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It always seems like back-to-school time returns too quickly after the fun and freedom of summer. Yet now's the time to begin looking toward this busy season when it comes to your family's health care.
Clinic appointments can get filled up, so call early to schedule back-to-school preventive checkups. Most health insurance plans cover an annual preventive visit for every member of your family. If you or your family members have not yet had this visit in 2026, consider scheduling now.
This visit is an opportunity to check in with your provider on several points:
• Current health status
• Immunizations
• Potential health risks
• Preventive screenings
• Current prescriptions, over-the-counter drugs, vitamins or minerals you or your child is taking
This appointment is also the time to bring up any concerns or changes you've noticed so your provider can help you take the next steps in care.
Children participating in school sports will be required to have a sports physical. A yearly child checkup can count as a sports physical, but a sports physical is not a substitute for an annual well-child checkup. If you have a student who will be starting college, they may be required to have a physical exam.
For adults, preventive care can help ensure that a potential health problem like high blood pressure or cancer is caught early, while it's more treatable.
Stay up to date on cancer screenings recommended for your gender and age group, whether that's a mammogram or screening colonoscopy. It's also important to keep tabs on vital numbers like weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol. This can all happen during your annual preventive visit.
As kids go back to school, this is a good time to review immunizations for the whole family.
Our local health care experts support vaccine recommendations that reflect the most current standards set by leading specialty organizations in pediatrics, obstetrics and adult medicine.
Vaccines not only reduce the risk of severe illness in individuals, they also protect entire populations by lowering transmission, helping to safeguard vulnerable groups such as infants, older adults and those with compromised immune systems.
• Immunizations follow a schedule that begins in infancy with boosters needed at later ages. You can get caught up on this schedule if you missed something along the way.
• Some diseases now are rare, but we should continue immunizing to protect our society.
• Everyone can get immunized each year to help protect against COVID and influenza.
• Depending on age and risk factors, adults can consider tetanus and diphtheria boosters, as well as vaccines to protect against RSV, pneumonia and shingles.
• Shots are safe, effective and prevent serious illnesses like polio, diphtheria, measles and HPV, which can cause various types of cancer.
Plan now to give your family a healthy start to the school year. This includes:
• A diet built around whole foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean meats/protein and whole grains. Limit sugars, processed foods and salty snacks that deliver lots of calories but little nutritional value.
• Adequate hydration. Send your child to school with a water bottle, as allowed.
• Physical activity. School-age kids and teens should have at least 60 minutes of activity each day, which can be split into shorter blocks of time. This can include recess, active play with friends, organized sports or a family hike.
• Limited screen time and safe online activity.
• Adequate sleep. School age kids should have 9 to 12 hours of sleep a night, and teens should have 8 to 10.
There's still plenty of summer left to enjoy. Yet right now is the best time to make sure you and your family are ready for the busy school year and harvest season ahead. Call your local clinic to make an appointment today.
-- Debbie Streier is the regional president/CEO of Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center