Walking into most pediatric health centers, you see toys, babies, maybe a ladybug and lollipops. That's great for young kids but maybe not for a teenager.
"I just kind of felt out of place."
For Kimmy Hosan who is 14 and her sisters Meghan, 11, Cindy, 12 and Stephanie, 16 they're into other things.
"Sports and music pretty much," said Stephanie.
Plus they have different health needs than the younger kids that's why at Advocare Main Line Pediatrics they're treated differently. Nurse Practitioner Eve Bosnick says it starts with making them feel more comfortable. There's a separate entrance for teens plus the teenage waiting room has age-appropriate movies, college-guide books and information about the issues adolescents face.
The care and conversation is also geared specifically towards teens.
"So the kind of things we talk about with teens are their risk taking behavior around sexual behavior, their risk taking behavior around substance abuse, issues around mood disorders," said Bosnick.
She says that includes screening for depression which is often seen in adolescence. For the most part teens are healthy but Bosnick says better addressing the issues they could face now is key to preventing problems in the future.
The Hosan girls' mother likes it because she didn't have to bring her older daughters to a new doctor just yet and although she says they keep her in the loop if they have problems:
"It's good to know the doctors are keeping a handle on that as well," said Terry Hosan.
And the adolescent center there treats tweens, teens and in-betweens so that's from about age10 up to about 23.
They also try to get the older teens to make their own appointments and follow-up on lab-work to get them ready for when they'll have to do it for themselves.
