Based on your child's specific needs, your child's follow-up visits will be scheduled every 3-6 months.
New patients are generally seen in our REACH Clinic on Mondays. Follow-up appointments, if needed, are scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
During your child's follow-up appointment, we will:
- Review your child's diagnostic evaluation, including history, measurements, fitness testing, and test results.
- Discuss what medical problems were found.
- Discuss what your child's risk is for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, or diabetes.
- List the treatment choices, reviewing the benefits and risks of each.
- Recommend some lifestyle changes the family can start now.
- Provide your family with a summary of what was found and what treatments were recommended.
Learning to eat properly is a very important part of the REACH program at Cook Children's. For that reason, our dietitians plays a key role in your child's treatment plan.
What and how we eat is very personal, and even when we know other choices may be healthier, it is hard to change what we are used to.
Healthy eating is important. We work with the family and the patient to create a plan everyone will love.
With specialized training in the dietary needs of children, our dietitian will provide a detailed plan for improving your child's diet and will encourage him or her to be more active. Our team understands that what and how kids and families eat is very personal, and sometimes filled with tradition.
Even when we know other choices may be healthier, it can be hard to change what we are used to. For that reason, as part of our program, the REACH Team is committed to continuing to support each family in making necessary changes through education and counseling.
Based upon the needs of your child and family, follow-up REACH clinic visits are scheduled about every 3 to 6 months. During clinic visits we will:
- Measure your child's growth, weight, blood pressure and selected blood tests, comparing the results to our past measurements.
- Review what your child and family are eating, and how it is working.
- Discuss your child's level of physical activity and time spent less active.
- Checking your child's health and medicines, and making changes if necessary.
- Talking about what the family can do to maintain a healthy lifestyle, now and in the future.
- Providing encouragement and support.