Our Services

Immunization Policy

I firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.

I firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

I firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.

I firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities. I also believe that thimerosal, a preservative that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

I firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health-promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can perform as parents/caregivers. The recommended vaccines and their schedule given are the results of years and years of scientific study and data gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given.

Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. Such success can make us complacent about vaccinating. Over the past several years, many people in Europe have chosen not to vaccinate their children with the MMR vaccine after publication of an unfounded suspicion (later retracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of under-immunization, there have been small outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years.

Furthermore, by not vaccinating your child you are taking advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that your child will contract one of these diseases.

I am making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. I recognize that the choice may be a very emotional one for some parents. I will do what I can to convince you that vaccinating according to the schedule is the right thing to do.

Finally, if you should absolutely refuse to vaccinate your child despite all efforts, I will ask you to find another health care provider who shares your views. I do not keep a list of such providers nor would I recommend any such physician. Please recognize that by not vaccinating you are putting your child at unnecessary risk for life-threatening illness and disability, and even death.

As a medical professional, I feel very strongly that vaccinating children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. Thank you for your time in reading this policy, and please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines with me.

Sincerely,

Dr. David Lowry D.O., FAAP

The schedule is filling up fast so beat the crowd and make appointments for your Sports Physicals early! Please see our Patient Forms page to locate the required State of Missouri Physical form for high school grades 9-12 only. This does need to have the parent section filled out and be ready for the physician at the time of appointment.

It is recommended to follow a regular well child check schedule for your children. We do abide by the following schedule starting from birth:
- 2 Weeks
- 2 Months
- 4 Months
- 6 months
- 9 months
- 12 Months
- 15 Months
- 18 Months
- 2 Years
- Every year following until your child turns 18.

As a side note, most insurance companies cover yearly well child checks as long as they are performed a complete year apart. We do suggest contacting your insurance company to verify before scheduling.

We know sometimes it can be a rush to get kids to school and also arrive at work without being too late. For this reason, we offer walk-in appointments for established patients from 8:00 - 8:30am, with patients being seen in order of arrival. This does not include Well Child Checks or Sports Physicals. This is simply for acute illnesses such as fever, sore throat, coughing, etc.

In many clinics it can be hard to get an appointment the same day you call. We pride ourselves on being flexible and making sure we are able to care for your kids as soon as possible. This means if you call during regular business hours there should be no problem getting your child in that same day for acute illnesses, if you are not able to make it during our Walk-in Clinic.

As your children begin enrolling into high school, it will be required by state regulation for them to have a Sports Physical performed by a physician before they are allowed to practice any sport. We do perform these but we ask that you visit our Patient Forms page, print the required Missouri Sports Physical form, fill out the information required from the parent and bring it with you to the appointment. Please know that these appointments take a longer amount of time, therefore the availability of them each day is slim. We do ask you call in advance to schedule this appointment.

If you suspect your child may have ADHD, we are here to help! There are a few forms, which are available by request, at the clinic that are required to be filled out and returned to the office before scheduling an appointment. This includes forms for parents to fill out as well as two school teachers. Once this is returned to the clinic, it will be reviewed by Dr. Lowry and we will call you to schedule your appointment.