AGING BETTER: Why back to school checkups are so important | Podcast

As back-to-school season ramps up across North Georgia, Atlanta News First’s podcast “Aging Better” highlights why parents should not skip comprehensive wellness exams. In the latest episode, host Cyreia Sandlin spoke with Dr. Dhaval Desai, a Direct Primary Care physician with The Atlanta Internists and a pediatric hospitalist at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Desai described the well-child visit as a head-to-toe preventive check that helps manage chronic conditions like asthma, coordinate medication refills, and track height and weight. He also urged families to discuss behavioral and emotional changes, including sleep and mental health around ages 9 to 10. Vaccines, he said, remain key for preventing disease.