`don't Needs' Can Prove Very Needful To United Way 
**see For The Record 11/21/98

911 Supervisors Deny Coercion Accusation

By JENNIFER L. HENN; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Thursday, November 19, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 3A 





WILKES-BARRE- The Wilkes-Barre Area School District has beefed up its
policy on physical examinations for athletes. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Administrators met with the district's seven doctors to establish new
criteria for physical examinations. The doctors complete mandatory exams for
all students wishing to participate in athletics, unless parents opt to take
the child to their family doctor. District-provided exams are free. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; "The (district) doctors were all giving similar exams, but not exactly the
same," Superintendent Jeff Namey said. "So we brought them together and
changed how we do business, made it all uniform." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Besides standard checks like the student athlete's heartbeat, breathing and
reflexes, doctors added a hernia screening. For that reason, Namey believes an
increased number of students, mostly females, have chosen to visit their own
doctors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "It's kind of a controversial thing and I'm sure it makes some of the girls
a little uncomfortable," Namey said. "But we felt it was a necessary check to
do." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In addition to the universal physical criteria, the district now requires
parents to complete an updated, three-page medical history of the student. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 School nurses then compare the history with any medical information the
district already has about the student to ensure no medical conditions,
illnesses or injuries have been left out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Next, students wishing to participate in athletics are screened by the
district's athletic trainers for flexibility and joint mobility. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "We do the medical history and trainer screening first so all the
information can be passed to the doctors in time for the actual physical,"
Namey said. "That way the doctors have as much information as possible for the
exam." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Parents who opt for a district-provided exam are told in no uncertain terms
the physical is simply a screening and should not replace a

W-b Area Tightens Sports Physicals 
Standardized Examinations, A Hernia Screening And Individual Medical Histories 
Are Now Part Of Going Out For A Sport In The School District

W-b Area Tightens Sports Physicals Standardized Examinations, A Hernia Screening And Individual Medical Histories Are Now Part Of Going Out For A Sport In The School District