CAMP LESTER, Okinawa — U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa has scheduled two walk-in sports physical clinics to help young athletes complete required physicals before school starts on Aug. 28, hospital officials said Friday.
The clinics are slated for Saturday and Aug. 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., said hospital spokesman Brian Davis. Sports physicals must be completed before students can participate in school sports, he said.
The physicals will be conducted at the hospital’s family practice clinic, said Lt. Cmdr. Alexis Epperly, director of branch clinics.
Parents or guardians should bring their child’s shot record and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools or youth sports forms, Epperly said.
Patients should come to the clinic in athletic gear: athletic shoes, shorts and a T-shirt or tank top, she said.
About 10 providers will be on hand and expect to conduct about six physicals each per hour, Epperly said. Davis said that unrelated health problems cannot be addressed during the sports physical clinics.
To prevent overcrowding or excessive waiting, Epperly advised parents to call the clinic at DSN 643-7517 on the day of the clinic they plan to attend for information on possible wait times.
The hospital will be holding immunization clinics on the same days and times for students who need the DODDS-required meningococcal conjugate vaccine and the tetanus and diphtheria toxoids and acellular pertussis, or Tdap, vaccine, hospital officials said last week.
To avoid crowding, the hospital staff requests that sports physical patients use the Lester Chapel parking lot.
Sports physicals
Dates: Aug. 12 and Aug. 19
Time: 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
Place: U.S. Naval Hospital Okinawa
