Earlier this month, an 18-year-old football player from Port St. Joe collapsed and died on the field.
It was the seventh student-athlete death across the nation in the last month, four of them were from heart issues.
The National Federation of State High School Associations said last week that six high school student-athletes died within the past month, four of them from heart issues and two from being hit.
For this reason, another Florida School District is now mandating heart screenings for their student-athletes.
“How could my perfectly handsome and healthy son just drop dead?” A parent said.
In Flagler County last week, parent after parent stood up at a school board meeting telling their stories.
Some told board members that an optional EKG screening saved their child’s life. Others were not so lucky.
“The ending for our family was not a happy one,” A parent said. “My son Alexander died at the age of 21 because of sudden cardiac arrest due to undetected hypertrophic cardiac myopathy.”
“We know from top pediatric cardiologists across the nation and abroad that an ECG could have saved Alexander’s life about 95% of the time,” she added.
“When you hear the testimony from parents who lost their children on an athletic field or a court, it is absolutely just heart-wrenching,”Flagler County School Board Member, Dr. Colleen Conklin said.
After hearing these testimonies, the school board voted to require ECG/EKG screenings with all physicals, starting next school year.
This was something that was initially optional for parents in Escambia County for the last 3 years.
“We would encourage it, “District Athletic Director of Escambia County Schools, Casey Thiele said. “Especially if there’s any of the risk factors that are particularly hereditary.”
“We don’t mandate it at this time,” she added.
Conklin believes it’s something that should be required across the state.
“It takes literally minutes, and it could save a child’s life,” Conklin said. “I really hope the Florida High School Athletic Association makes this a required part of an athlete’s health screening.”
Thiele pointed out that it might be easier for places like Escambia County to mandate this, but it could be more difficult for other areas.
“We have an unusually high level of high-quality medical resources that many counties do not have,” Thiele said.
“I would also suggest some of the largest counties,” Thiele said. “Their resources are so stretched that when we’re talking about 28 high schools having to get with 400+ athletes per school, in a short amount of time that have to get these physicals, that’s a challenge.”
Thiele says if there was a mandate, Escambia County would be in great shape to implement it. Until then, it’ll remain voluntary.
