LAKEPORT, Calif. – Lakeview Health Center has expanded access to pediatric care in Lake County with the addition of full-time pediatrician Dr. Rishika Singh.

Dr. Singh has extensive experience with newborns, having worked in a hospital with a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

She can perform intubations, insert umbilical lines when needed, attend high-risk deliveries and help in stabilizing sick newborns. She is also well trained in performing circumcisions.

“I like to joke around with little kids. For example, when I look in their ears I say, ‘Let’s see if I can find any puppies in here,’ or something like that to make them laugh,” she said.

With adolescent patients, she interacts on a more mature level. “My goal is to educate them, to let them know they are responsible for their own health,” she said.

Rather than putting adolescents on the spot about their behavior, she sometimes asks about their friends’ behaviors, which gives her insight into the types of risks and activities the patient may be exposed to. She builds rapport and “usually, the adolescents will come out with the truth.”

For Dr. Singh, becoming a pediatrician was a “no brainer” – she knew she wanted to work with children in some capacity and her parents are both doctors who encouraged her to pursue medicine.

After graduating from medical school in 2011, Dr. Singh completed her pediatric residency at Western Michigan University. She enjoyed learning about various pediatric specialties, and loved the people in her program, but she “did not love the Michigan winters,” so she and her fiancé moved to Georgia where Dr. Singh spent three years caring for pediatric patients of all ages.

When her husband’s work brought him to California, Dr. Singh looked for a small community where she could build relationships with her patients.

The reason she chose Lakeview Health Center is because she liked their comprehensive approach and the expertise of the team members, from colleagues, nurses and medical assistants to schedulers and receptionists.

“We have dentists right here, so if a patient needs dental care we send them right over. If a patient needs behavioral health support, we can do a warm hand-off. We can introduce the patient to the psychologist and make sure they’re comfortable,” she explained.

She also noted that Lakeview was a good fit for her because of the way the health care team supports patients without judgment.

Regardless of a patient’s condition or how patients become ill, Dr. Singh and the team at Lakeview Health Center are focused on helping patients get well.

Lakeview Health Center is part of MCHC Health Centers – a local, nonprofit, federally qualified health center offering medical, dental and behavioral health care to people in Lake and Mendocino counties.

Lakeview Health Center can be reached at 707-263-7725.