DHR Health Conducts Physicals for Students

DHR Health Edinburg CISD School-Based Health Center announced today the successful completion of over 2,700 physical examinations for middle and high school students of Edinburg CISD who participate in athletics, band, cheerleading, or dance.

These examinations were conducted across various campuses within the school district, as well as at the School-Based Health Center before the end of the school year. Also known as a “pre-participation physical,” a sports physical is an examination done by a medical professional to assess a child’s health to determine if he or she is eligible to participate in a sport or school-related activity. In the state of Texas, a sports physical is required by the University Interscholastic League (UIL) before allowing a student to participate in a school sport or school-related activity program.

Since its inception in 2015, the DHR Health Edinburg CISD School-Based Health Center has been at the forefront of delivering vital sports physicals to students.

“By providing this essential service directly to the students, we are simplifying access for families and helping to ensure these children are in optimal health for their athletic or other school activity programs,” said Marissa Castaneda, DHR Health Senior Executive Vice President.

The impressive number of physicals was done under the guidance of DHR Health physicians Dr. Ivan Garcia, Dr. Sujan Gogu, along with medical residents from the Family Medicine program, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Physician Assistant program, DHR Health staff members such as Daniel Tamez, Executive Vice President for Transitional & Primary Care, and volunteers from and assistance from the DHR Health Emergency Management Department, Business Development, and others. The examinations at the School-Based Health Center were conducted by Physician Assistants Margarita Gonzales, Brenda Hajj, and Jordan Guerra.

Edinburg CISD Clinical Liaison Melissa Salinas played a pivotal role in coordinating these sports physical events, which included collaborating closely with Edinburg CISD school administrators, athletic trainers, UTRGV staff and medical students, and DHR Health personnel and volunteers to ensure that everything ran smoothly. Salinas had stations set up at each of the school’s gymnasiums where medical providers checked each student participant’s height and weight, vision, heart rate, lungs, stomach, ears, nose, throat, and reflexes.

Sports physicals play crucial roles in:

• Identifying underlying health issues that may impact a student’s sports performance or safety.
• Ensuring students possess the requisite physical fitness to meet the demands of their chosen sport or school-related program.
• Providing an opportunity for healthcare professionals to offer guidance on injury prevention and overall health maintenance.

The DHR Health Edinburg CISD School-Based Health Center is located at 1601 E Sprague Street in Edinburg. If your child requires a sports physical, please call at (956) 362-8383 to set up an appointment.