Two students receive free sports physicals at WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center. Courtesy photo

HARPERS FERRY — While schools may remain out of session for the next month-and-a-half, pretty soon, they’ll be opening their doors once again, for the start of a new school year. Aware of the impending arrival of that starting date on Aug. 22, WVU Medicine decided to recently offer free sports physicals to local students.

According to Chelsie Davis, marketing strategist for WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center and WVU Medicine Jefferson Medical Center, WVU Medicine Berkeley Medical Center and WVU Medicine University Healthcare Physicians ended up providing 624 free sports physicals to middle and high school students from Jefferson County and Berkeley County.

The most successful event, Davis noted, that featured this free opportunity, was conducted on the evenings of June 7-9.

“Cathy Funk, M.D., of WVU Medicine Blue Ridge Healthcare in Martinsburg, chaired the annual Berkeley County Schools free physicals event for athletes and fine arts students,” Davis wrote in a press release. “With support from Berkeley Medical Center and a volunteer team of healthcare professionals and staff from Berkeley County Schools, 529 students received free physicals during the three-night event.”

Funk noted the event, which incorporated the Berkeley Medical Center Teen Health Festival into its schedule, as it had in previous years, was largely motivated by her dedication toward caring for the next generation.

“I’m honored to continue this much-needed community resource that was started by Dr. Ed Arnett more than 30 years ago,” she said. “We have great kids in our community and this event is a reminder that we need to take time to support them.”

The Jefferson County-focused event on June 24 also was fairly successful, considering the number of free sports physicals accomplished in its limited time span.

“University Healthcare Physicians provided 95 free sports physicals to middle and high school students from Jefferson County, during a two-hour event at WVU Medicine Harpers Ferry Family Medicine,” Davis said.

According to University Healthcare Physicians Assistant Administrator of Primary Care Jennifer Barker-Gamino, the event is a much-anticipated community outreach effort, even more so this year than in previous years it has been held.

“Serving the youth of our community with free sports physicals is an event our staff and providers anticipate and enjoy every year,” Barker-Gamino said. “I would like to thank Jefferson County Schools, Harpers Ferry Middle School administrators and the team of staff and medical providers at Harpers Ferry Family Medicine for volunteering their time and efforts to continue this community service, after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.”

Evidence of the pandemic’s effect on attendance could be seen in the numbers of middle school and high school students participating in either event. The last time the event was held in June 2019, the Berkeley Medical Center Teen Health Festival gave sports physicals to 550 students, and the Jefferson County-based two-hour event gave sports physicals to 350 students.