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Hayden — A visit to the doctor is rarely a reason to celebrate, but Cheyenne Siquieros said she liked her pediatrician's new Hayden office.

"There's more space," the 11-year-old from Craig said as she waited to be treated for a possible upper respiratory infection Tuesday.

Cheyenne was one of the first patients at the Walnut Street office of Pediatrics of Steamboat Springs. Three pediatricians will work part-time out of the practice at the former location of the Full Belly Deli: Dr. Ron Famiglietti, Dr. Sheila Fountain and Dr. Dana Fitzgerald.

The office opened Tuesday and will operate Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Cheyenne and her brother, Cesar Palacio, 7, came in for appointments with their mother, Robyn Siquieros. The children previously saw the doctors at a Craig clinic they ran twice a week.

"It really didn't make a difference where they were stationed, because I like the doctors here," Robyn Siquieros said. "If they were in Steamboat, I'd go there."

The doctors signed the lease for the building last spring, Famiglietti said. They wanted to open the office last fall, but permitting and inspection issues caused delays, he said.

"We looked at a couple different options in Hayden, and we picked the building that we did because we liked the fact that it was off of (U.S. Highway) 40, so it wasn't really crowded right in front of the street," Famiglietti said. "And we really liked the historic part of the building. : It has a lot of character."

About one-fourth of Pediatrics of Steamboat Springs' patients come from West Routt County and Moffat County, he said. Patients are welcome to visit the Hayden or Steamboat Springs location, which is on Central Park Drive. The offices are linked electronically and don't use paper charts, Famiglietti said.

"It's just like being seen here: same charts, same doctors - just a little less driving," he said.

The Hayden office will do regular well-child checks, pediatric urgent care and minor trauma, Famiglietti said. He started Pediatrics of Steamboat 10 years ago. Fountain has worked there for seven years, and Fitzgerald for three, Famiglietti said.

Fitzgerald was busy in the office Tuesday. Dr. Mary McMurray works with the pediatricians part time, and nurses and physician assistant Christy Eakins also work in the office, Office Manager Stephanie Timlin said.

"It's a really nice clinic," Timlin said. "This is pretty much identical to the Steamboat office, so you feel like you're coming to the same clinic."

The clinic smelled like fresh paint and wood Tuesday morning. The walls were mostly bare, though the waiting room was littered with the standard building blocks and toys of a pediatrics practice.

"It's going to be a beautiful office," Famiglietti said. "I think we're going to be there for a long time."