Comprehensive care, from the first week to the last year of school.
Checkups, sick visits, vaccines, behavior, asthma and teen care, mostly handled here rather than referred out. Here is what each involves and how long it takes.
Well-child visits
- About 30 minutes
- All providers
- Covered as preventive care by most plans
Checkups are the backbone of the practice. We measure growth, screen development, give immunizations on schedule, and sign whatever form school, camp or a sports team is asking for.
Bring your questions written down. Most parents forget at least one.
| Age | What the visit covers |
|---|---|
| 3–5 days | First newborn visit: weight, feeding, jaundice |
| 1 month | Growth and feeding, and how the parents are doing |
| 2, 4, 6 months | Growth, development, the main infant vaccines |
| 9 months | First developmental screening |
| 12 and 15 months | Anemia and lead checks, 12-month vaccines |
| 18 and 24 months | Autism screening, speech and development |
| 30 months | Developmental screening, preschool readiness |
| 3 to 21 years | Yearly checkup, vision and blood pressure, school and sports forms |
Newborn care
- 45 minutes for the first visit
- Dr. Ruiz Carver and Tessa Lindqvist
- No referral needed
We see new babies within a few days of leaving the hospital, and we round at the St. Charles Bend nursery, so often we have already met. First visits cover weight, feeding, jaundice and sleep, and whatever else is worrying you at 3am.
Tessa Lindqvist runs a feeding clinic on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. It is a longer appointment and it is covered like any other visit.
Same-day sick visits
Weekday mornings are held open. Call before 10:00 am and we can almost always see your child that day. Saturday mornings are sick visits only, by appointment.
Come in for
- Ear pain
- A sore throat that will not settle
- Rash with fever
- A cough getting worse, not better
- An injury you are unsure about
- Vomiting that will not stop
Tested here, same visit
- Rapid strep
- Influenza A and B
- RSV
- COVID-19
- Urinalysis
- Hemoglobin
- Lead screening
No second trip to a lab for these.
Call first and we will tell you
- A fever in a baby under 3 months. Call straight away, day or night
- Whether it can wait until morning
- Whether it needs the emergency department
- What to watch for overnight
Immunizations
We follow the AAP schedule. If your child has fallen behind, for any reason, we will build a catch-up plan and work through it without a lecture. Records go into ALERT, Oregon’s immunization registry, so school and camp forms are usually a phone call rather than a visit.
Where we stand. We follow the recommended schedule because the evidence for it is strong and consistent. We are glad to talk through any question you have, for as long as it takes. We do not discharge families who want to go slower, and we will keep seeing your child either way.
Behavior and development
- Longer appointment, ask when booking
- Dr. Raghunathan and Naomi Kestrel
More parents come to us about attention, mood and anxiety than about anything else, and almost all of them start by apologizing for taking up our time. Please do not. This is pediatrics now.
We screen at every well visit from 9 months, and we will say plainly when something needs more than we can give in the office.
What we handle here
- Developmental and autism screening
- ADHD assessment and ongoing management
- Anxiety and depression screening from 12
- Sleep problems
- Feeding and eating concerns
- School difficulty and learning worries
- Referral and co-management with therapy
Asthma and allergy
- Spirometry in the office
- Dr. Whitfield leads asthma care
We diagnose asthma, write an action plan you can hand straight to a school nurse, and run spirometry here so you are not driving across town for a breathing test.
The same applies to eczema, food allergy, constipation, migraine and the other long-running things that make up most of childhood. You should not need a specialist for any of them, and if you do, we will say so.
Adolescent care
- Confidential portion from about age 12
- Dr. Raghunathan leads teen care
The general business of being a teenager, handled by people who like teenagers. We keep seeing patients through 21, so the handover to adult medicine happens when your child is ready rather than on a birthday.
From about 12, we offer part of each visit with the parent out of the room. It is not a rule and no one is made to do it. Teenagers tell a doctor things they will not say in front of you, and that is usually how a problem gets caught early.
What we cover
- Sports and camp physicals
- Mental health and mood screening
- Acne and skin
- Contraception and sexual health
- HPV, meningococcal and other teen vaccines
- Handover to adult care, when they are ready
Things that do not need an appointment
Most of what a practice gets asked for is paperwork. None of this needs a visit.
School, sports and camp forms
Drop them at the front desk or fax them to (541) 555-0149. Two business days, no appointment needed if we have seen your child within the year.
Telehealth visits
Rashes, pink eye, medication follow-ups and mental health check-ins. Weekday afternoons.
Prescription refills
Ask your pharmacy to send the request. Allow two business days.
Records and immunization history
Call the front desk and we print or send them. Records for another practice need a signed release.
What we send elsewhere
A practice that claims to do everything is not one worth trusting. These are the things we refer out, and where they go.
Orthopedic injuries needing surgery
St. Charles Bend
Complex cardiology, oncology, endocrine
OHSU Doernbecher, Portland
Allergy immunotherapy
A board-certified allergist in Bend
Orthodontics and dental
Your own dentist. We do not do dental.
Ongoing therapy and counseling
Local child therapists we work with regularly
Mental health crisis or inpatient care
988 by call or text, or the emergency department at St. Charles Bend
We make the referral, send the records, and follow up after. You should not have to chase it.
Not sure which visit you need?
Call the front desk. They book these all day and will tell you in about a minute.