Adolescent medicine

Adolescence is an exciting, yet often challenging time. Young people face many choices during this transition. How they respond to those choices can impact their future. The Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Adolescent & Young Adult Medicine specialists can help manage the physical, psychological and social well-being of this creative, passionate age group.

Keeping adolescents and young adults healthy, safe and empowered to make smart life and health choices is now a greater challenge than ever. In response, the adolescent and young adult medicine team at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital has been designed to address the unique needs—medical, social, emotional, developmental—of adolescents ages 12 to 22 in an age-appropriate manner. The approach to care is family centered, which allows the teen, his or her parents and the medical provider to become partners in decision-making while also helping teens transition to young adulthood. We empower and educate our patients in self-care and healthy decision-making. Our team is also very involved in the community with a network of social service agencies and support systems.

Our team is led by dedicated board-certified physicians. Team members also include a certified physician assistant, a licensed medical social worker, nurses and medical assistants, each of whom has specialized training and experience in working with adolescents and young adults. In addition, medical students and physicians training in our pediatric residency program participate on our team. 

We work closely with other subspecialties and departments at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital including infectious disease, psychiatry, orthopedics, physical and occupational therapy, psychology, nutrition services, and child life services to provide coordinated, comprehensive and teen-friendly care. 

Some of the issues we treat and services we provide include: