Family Wellness at Roots: 6 Primary Care Services We Provide for Adults and Children

At Roots Community Birth Center, we strive to be accessible and welcoming for all families. Just like we hope to make you feel comfortable and at ease during pregnancy, birth, and postpartum, we have expanded that vision to include primary care.

Under the respectful care of our advanced practice nurses, Roots is now offering family wellness care for children and adults. Our nurse practitioner, Andrea Steinberger, is available to see patients, ages 0-45, while Willa Campbell, certified nurse midwife and women’s health nurse practitioner, provides well-person care for people with a uterus, ages 13 and beyond.

Are you wondering what family wellness care at Roots entails? It’s more than a yearly check-up, although annual physicals are really important! Our primary care is comprehensive and holistic. In this blog, we’ll explore six primary care services we provide for adults and children.

Annual Physicals

Wellness Room at Roots Photo Credit: Josephine Miller

Did you know that if you have insurance, your plan will completely cover one annual physical per year? During this visit, you can meet with one of our family wellness providers. They will do a physical exam and take time to discuss all of your mental and emotional health concerns, too. We can also do all of the recommended screenings for your age.

Many folks don’t realize this is a covered visit and elect not to do it. However, one of the reasons to complete your annual physical is to identify concerns before they become a large problem. The annual physical is a nice way to check in each year with your clinician, even if you’re feeling healthy. If you do not have insurance, we offer an affordable cash-pay option, and we also accept HSA and FSA funds.

Recommended Screenings

Depending on your age and medical history, we suggest specific screenings, some of which are recommended yearly, while others are done at other intervals. These screenings are important for early detection and regular monitoring. They can also help you feel confident and at peace, knowing that you are advocating for your own wellness.

Here are some of the common screenings we offer at Roots.

Vision
Hearing
Diabetes
Full body skin check
Breast exam
Pap smear
Pelvic exam

In addition, we often suggest annual blood work to check cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and other things if needed. For women, mammograms are recommended, and guidelines vary for those ages 40-50. We are happy to provide referrals for labs and imaging when necessary.

Care for Those with Chronic Conditions

When you have a chronic condition like diabetes, high blood pressure, or depression, you are probably seeing specialty clinicians who focus on that one issue. But it’s so important to stay on top of your primary care! In fact, there’s a lot of wellness care that happens outside of chronic illnesses.

Your family wellness provider will help with the typical recommended screenings and look at your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We holistically care for you as an entire person! In addition, some chronic conditions can affect other areas of the body. For example, diabetes can damage the eyes, kidneys, nerves, and heart, and is linked to some types of cancer. Working with a knowledgeable provider offers you the personal care you need to help improve your overall health.

Reproductive Care

At Roots, you can establish care with us prior to childbearing. If you know you want to become pregnant in the future, it’s helpful to get to know the staff before pregnancy. Not ready yet? We can help you with contraception and provide advice on conception when you need it. When you receive your primary care from our family wellness providers at Roots, you have the added benefit of midwives practicing in the same building. Do you have a question about hormones or fertility? Midwives are experts in these areas!

After the immediate postpartum period ends, you can continue to see the Roots family wellness practitioners to receive ongoing healthcare. We hope that you feel so supported and secure in your primary care that you bring your partner and your children to see us, too. Even if your children weren’t born at Roots, they are welcome to see our nurse practitioner. If we’re able, we’ll schedule your children’s appointments back to back with yours because we know busy parents benefit from that convenience.

Pediatric Care

Speaking of caring for your children, our team at Roots is knowledgeable in this area. If you deliver your baby at the birth center, our midwives will care for you and your baby in the immediate postpartum — until about six weeks after birth. Midwives are highly trained when it comes to newborn care. They will examine your baby at every postpartum visit, doing weight checks and looking for signs of jaundice

Around the two-month mark, your baby can start appointments with our nurse practitioner, and these visits follow the same schedule you would have at a mainstream pediatric office: 2, 4, 6, 12, 15, 18, 24, and 30 months, then once a year after that. We will discuss vaccines, and we can administer those if you consent. The provider will also check vitals, like weight, height, and head circumference, and monitor physical and developmental growth. However, we’re not only examining the child’s well-being; we’re assessing the health of the family, too. We know that postpartum parents especially need extra care, so we want to make sure your entire family is supported.

Sick Visits for Adults and Children

Now that Roots has expanded to offer primary care, you’re probably wondering, “What happens when my child is sick?” or “How do I get treatment when I’m not feeling well?” Good news! We are available to see you and your children for common illnesses and injuries

We save the last appointments of the day for sick visits. These same-day slots are available on a first-come, first-served basis, so we will add you to our schedule as we’re able. Some of the most common symptoms our clients have are ear pain, sore throat, and cough. This year, we are experiencing an increase in RSV and flu, and COVID could surge again. Although prescribing medication for these viral ailments is usually not appropriate, we are happy to help you and your family with symptomatic care.

Takeaways About Family Wellness Care at Roots

When you come to Roots for your primary care, you’ll see that our practitioners are kind and gentle. They listen to you and get to know you while providing high-quality care that keeps you healthy and aims to prevent disease in the future. We meet you where you are in your health journey, including if you’ve chosen not to follow the typical guidelines for visits and vaccinations. We believe that regular wellness care is what’s most important, and we support you as you make informed health decisions.

Make an appointment for yourself or a family member today! To schedule, call the front desk at 612-338-2784.

Photos by Josephine Miller