Caring for Children, Home and Abroad: A Spotlight on DCMS Member Dr. Prasanthi Reddy

Story by Lana Sumner-Borema, DCMS Intern

Dr. Prasanthi Reddy, pediatrician and founder of Rainbow Pediatrics was directed toward a future in medicine at a young age.

“My parents bought me an empty frame and put it up on the wall when I was a kid and said ‘see that frame, that will only hold a medical degree.’”

This dream of her parents became her own as she always took an interest to medicine.

“Luckily, I always felt like it was my calling. The science along with the interaction with people.”

After high school, Dr. Reddy went on to pursue her medical degree through a combined Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degree program at the City University of New York. Despite her passion for healthcare, she found college to also be a place where she could explore her interests in subjects unrelated to medicine.

“My major was biochemistry but my minor was art and art history. I’ve always enjoyed art, drawing a painting. I’d always doodled on papers and things like that. In college, I thought this was my time to explore something that’s non-science.”

Dr. Reddy’s varied interests in school were not the only aspect to keep her balanced. She was also the captain of her tennis team despite her rigorous studies.

“I think especially in an intensive program like the one I was in, it’s really important to balance with non-studious things. Tennis and art are what kept me balanced and happy during those times where I had to study a lot. You have to do more than just study in college, and that’s your opportunity where the world is wide open to explore any interests you may have.”

The day after Dr. Reddy graduated from residency from the State University of New York’s Stony Brook University Hospital she became the attending running their pediatric urgent care center. She worked in the urgent care setting for two years with critical-pediatric cases before she recognized a different calling in the field.

“I realized my heart was really in primary care and following up with these kids and seeing what happened to them, so I joined a local community practice where I worked for a year before coming here.”

Dr. Reddy moved to Jacksonville in 2004 mostly trying to get out of the cold of New York, though the practice she formed was based on a personal dream.

“I had a certain type of practice in mind that was more patient-centered. Kind of like the small-practice type of feel where the kids know their pediatricians and, with that in mind, I opened in 2004 having no patients in town. It organically grew from there, families telling other families, and now sixteen years later I have four practices.”

Despite the time that has passed, the art classes Dr. Reddy took in college are surprisingly still making a difference today.

“If you walk through any of my offices, you will see that I’ve decorated every single one of them with my paintings and different aesthetics and decorations. I have never had a designer for any of my offices and that’s the fun part. I’m a big fan of Van Gogh, but some of my favorite artists are actually my patients, and I have a collection of those.”

While her continuing love for tennis has not helped develop her office space, it is still making a difference in her personal life.

“I play tennis even now. I belong to the working women’s league. I play some leagues here in Jacksonville as well. I play anywhere between six to seven times a week. I love doing it. That’s my stress relief.”

And it’s not just tennis, she loves, but everything about the great outdoors.

“As a family, we love hiking. So, every year we have a big hiking trip and it’s enjoyable to do with the whole family. We go to all these different national parks and spend a week hiking in far off places. The last country we visited was Peru. We went to Machu Pichu and hiked. It’s exhausting but thrilling.”

This love of traveling with her family not only acts as a means of stress relief and adventure, but has encouraged her to take on a new specialty.

“My love for hiking has taken me all over the world. I started to develop an interest in tropical diseases and I soon found a connection with travel medicine which includes all of the things people do while on vacation that might pose health risks. Travel medicine can be anything from infectious disease prevention to altitude sickness to scuba diving safety. It was something that was always of interest to me and then I came across how to get certification and training in it about ten years ago.”

This interest in travel medicine was not only inspired by her past trips, but has encouraged her to travel more.

“I spend time with a lot of groups going on mission trips and making sure they are healthy and have all of their shots and medications before they head out. Slowly over time I became part of that mission trip. I’ve been to Haiti, not counting 2020, for the last four years. I do one big trip a year where I gather a group of pediatricians and we go to a remote area of Haiti near Port-au-Prince. While there, we serve 400-500 children who would not have care otherwise. It’s exhausting work but very, very rewarding. Now we’ve started to see some of the same kids back year after year.”

Her love of caring for children in need has led her to advocate within the United States as well. While it may seem that a smaller overall number of children need basic primary care in the United States compared to Haiti, she has found an alarming need for preventive care in pediatric mental health within the past few years.

“Even before [Covid] it wasn’t a great situation as many of the kids’ interactions are on social media and digital interactions. This may seem great for kids but it does take away a component of face-to-face interaction and the necessary learning of how to adapt emotionally to these situations. With this increase in social media, kids have been less and less able to manage their own emotions. Unless we teach them how to manage their emotions, they get bigger and bigger until it becomes a full-blown diagnosis.”

Dr. Reddy was on the board of the Child Guidance Center for many years but is now working on opening a center of her own that would provide preventive care for the community in the form of classes, support groups, and therapies for children. Motivated by care for the mind and body, Dr. Reddy continues to find new ways to incorporate non-conventional methods of care to best serve her young patients.

“I have always loved being around children. I am most joyous when I am around children. Becoming a pediatrician was a no-brainer for me.”