IRVINE, Calif. – Officially, Los Angeles Unified School District teams are not allowed to practice sports at this time as schools remain closed. Some private schools as well as some public schools outside of LAUSD have begun preparing for the fall season.
A pediatrician has a warning to share will fellow parents of student-athletes before competition begins.
It started with an email from her son’s school. Dr. Sandy Lee got a reminder that her teenager would need a sports physical to compete in track and cross-country this year.
Lee noticed something else a lot of schools do. They provided an opportunity for a quick sports physical at a low fee. This set off an alarm in her head.
As a pediatrician herself, Lee believes there’s a big difference in care kids get from a known and trusted family doctor who they feel more comfortable opening up to and has their medical history, versus an a la carte sports physical done by a stranger.
“I like to practice what I preach so I have my kids come in every year for a their annuals. I personally have found that I am not their best doctor because I’m more of a mom to them,“ said Lee.
Even if your child has already had a recent wellness checkup, Lee says you can still send the doctor’s office a sports physical form to be filled out after the fact.
Dr. Steven Abelowitz, who practices at Coastal Kids Pediatric Medical Group, says the pediatric office saw patient volume almost cut in half when the stay at home order started. Now families are coming back. Some are opting to be seen in the parking lot, inside their cars.
“I think we forget because of COVID-19 we forget the importance of preventative care. We forget the importance of vaccines,“ said Abelowitz.
The Long Beach Unified School District sent a statement to Spectrum News 1:
“The best practice would be for the athlete to be examined by their established primary care doctor. However, we accept all sports physicals that are signed by an MD or DO in the state of California. Students may be referred to a clinic for a sports physical when they are having difficulty with access to their medical doctor. High schools in the past have asked doctors to come to campuses to provide sports physicals. A small fee is charged. CIF is allowing a one month grace period for families struggling to get a sports physical appointment with their doctor. Most physicians are currently not doing physicals, but we’re hopeful this will change in the next couple of months.”