Pediatric and Adolescent Care

Real pediatric experience, in a family practice

Most family practices see children. Fewer have a provider who spent over a decade inside a freestanding children's hospital.

Amy Weber, APRN worked eleven years at Children's Hospital Colorado, rotating through the emergency department, orthopedics, respiratory, hematology and oncology, and cardiology. That is a specific and unusual background for a primary care setting. It means experience with sick children, with the way pediatric illness presents differently than adult illness, and with the judgment calls about which child needs watching at home and which child needs a higher level of care.

Stephanie Hoppy, APRN has been a registered nurse since 2011 across cardiac telemetry, critical care, and emergency, and has practiced in hospital medicine, primary care, and allergy and immunology.

Both are board certified family nurse practitioners, credentialed to care for patients across the lifespan. Full backgrounds on the Providers page.

Well child visits

Well child visits are scheduled around growth and development rather than illness. They typically include:

• Growth measurement. Height, weight, head circumference in the youngest children, and body mass index, all plotted on growth curves so the trend is visible rather than a single point
• Developmental and behavioral screening. Age appropriate milestones for motor skills, language, social development, and learning
• Physical exam
• Vision and hearing screening as appropriate for age
• Immunization review and administration
• Nutrition, sleep, activity, and screen time discussion
• Safety guidance. Car seats, water safety, helmets, firearm storage, and sun exposure, adjusted to the child's age
• Parent questions. Bring them. All of them.

Water safety deserves particular emphasis in this part of Florida. Drowning is a leading cause of death for young children nationally, and constant supervision, four sided pool fencing with self latching gates, and swim lessons are the interventions that matter most.

Sick visits for children

We see children for the ordinary catalog of childhood illness: fever, ear pain, sore throat, cough and congestion, croup symptoms, stomach bugs, rashes, pink eye, minor injuries, and suspected strep or influenza. See Sick Visits.

Go to the emergency department or call 911 for a child with: difficulty breathing, working hard to breathe, or bluish lips; unresponsiveness or extreme lethargy; a seizure; a stiff neck with fever; signs of dehydration such as no urine output for many hours, no tears, or a sunken soft spot in an infant; a fever in an infant under three months of age; uncontrolled bleeding; a head injury with vomiting or confusion; or any situation where your instinct says something is seriously wrong.

Parental instinct is a legitimate clinical data point. If you think your child is sicker than the symptoms suggest, act on that.

Adolescent care

Adolescence introduces a different set of needs, and a different structure to the visit.

Topics that belong in an adolescent visit include mental health and mood, sleep, nutrition and disordered eating concerns, acne and skin, menstrual health, sports and injury, substance use, sexual health, vaccine catch up, and academic and social stress.

Adolescents are typically offered some time alone with the provider, with a parent present for the rest of the visit. This is standard practice and it exists because teenagers ask honest questions when they are not performing for an audience. Confidentiality has limits, which are explained clearly to both the teen and the parent, and safety concerns are always shared.

Chronic conditions in children

Asthma, seasonal and environmental allergies, eczema, and weight and metabolic concerns are all managed here. Asthma care in particular benefits from continuity: inhaler technique reviewed in person, triggers identified, a written action plan for what to do when symptoms escalate, and school forms completed so the plan actually reaches the people supervising your child during the day.

Complex conditions requiring subspecialty care are referred, and primary care continues to coordinate around that specialist.

School and sports forms

School entry forms, sports preparticipation forms, medication administration authorizations, and asthma or allergy action plans for the school nurse can all be handled here. Bring the actual form. See Sports and School Physicals.

Payment

Seaside Family Wellness participates with some insurance plans, but not all. Participating plans change frequently, so call (772) 678-0011 before your visit to confirm whether we currently participate with your specific plan. Self-pay options are available, and labs and diagnostics can sometimes be billed through your insurance when medically appropriate.

Contact

Seaside Family Wellness 1657 SE Port St Lucie Blvd, Port St. Lucie, FL 34952 Phone: (772) 678-0011 Hours: Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Common questions

This page is general health education. It is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment from a qualified provider who knows your history. Always talk with your provider about your own health questions. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department.

Reviewed by Amy Weber, APRN and Stephanie Hoppy, APRN, September 2026.