Mercy makes donations to local schools

Mercy Clinic physicians will donate more $2,000 to local school district activity accounts through funds generated by their annual sports physical clinic program.

Each year, physicians and nursing staff at Mercy Clinic Fort Scott host sports physical clinics for area middle school and high school students at a cost of $10 each. In 2012, the clinic staff examined 226 students from Fort Scott and neighboring school districts.

"Our physicians and clinic staff look forward to offering these clinics," Mercy Clinic Director Annamarie Holmes said in a news release. "It is just one way to show their support for the local schools and offer parents and guardians significant cost savings for the required exam."

"The Kansas State High School Activities Association requires students who plan to participate in extracurricular activities to have a current physical on file," Holmes said. "The physicals ensure that the student is healthy to participate."

When the student signs in for the physical, the student's school is tracked. The $10 fee for the physical is donated directly back to the student's school district activity fund to help with equipment or supply purchases.

School districts receiving donations from the 2012 sports physical clinics are Fort Scott, Fort Scott Christian Heights, Christian Learning Center-Fort Scott, Jayhawk-Linn , Nevada, Northeast-Arma, St. Mary's Colgan and Uniontown.

"With nine providers and a dozen nursing and registration staff, we are able to maximize efficiency and keep the students flowing through the clinics," Holmes added. "The students receive a thorough physical exam to be sure there are no signs of heart disease or other health-related issues that would cause problems playing sports and being physically active."

Providers who donated services for this program include: Drs. P.K. Gugnani; John Fox; Randy Nichols; David Parris; Amy Sachau; Terry Schwab; Maxwell Self; and nurse practitioners Greg King and Lynieta Leisure.