Screening for High School Athletes This Saturday

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Published on March 20 2017 11:32 am
Last Updated on March 20 2017 11:32 am
Written by Greg Sapp

HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital is partnering with Andrew Gobczynski Big Heart Foundation to offer free heart screenings to high school-aged sophomores and junior/senior athletes who have not already participated in the foundation’s program. The screening will be held Saturday, March 25, from 8 a.m. to Noon at the Prairie Heart Institute at St. Anthony’s.

This painless and harmless screening is intended to detect cardiac abnormalities through a comprehensive approach that includes an electrocardiogram, a physical examination and a targeted health history. An electrocardiogram can uncover dangerous cardiac abnormalities of the heart including cardiomyopathy, an abnormality that can cause sudden death of athletes during strenuous activity. This is a free screening program that will be offered twice a year, both in the spring and fall.

Those parents who are interested in having their student athlete receive a free heart screening will need to complete and sign the following forms, and present them at the screening event:  

  • Athletic Heart Screening Student Participation and Parental Approval

  • Athlete Heart Screening Registration

  • Athletic Heart Screening History Worksheet

These forms can be downloaded from HSHS St. Anthony’s web site at stanthonyshospital.org, under Events and Classes, and search for Big Heart Foundation Screening. Students who present with forms that are not complete will not be allowed to participate in the screening.

For questions or more information about the heart screening event, contact Stephanie Gobczynski Uebinger at (217) 240-0877 or stephuebinger@gmail.com. She serves on the board of the Andrew Gobczynski Big Heart Foundation, which has partnered with St. Anthony’s to serve our community and help prevent premature deaths of seemingly healthy young athletes. The Andrew Gobczynski Big Heart Foundation was formed in memory of Andrew Gobczynski, a former Teutopolis and EIU basketball standout, who died at just 33 because of cardiomyopathy, a condition no one knew about.

For more information about HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital, visit the hospital’s web site at stanthonyshospital.org.