Olivia Wilson and Nick Johnson
31 minutes ago
MOBILE COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — Some Mobile County Public Schools students received free health screenings Friday, but officials say the event also provided them with important training that could potentially save lives.
Officials said this year’s event was sponsored by MCPSS and USA Health because, according to Dr. Peter Rippey of USA Health, “all athletes, band and ROTC members are required to undergo a sports physical prior to beginning practice or competition.”
Officials said the health screenings will “improve access to care for student-athletes to participate in summer sports.”
But Rippey said the event is more important than just being an obligation.
“A sports physical can look for a variety of conditions,” he says, “but the one we look for most is cardiac disease.”
Friday’s event introduced new features to help with that cause: ECG, CPR and AED training.
“What we want here is to make Mobile the safest community,” pediatric cardiologist Guru Dadlani said, “so if an athlete collapses, we have less than four minutes to do that, because if we don’t start CPR, the brain won’t get oxygen and the patient will suffer brain injury or death.”
BC Reign football head coach and athletic director Lawrence Yelding noted the importance of adding a cardio-focused component to this year’s physical event, saying, “People collapse a lot, so it’s an added bonus.”
“This is amazing, and I’m so grateful for all they do for the high school student athletes,” Yelding added.
