Exceptional Community Hospital offers free sports physicals for Yuma students

Exceptional Community Hospital has opened a free path into school sports for Yuma County students, offering no-cost physicals by appointment Wednesday through Saturday through Aug. 8. The summer program is aimed at helping athletes clear one of the basic requirements for summer practices and the coming school year without adding another bill to already tight family budgets.

The exams matter because the paperwork matters. Yuma Union High School District says athletes must use the correct Arizona Interscholastic Association physical form for the school year, complete it annually, and finish online registration and other clearance steps before they can participate. For families trying to keep up with those deadlines, a free exam can be the difference between being ready for the first practice and missing it.

Jeff Welsing, Yuma Catholic’s athletic director, said the partnership was a good one, especially for families who might not otherwise be able to pay for the exam. That is the practical value of the program: it removes the cost of a routine requirement and makes school sports a little more reachable for students across the county.

The county has seen this model work before. In 2023, more than 160 Yuma Union High School District student-athletes received no-cost physicals during a four-hour event at Kofa High School. Yuma Regional Medical Center physicians had served more than 1,000 student-athletes over five years through those annual events, and Dr. Ryan Zerr said some screenings uncovered problems that needed specialist follow-up, including heart and eye conditions.

Similar free-physical efforts were also reported in 2024 and again in 2025, showing a steady local response to a recurring need. In a region where sports often serve as one of the easiest ways for students to plug into school life, the cost of a physical can still become a barrier. Exceptional Community Hospital’s program takes that barrier down, at least for this season, and gives Yuma County families one less hurdle before the whistle blows.