01Visits
Well-child visits
The full Bright Futures periodicity schedule from the first week to age 21, with the screening, plotting and anticipatory guidance each age actually needs.
- AgesBirth to 21 years
- Visit length30 minutes, 45 at 12 and 18 months
- ClinicsAll three
- Book byOnline request or phone
02
What this actually involves
A well-child visit is not a formality. It is the only appointment where nobody is sick, so it is the one place where a hearing problem, a lazy eye, a scoliosis curve, a blood pressure trend or a developmental delay gets caught before it costs your child something.
We follow the American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures periodicity schedule: visits at 3 to 5 days, 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 24 and 30 months, then annually from 3 through 21 years. Every visit is plotted, every visit has a written summary in the portal before you get to the car.
If this is a medical emergency, or your child is struggling to breathe, unresponsive, having a seizure, or badly injured, call 911 now. Call 911.
03
What is included
Six things we do every time, not a list of aspirations.
Growth plotted every time
Length or height, weight, head circumference to 24 months, and BMI from age 2. WHO charts to 24 months, CDC charts after. We show you the curve on screen and explain what crossing percentiles does and does not mean.
Developmental screening
ASQ-3 at 9, 18 and 30 months. M-CHAT-R/F for autism at 18 and 24 months, with the structured follow-up interview whenever the score is in the medium-risk band rather than an immediate referral.
Vision and hearing
Instrument-based photoscreening from 12 months, optotype visual acuity from age 3 or 4, and audiometry at 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 years.
Blood pressure
Annually from age 3, with a cuff sized to your child's arm and percentiles read against age, sex and height.
Lab screening at the right ages
Hemoglobin at 12 months, universal lead screening at 12 and 24 months as Iowa recommends, lipid screening once between 9 and 11 and again between 17 and 21, and depression screening with PHQ-9 modified for adolescents from age 12.
Adolescent confidentiality
From age 12, we spend part of every visit alone with your teenager and explain to both of you what stays private under Iowa law and what does not.
General information, not medical advice. It is not tailored to your child and it does not replace a visit.
04
How it runs
- 01Before
Questionnaires go to the portal 72 hours ahead. Filling them in at home is what buys the time to talk in the room.
- 02Rooming
Our medical assistant does growth, vision, hearing and vitals, and reviews the immunization record against the Iowa registry.
- 03The visit
Head-to-toe exam, screening results reviewed with you, then anticipatory guidance built around your child's age rather than a handout.
- 04After
A written summary, the growth curve and any forms are in the portal the same day. Vaccines are recorded in the Iowa Immunization Registry Information System.
05
Why families choose us for this
- Same clinician for your child's whole childhood wherever scheduling allows
- A real 45-minute slot at 12 and 18 months, the two densest visits
- School, daycare and sports forms completed at the visit, not weeks later
- Growth and screening results in the portal before you leave the parking lot
06
Questions parents ask about this
Not answered here? Call the front desk or send a portal message. Neither is a silly question.
All FAQsUsually not by itself. Percentile lines are a map, not a target, and babies often shift lines in the first two years as they settle onto their genetic curve. We look at the shape of the whole curve, the weight-for-length relationship and how your child is feeding and moving before anybody uses the word concern.
The visits exist precisely for healthy children. The screening at 9, 18 and 30 months in particular catches things parents cannot see, and Iowa schools and sports need a current physical on file anyway.
Yes, and we prefer it. A well-child visit is a better screen than a standalone sports physical because we already have the growth, blood pressure and history in front of us.
Bring whatever records you have. We catch up the immunizations using the ACIP catch-up schedule and restart the periodicity from where your child actually is.
07
Related services
Immunizations
The complete ACIP childhood and adolescent schedule on site, including catch-up schedules, Vaccines for Children, and honest conversations about spacing.
School and sports physicals
Iowa school entry certificates, IHSAA and IGHSAU sports forms, camp paperwork and medication authorizations, all handled at one visit.
Behavior, ADHD and development
Structured ADHD evaluation with Vanderbilt scales, autism screening with M-CHAT-R/F, and referral into Iowa early intervention when it is warranted.
Bring your child to people who have the time
Request an appointment online and we call you back within one business day. Newborn requests are called back the same morning.