Every spring, North Oaks Sports Medicine provides free physicals for Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes student-athletes. This year, more than 1,300 area student-athletes from 42 junior high and high schools participated. This represents a combined savings of nearly $100,000 for local residents, like the Jones family of Hammond.
“North Oaks Sports Medicine Physical Day benefitted my family by allowing us to get my daughter a quality physical given by a great staff at no cost to me,” noted Joell Jones of Hammond. Jones’ daughter Megan attends Holy Ghost Catholic School, where she plays volleyball and will be entering seventh grade in the fall.
North Oaks has sponsored the Tangipahoa Parish Physical Day for 27 years and the Livingston Parish Physical Day for eight years to assist families and schools in fulfilling Louisiana High School Athletic Association requirements for participation in athletic programs.
This community service was made possible in Hammond and Livingston through the volunteer efforts of 32 physicians and nurse practitioners coupled with 165 employees, athletic trainers, and athletic training students from Southeastern Louisiana University.
“To be able to have physicals performed for all of our student-athletes in one location on one day is of tremendous benefit to our program,” said Hank Tierney, Ponchatoula High School’s head football coach. “The quality and thoroughness of the physicals are top-notch. In fact, we had seven student-athletes who did not pass this year and were referred to their personal physicians for follow-up. Obviously, we want our student-athletes to pass their physicals, but we would rather identify issues on the front end so that they can work with their personal physicians to resolve the issue rather than have it lead to further injury or tragedy on the playing field.”
Ryan Serpas, who is athletic director and head football coach for Springfield High School, also touted the safety and prevention aspects of the screenings. “We’ve had a couple of student-athletes flagged for heart issues in past years. So it’s a comfort to me knowing that I’m not putting a student-athlete, who may have underlying conditions, in a stressful situation.” The school has participated in Physical Day for 13 years.
Stacy Darouse, Albany High’s girls basketball coach, concurs on the benefits of Physical Day, adding that it also presents a prime opportunity for team bonding. “The Lady Hornets arrived together and went to breakfast as a team afterward.”
The free physical screenings offered annually in both Tangipahoa and Livingston parishes are just one benefit of enrollment in the North Oaks Sports Medicine Program.
Other program features include: injury prevention and athletic ability enhancement education for athletes and coaches; and athletic trainer coverage at many school-sponsored sporting events and practices. Saturday morning clinics are held during football season offering free injury evaluation and physician referral.
For more information on North Oaks Sports Medicine and program enrollment criteria, call (985) 230-5248 or visit the “Sports Medicine” tab at www.northoaks.org.