By EMILY SPARACINO / Staff Writer

CHELSEA – A new children’s clinic has opened its doors in Chelsea.

Pathway Pediatrics, a Sylacauga-based clinic, opened a second location at 398 Chesser Drive on June 25 to serve newborns and children up to age 18 in the Chelsea area.

The Pathway staff includes co-owners Dr. Leslie Sawyer, a board-certified pediatrician, and Megan Moore, a certified physician assistant; Megan Epperson, a registered nurse and board-certified lactation consultant; and Dr. Alice Hardy, who will officially join the practice July 20.

Sawyer and Moore bought the practice in November 2014, and their research into different areas led them to Chelsea as the top choice for opening a second clinic.

“Shelby County is the fastest-growing county in the state, and Chelsea is the second fastest-growing city in the county,” Epperson said. “We knew that there was a need. We just wanted to serve this community as well.”

Details of the new clinic – from the layout of the nearly 3,300-square-foot building to the brightly colored exam room walls – were formed with the clinic’s patients and families in mind.

The clinic features separate sick and well patient waiting rooms, along with a lactation lounge, where new mothers can go to breastfeed or to talk to Epperson, an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant), about breastfeeding.

“We designed this space with moms in mind,” Epperson said. “We wanted everything to be really spacious and comfortable.”

Wide hallways and large exam rooms are also conducive to wheelchairs and strollers.

Patients can enjoy two separate triage rooms and six exam rooms painted in various child-friendly tones.

In addition to lactation consultation, the clinic provides annual well child checkups, vision screenings, hearing checks, routine recommended lab work and FDA-approved computerized ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) testing.

“We do see a lot of kids being evaluated for ADHD,” Epperson said. “This is a more matter-of-fact way of diagnosing and treating ADHD.”