Menominee Tribal Clinic urges early school, sports physicals scheduling

Menominee families who wait until August for school and sports physicals could find themselves stuck in the same late-summer bottleneck that slows down vaccinations, paperwork and first-day eligibility. In a June 12 community announcement, Menominee Tribal Communications urged parents and guardians to make appointments now at Menominee Tribal Clinic in Keshena so students and athletes are ready when school starts.

The clinic is at W3275 Wolf River Rd., Keshena, WI 54135, and appointments can be scheduled by calling 715-799-3361. The reminder landed before the rush that usually builds as calendars fill, a practical push for households in Keshena, Neopit and Zoar that need both routine care and school clearance handled before fall schedules tighten.

The timing also matters because Wisconsin law requires students to either show proof of required vaccines or provide a waiver signed by a parent or guardian. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services updated school and child-care immunization requirements in 2024, so families have another reason to sort out records early rather than waiting until enrollment deadlines are looming.

For student athletes, the paperwork chain is just as important as the exam itself. The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association says only the Medical Eligibility Form page is submitted to the school, while the student, parent and physician handle the other pages. The Menominee Indian School District athlete checklist also requires the WIAA eligibility form and sports physical form, or the alternate-year form if a physical was completed the previous year.

Menominee Tribal Clinic says it promotes patient care through education, prevention, health care maintenance and intervention, a mission that fits the notice’s broader message: school readiness is not just about one appointment, but about making sure exams, vaccines and forms are finished before the fall calendar fills up. That point has taken on added weight as childhood immunization coverage has slipped nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s SchoolVaxView showed kindergarten vaccination coverage declined during the 2024-2025 school year for all reported vaccines, and a CDC report found national kindergarten coverage with state-required vaccinations fell from about 95% in 2019-20 to about 93% in 2022-23.

For Menominee County families, the advice was straightforward: do not wait for the back-to-school scramble. The clinic’s June reminder was a call to get ahead of the crowd, so children can start school, practice and extracurriculars on time.