The dropping temperatures mean that winter sports have arrived! While student athletes are embarking on basketball, indoor track, wrestling, and cheer seasons, RHHD is celebrating one of our own: sports physicals season.
Community Health Nurse Manager Amy Popovich notes that Virginia requires middle- and high-school-aged students to have a sports physical before participating in sporting competitions, practices, or even training sessions. And as every athlete knows, if RHHD wants to reach victory—ensuring that all student athletes have access to a physical—we need good teammates. “We’ve been excited to partner with RPS, and both VCU and Bon Secours providers, to make this initiative happen,” Amy says.
Teamwork is where Dr. Stefanie Ramsey, Coordinator of RPS Athletics, comes in. Dr. Ramsey says that even though sports physicals are a requirement, they have the potential to be so much more: “It’s our kids’ entryway into health and access to a doctor. A lot of our kids don’t have a family physician, so this is a first effort at learning to feel comfortable enough with somebody to talk about what’s happening with their bodies. Our athletic trainers help out with that, and then the physicals give them time with a doctor they might not have otherwise.”
Students who do have a family physician can receive a sports physical during a regular wellness appointment, but as Dr. Ramsey emphasizes, not all students have access to a primary care provider. Transportation, scheduling, and language access can also present challenges—VHSL’s physical form is only available in English. “Getting the paperwork filled out properly can seem like a small thing, but it’s actually a big one,” she says.
To make sure that all students have the opportunity to receive a physical, RPS and RHHD teamed up to offer physical and vaccination events at schools themselves. Dr. Ramsey explains that location is critical: “Having them neighborhood-based make them easier to get to, which makes a big difference. I always think of sides of the river when we’re planning these things, because we’ve seen that without access, our kids aren’t participating.”
Now that RHHD has begun offering sports physicals with RPS, Dr. Ramsey anticipates this initiative continuing. “Being there, you see the need,” she says. “We did an event together over at Boushall Middle, and we had over 60 kids in one night.”
RHHD Public Health Nurse Becca Shaw says that sports physical events like the one recently held at George Wythe High School are exactly the reason she got into public health: “I was assisting one of our partnering providers with the physical exams and had the opportunity to talk to some students about my career, and to learn a little about their experiences at school and in the community. We were there for physicals, and that’s what got done, but I had the pleasure of also getting to acknowledge these students as people, not just ‘patients.’”
Dr. Ramsey felt the energy at the George Wythe event, too, saying “I think we gave physicals to the entire soccer team! Which is great, because that’s a spring sport, so now those kids can do their off-season work and will have more time with their coach.” RHHD’s presence at the event also meant that people needing other resources—like the young man who wasn’t a student but saw advertising for the physicals—could talk to a public health worker for more information.
RHHD and RPS will likely partner for another event or two in February to reach athletes playing spring sports. Each event counts, because each student counts. “I’m a little biased because I’m a coach,” says Dr. Ramsey, “but I don’t think there’s any better teacher of life than being a part of a team. It’s a family,” she says, citing Armstrong’s historic district championship in football and the warm interactions among players after the game. “When students are with us, they’re safer. If they’re staying with us after school, they’re also following what they’re doing in their classes a little more closely. It’s about getting them engaged early on and creating a healthy lifestyle. And working with the health department helps us reach those goals.”
If you know a student athlete in need of a sports physical, head over to RHHD’s School Health Hub for a treasure trove of resources, including updates about future events.
