Dr. Charrelle Coates, who specializes in adolescent medicine, has joined the practice of Memorial Health University Physicians | Children’s Care. She sees tweens and teens for a variety of health issues, including eating disorders, sleep issues and headaches.

Coates does not think of her patients as "big children" or "little adults." She recognizes that they are a group all their own who are facing many changes as they approach adulthood.

“Adolescence is a unique time in life that comes with its own physical and mental concerns,” she says. “Tweens and teens need to be actively involved in shaping their own treatment and wellness plan.”
Coates does that by educating her patients on the topics, behaviors and disorders that are common in adolescence, which is defined as the period of transition from childhood to adulthood, typically ages 10 to 18 or beyond.

“My goal is to help them form positive habits that will last into adulthood,” she says.

Coates grew up in middle Tennessee and moved to Texas for college. She earned her medical degree from the University of Texas Health Science Center and completed her pediatrics residency at the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Medicine.

She finished a fellowship in adolescent medicine earlier this year at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

In her new practice at Memorial Health, Coates sees patients 11 years old and older for the developmental, physical, emotional, mental and behavioral changes that are unique to adolescents.
When she’s not working, Coates can be found reading or playing with her elementary-aged son.