MOBILE, Alabama – About 750 Mobile County high school athletes and band members visited the University of South Alabama on Friday, June 6, for free physicals and CPR training offered by providers from USA Health, the health system for USA, the Flagship of the Gulf Coast.

USA Health sports medicine and family medicine physicians, orthopaedic surgeons, pediatricians and cardiologists, with the help of USA nursing and allied health students, evaluated the high schoolers during the daylong event at the USA Mitchell Center. They checked the students’ blood pressure, vision, heart, lungs, abdomen, ears, nose and throat. They evaluated posture, joints, strength and flexibility, and discussed any medical needs or concerns.

“The sports physical day that USA Health partners with MCPSS to provide to high school athletes is a pinnacle of our relationship,” said Peter Rippey, M.D., CAQSM, a sports medicine physician at USA Health and assistant professor of family medicine at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine. “It allows the athletes to be ready to start their training on time, helps to ensure they are healthy and allows us to provide a more thorough screening with an EKG.”

In addition to the physicals, team members from USA Health pediatrics performed about 400 EKGs at the event. An EKG is a quick test that records the heart’s electrical activity to screen for health conditions that increase the risk of sudden cardiac arrest. The test was performed in curtained areas, and cardiologists were on hand to read the results and schedule follow-up appointments if needed.

“When we look at getting sports physicals, we know that access can be an issue for some parents and their children, so we want to make access as easy as possible,” said Gul H. Dadlani, M.D., a pediatric cardiologist who is professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at USA Health. “We provided these free physicals today so students can meet the requirements needed to be able to play sports and participate in marching band.”

In addition, students had the opportunity to receive CPR/AED training, which can help them save a life in an emergency. Representatives from the American Heart Association worked with small groups of students at the event to practice CPR skills on manikins.

USA Health is the official provider of sports medicine for 11 public and two private high schools in Mobile County.

About USA Health

USA Health, the health system for the University of South Alabama, the Flagship of the Gulf Coast, is the leading academic health system in the region. With more than 40 care delivery locations, including University Hospital, Children’s & Women’s Hospital, Providence Hospital and the Mitchell Cancer Institute, and physician practices throughout the area, the health system melds clinical care, research and healthcare education into the most advanced medical care in the region.