Karla K. Lester M.D.

About

Hi, my name is Dr. Karla Lester, and I’m the medical director for Children’s Center for the Child and Community. I’m also the pediatrician for the Heroes Weight Management program in Lincoln. I always wanted to be a pediatrician from when I started medical school and even before because I wanted to be the doctor who the kids remember when they grow up. My patients would describe me as a good listener. I think they think I’m a caring doctor. I’m pretty thorough, so I ask a lot of questions. I think about the whole family, the whole family system, their home environment, and their neighborhoods. With obesity, you have to think about everything. I also think they would describe me as funny. I try not to take myself too seriously. Children with obesity have a lot of barriers and challenges, but the number one thing is that they’re just kids. They’re not in charge of buying food, and they’re not in charge of their environments. That’s the challenge for them, and they’re reliant on their parents, their families, their communities, and their health care providers to help them. Parents and caregivers should trust me with their child’s care because I care very much about the whole child. I care about their child’s health, but I also care about all the other aspects of their lives because I know that if we are not addressing those, we’re not going to be able to really affect their health long term.