Our style of medical care
Thoughtful. Simple. Smart. We promote health through nutrition, fitness, love and support. By being proactive from day one, our patients need less treatment down the road. And when treatment is needed, you'll have a physician who cares to put thought and effort into each medical choice for your child. Quality, informed decisions you can feel good about.
Just the right amount. Sometimes treatments are invaluable tools. Other times, they create more side effects than benefits. Knowing which is which is the key to getting the most out of medicine.
Environmental impact. We cultivate an awareness of the impact our environment has on our health as well as the impact healthcare has on the environment. By contributing less medical waste into nature, and minimizing exposure to environmental toxins, you'll learn how to keep your children and their future world a healthier place for both.
Science? Naturally! If you're a nature enthusiast with a love of science, you'll feel right at home here. Our evidence-based approach is perfect for families looking for thoughtful guidance through conventional pediatrics. For families looking for alternative or energetic medicine, on the other hand (such as homeopathy or craniosacral therapy), we recommend an "integrative" clinic instead, which is a different style from the more science-based natural approach you'll find here. We use modern medicine but do so wisely and with a more wholesome feel.
“I love being different, and have no problem going outside of convention, but here’s the crucial piece: I wouldn’t do something different just to be different, or stay within convention just to stay within convention. I would only want to do something if it’s the right thing to do. In designing this practice, I set out to create a place where families can get honest information about all options, including alternatives. So I spend a lot of time evaluating the quality of research and deciphering if other options are actually better than the standard of care. When they are, and the evidence is clear, I embrace them. Most often, though, I’ve found the best approach is the most basic: a focus on comfort and support for a child to heal naturally. In rare cases where a condition is significant enough to warrant stronger treatment, I’ll guide the family through it using sound evidence-based practice.”
Vaccines: Our clinic is pro-vaccine, pro-community, and pro-health. The reason some parents are uncomfortable with vaccination is usually that a compassionate pediatrician has never taken the time to sit down and address their concerns. Come learn why vaccines are quite simply among the most natural, safe and effective ways of preventing disease and complications in children.
“Things that are good for us are not always comfortable or intuitive. Offering an injection to a healthy child to prevent a disease that a parent’s never seen definitely falls into this category. From a parent’s perspective, their child is perfectly healthy, yet we’re doing an intervention that has side effects like pain and fever, and they don’t get to witness the benefits directly. That’s uncomfortable. When a disease is already present, treating feels more comfortable because parents witness direct improvement first hand. Even when treatment is less effective and more dangerous, it still feels more powerful. I hope to rephrase the discussion around vaccines to help parents see this difference—in understanding the true risks and benefits to their children and their community, the natural choice is very obvious. Decisions founded on gratitude and comfort are more effective than those based on fear.”
Science-based medicine: This field of study is for those who have a passion for learning. Such medicine nerds as Drs. Joel, Meri, and Megan, take great interest in understanding medical science and epidemiology on a deeper level. Which things are true vs. which merely appear to be true? And how can you tell? If you love to geek out and learn about the nuts and bolts of how we discover things in medicine, you'll have a lot of fun here. If not, you'll also have a lot of fun here - we laugh a lot.
Teaching: Our doctors have a passion for teaching medical students, residents, and the community, and we aim to inspire others to follow in the path of compassionate medicine. We welcome interested medical students and residents to contact our office. Dr. Joel is a regular lecturer at medical conferences across the country and leads community workshops for Boost Oregon, a community-supported non-profit organization dedicated to education around childhood immunizations.
