The Basics: Your Child’s Pediatrician

Pediatricians provide care for children from the time they are born until age 18, and the relationship with your pediatrician will grow as your child grows. We take care of children when they are well with check-ups and routine physicals and when they are sick, which can entail everything from common illnesses to more serious health concerns. Pediatricians are well-known for back-to-school and sports physicals, of course, but we provide a comprehensive range of care for young people which includes:

• Vaccinations
• Nutrition counseling
• Monitoring and addressing developmental progress
• Many types of health screenings

Our pediatrics team at Garnet Health Doctors provides an entire online list of the services we offer.

Healthcare that grows with you.

“Because the relationship with your pediatrician grows as your child grows, I recommend to families that they stick with one pediatrician whenever possible. This important continuum of care helps ensure that young people are developing properly and that they are receiving all of their vaccines on time. We also provide important screenings for preventive medicine – catching health concerns early on, so that they can be addressed in a timely manner for best outcomes. Vaccines and preventive medicine are actually quite an important part of what we do as pediatricians,” says Dr. Pooja Chandra.

VACCINATIONS

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention have established guidelines about which vaccines are to be given at specific ages. It is important for children to receive their vaccines on schedule; it is the best way for individual patients to maintain personal health, while also helping the general population by preventing the spread of dangerous diseases.

PREVENTING FLU

The discussion of vaccines also includes the flu. It is advisable for young people to get a flu shot. Again, it is a simple, safe and effective way to maintain optimal personal health and avoid spreading the flu to healthy people around you. Children as young as six-months-old are candidates for the flu shot. For those very young patients – ages eight years and under – the vaccine is given in two doses, four weeks apart. Children eight and up can have the flu shot administered once a year.

MEASLES, MUMPS AND RUBELLA

Another vaccine that has made headlines recently is the MMR vaccine, a shot that protects against measles, mumps and rubella. Given the current resurgence of measles, I recommend every child receive the measles vaccine if they have not been vaccinated before. The MMR vaccine is among the first that we administer, and is indicated for children at one-year-old. We can also give the vaccine earlier – to children between six months to one-year-old – if they are part of a high-risk population.

Pediatrics at Garnet Health Doctors

The pediatrics team at Garnet Health Doctors is located on the state-of-the-art campus of Garnet Health Medical Center in Middletown, New York. We are in the Outpatient Building, which adjoins the hospital and puts us conveniently nearby the highly-regarded Rowley Family Birthing Center. Of course, this means that we are also located in the same building as Garnet Health Medical Center’s exceptional Women’s Health department.

So, when you choose Garnet Health Medical Center for your care, you really can rely on the thoroughness and convenience of an interconnected system of primary and specialty care providers who can treat your whole family, at any age. Expectant moms can visit with our pediatrics team even before their babies  are born, and we can begin care by walking them through the process of what to expect once their child arrives.

If you are not satisfied with your current family practitioner or pediatrician, please schedule a time to talk with Garnet Health Doctors or contact us for an appointment at our Middletown office on the campus of Garnet Health Medical Center at (845) 333-7575. Our pediatricians and family care staff are always available to you.

Learn more

About Dr. Pooja Chandra

Dr. Chandra is Board-certified in Pediatrics. She obtained her medical degree from National Medical College, Tribhuvan University (Birgunj, Nepal), and completed her Residency in Pediatrics at Richmond University Medical Center in Staten Island, NY. Dr. Chandra practices in all areas of pediatrics as part of the Garnet Health Doctors Pediatrics Department.