to a medical home.
The medical home, a singular facility that offers comprehensive medical care centered around a team-based approach, allows children of all ages to receive consistent care in a variety of areas. Equipped with many physicians and nurse practitioners across its Valparaiso and Portage locations, Associated Pediatricians is able to be that home for children from birth to 23 years, ensuring they’ll have this quality care at all points throughout their childhood.
“The most important thing is having a medical home,” said Dr. Dianna Brogan, medical doctor, physician, and partner at Associated Pediatricians. “While you could do your sports physical at the school or a minute clinic, what they lack is seeing the whole child, knowing the whole family, and being able to see the child’s entire growth curve over time to follow up on any concerns from the last visit that they had.”
When assessing the whole child, the appointment goes beyond just the reason for the initial visit. While that reason will certainly be addressed, having a consistent team in the child’s corner allows them to catch things that may go under the radar otherwise, sometimes going as far as making a major change in the child’s life for the better.
“We are able to detect these problems before it becomes a bigger deal,” Brogan said. “I've even picked up several cases of precocious puberty from a checkup. Just doing a physical exam allows children to get comfortable opening up to you. You're able to treat their whole health, not just their physical health or their mental health.”
This was the case for a middle-school girl and lifelong patient of Brogan’s during a physical. Brogan was also able to administer an emotional health survey during her appointment, where she noticed a scratch on the girl’s arm. Having known her physician for a majority of her life, the girl felt comfortable opening up that there was much more going on behind the scenes, and Brogan was instantly able to help her get the care she needed.
“Since she knew me for so long, she felt comfortable opening up to me that she was being bullied at school and that she was self-harming,” Brogan said. “She opened up to me in front of her mother and said that she was afraid and embarrassed to talk about it, but she felt comfortable talking about that with me. We were able to easily stop this from becoming a bigger issue and a true mental health crisis. We intervened, got the school involved, got the support that she needed, and today she’s doing great.”
Another common occurrence, Brogan noted, is that through consistent appointments, she is able to monitor patterns in things such as the child’s weight. In cases where their weight either increases or decreases at uneven rates or even plateaus where it shouldn’t, Brogan knows something is amiss and is a sign to dig deeper into the issue. In some instances, Brogan has been able to find cases of diseases such as hyperthyroidism or is able to coach the family on how to find the best diet options for their children to ensure they stay healthy and strong.
Brogan and the Associated Pediatricians also have multiple connections to outside resources, making it easier than ever to find the right support for the circumstance at hand.
“We are able to get children in not only for their checkup, but if there is a problem, we're able to provide quick and easy follow up for that,” Brogan said. “We have very good connections with academic teachers and specialists, and we're able to help facilitate any referrals patients need in our office. We also specialize in developmental issues and milestones. We do all of the on-site testing if you have an illness. We provide all the routine immunization. We're open to discussions on that, and we're all experts on helping you be your best and offer advice on good nutrition, sleep patterns, and social interaction.”
Additionally, many of the Associated Pediatricians staff are parents themselves – they know firsthand what it’s like to want the best care for their children and offer each patient the same level of care. By assessing each child in the medical home, Associated Pediatricians is able to provide this level of care for each child, ensuring they can reach their best potential not just in childhood, but also well into their adult years.
“Most of us here are parents. We've had children of our own and can give you real advice. I’ve even been able to see my former patients' kids for many years now, which has been super cool,” Brogan said. “Our nurses and our medical assistants are fantastic – we all love the kids and always want the best for them.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment for your child today, please visit associatedpediatricians.com.