Morton Plant Mease Helps Pinellas County Student Athletes Get Needed Health Screenings

Sports Medicine Program Offers Free Sports Physicals 

CLEARWATER, Fla., (April 9, 2014) - Morton Plant Mease’s sports medicine program will offer free sports physicals assistance to student athletes in Pinellas County. Sports physicals are required by the schools before athletes can get on the field for a new season. 

Morton Plant Mease physicians, certified trainers, and physical therapists will provide checks of height, weight, blood pressure, vision, lungs, and the musculoskeletal system. Scheduled for Saturday, May 3, 2014 from 8 a.m. to Noon, at Palm Harbor University High School, 1900 Omaha St., Palm Harbor, FL, the free sports physicals will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.

All student athletes are required by the Florida High School Athletic Association to complete a physical evaluation before participating in high school sporting activities. Student athletes under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or registration forms must be pre-signed. Student athletes are asked to bring or wear eyeglasses or contact lenses, if they use them. The exams done by Morton Plant Mease are complimentary; however, a small fee may be required by some schools to support their booster clubs.
For more information about the free sports physicals event, please call (727) 462-7861.

If a student athlete is found to have a medical condition and needing additional treatment, they will be referred to a Morton Plant Mease specialist for follow-up at a later date.

The annual sports physicals are part of the athletic training outreach program, which is a partnership between Morton Plant Mease Health Care and the Pinellas County School System. Morton Plant Mease’s sports medicine program also partners with Pinellas County Schools to offer concussion screenings for student athletes at some schools as part of the ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing) program.

About Morton Plant Mease
Nationally recognized for health care excellence, Morton Plant Mease Health Care is dedicated to providing community owned health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care. Morton Plant Mease Health Care is comprised of the following hospitals – Morton Plant, Clearwater; Mease Dunedin, Dunedin; Mease Countryside, Safety Harbor and Morton Plant North Bay, New Port Richey.

About BayCare Health System
BayCare Health System is a leading community-based health system in the Tampa Bay area. Composed of a network of 11 not-for-profit hospitals, outpatient facilities and services such as imaging, lab, behavioral health and home health care, BayCare provides expert medical care throughout a patient’s lifetime. With more than 200 access points conveniently located throughout Tampa Bay, BayCare connects patients to a complete range of preventive, diagnostic and treatment services for any health care need. 

BayCare’s family of hospitals are: Mease Countryside, Mease Dunedin, Morton Plant, Morton Plant North Bay, St. Anthony’s, St. Joseph’s, St. Joseph’s Children’s, St. Joseph’s Hospital-North, St. Joseph’s Women’s, South Florida Baptist, and Winter Haven. For more information, visit BayCare on the Web at www.BayCare.org.