1st SOMDG offers school physicals

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- In response to provider and parent feedback, the 1st Special Operations Medical Group will soon be providing individual appointments for children with their primary care provider for their annual wellness and school physical visits.

The question you should be asking is whether or not your child needs a 'school physical' this year. This article will answer that and more.

Does your child need a physical? The Florida Department of Health states that children who are enrolling in school for the first time, changing school districts, or are participating in sports will need a physical within the 12 months before school starts. While the Florida forms are preferred, a comparable form from another state is acceptable if completed within the past year.

Here's what you need to do. If your child has had a well-child or school physical visit within the past year, our staff can complete the forms based on that past visit. Then the child will be due for their next visit 12 months after the previous date. The forms are available online at http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Family/School/parent/parent_info.html. Forms can be dropped off at the clinic and will be completed within 1-3 business days. Forms can alternatively be emailed via MiCare, the secure messaging system. Forms cannot be emailed in any system other than MiCare to prevent exposing protected health information.

MiCare is also a convenient way to communicate with your healthcare team. Through MiCare, we can share lab results, renew prescriptions, make appointments; all the things that can be done via telephone, but without playing phone tag!

Make sure you register today! You can register online at https://app.relayhealth.com/RegistrationV2.aspx?bid.

If your child needs an appointment, please make a request via MiCare or call the appointment line at (850) 884-7882 to make their appointment.

Please also bear in mind that these appointments are intended to address your child's school or sports physical and preventive health care needs. We make efforts to complete medication refills and address minor concerns at these visits, but you may be asked to schedule a later appointment to return for additional concerns. This allows us to stay on time and provide each patient their needed time with their provider.

If your child doesn't need a school physical, they should still receive an annual wellness visit. We recommend performing these around their birth month so that it's easy to remember.

Your child will also need their immunizations up to date. Scheduled immunizations are due at age 4 and 11 years old. The immunization clinic is open 0730-1600 (excluding 1200-1300) to complete immunizations or obtain records. Records can also be requested via MiCare. The immunization clinic is a walk-in clinic, no appointment necessary.

We hope that this information is helpful to you. We look forward to caring for your families!