Call For Instructions If You’ve Been Exposed or Suspect Measles
Measles is highly contagious and can spread before a rash appears. Symptoms often begin with fever, cough, runny nose, and red or watery eyes, followed by a rash that starts on the face and spreads downward. If you suspect measles or have been exposed, even without symptoms, CALL Lakeview Clinic immediately at 952-442-4461. Do not walk into the clinic without calling first. Please do not use online scheduling if you suspect measles.
After suspected exposure, don’t wait for symptoms. Tell us when the exposure occurred and whether you have documentation of MMR vaccination. For eligible patients, MMR vaccine within 72 hours or immune globulin within six days may help prevent or lessen illness. Infants, pregnant patients, and people with weakened immune systems need prompt guidance. Our team will review your situation and explain whether you need to stay home and how long to monitor for symptoms.
Getting care safely: We’ll offer telehealth whenever appropriate and coordinate testing if needed. If we arrange an in-person visit, call from the parking lot and wait in your vehicle until staff meet you. If you suspect you have measles, stay home and away from others while awaiting guidance and test results. People with measles generally remain home through four full days after the rash begins, or longer if directed.
Chickenpox can cause an itchy rash that turns into fluid-filled blisters and scabs, sometimes with fever, tiredness, headache, or poor appetite. If you suspect chickenpox, call Lakeview Clinic at 952-442-4461. We’ll help arrange a telehealth visit whenever possible and explain next steps.
Testing from home: Your provider can help you access a home collection kit through the clinic or the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). Visit MDH’s chickenpox testing page and select “VPD Test Kit Request.” Home kits collect scabs or crusts; if none are present, your provider will explain testing options.
Protect others: Stay home until all blisters have crusted. If your rash does not form scabs, follow your provider’s instructions; generally, no new spots should appear for at least 24 hours. If an in-person visit is needed, call from the parking lot and remain in your vehicle until staff meet you. Follow staff instructions about masking and which entrance to use.
Exposed or getting worse? Call promptly after exposure, especially if the person exposed is pregnant, has a weakened immune system, or is an infant. Preventive care may be time-sensitive. Seek emergency medical care for trouble breathing, confusion, dehydration, or signs of a skin infection. Call ahead and mention suspected chickenpox.
Are Sports Physicals Enough? Why Pairing Them with an Annual Wellness Exam Matters
It is important for parents to understand that while sports physicals are important for student athletes, they are not a substitute for an annual wellness visit. In fact, combining sports participation requirements with your child’s yearly wellness appointment is often the most convenient and comprehensive approach to keeping them healthy, safe, and ready to compete.
Why Annual Wellness Visits Matter
Once children move beyond their early years, it can be easy to assume regular checkups aren’t as important, especially if they’re not due for vaccines. However, annual wellness visits continue to play a critical role throughout childhood and adolescence.
These visits allow medical providers to monitor your child’s overall health and development over time, helping identify concerns before they become larger issues. During a wellness visit, your provider may:
Track growth patterns, height, weight, blood pressure, and BMI
Perform vision and hearing screenings
Screen for scoliosis and other developmental concerns
Monitor for conditions such as asthma, anemia, high cholesterol, or hormonal issues
Review immunization status
Discuss nutrition, exercise, and healthy lifestyle habits
Evaluating emotional health
Regular checkups help establish a baseline for your child’s health and allow providers to notice changes that might otherwise go unnoticed.
What Is a Sports Physical?
A sports physical, also called a Pre-Participation Physical Evaluation (PPE), is specifically designed to determine whether an athlete can safely participate in sports activities.
During a sports physical, providers focus on factors that may affect athletic participation, including:
Previous injuries
Concussion history
Heart health concerns
Asthma or breathing conditions
Musculoskeletal issues
Family history of cardiac conditions
Current medications and medical conditions
The primary goal is to identify conditions that could place a student athlete at risk during physical activity and determine whether any restrictions or additional evaluations are needed.
Sports Physicals Are Not Comprehensive Wellness Exams
Sports Physicals Are Not Comprehensive Wellness Exams
This is one of the most important distinctions for parents to understand.
A sports physical evaluates whether a student can safely participate in athletics, but it does not replace the broader preventive care provided during an annual wellness visit. Wellness visits address overall health, development, mental health, preventive screenings, and immunizations in ways that sports physicals do not.
That’s why many families choose to complete sports participation forms during their child’s annual wellness visit whenever possible. This approach helps ensure that both athletic eligibility and overall health needs are addressed during one appointment.
Minnesota State High School League Physical Requirements
For students participating in activities governed by the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL), a Sports Qualifying Physical Examination is required for athletic participation. The physical examination and medical eligibility form must be completed by a qualified healthcare provider.
An important detail for Minnesota families: an approved MSHSL sports physical is generally valid for three years, provided the student completes the required annual health questionnaire in subsequent years and no new health concerns arise.
The MSHSL evaluation helps determine whether a student:
Can participate without restrictions
Can participate with specific limitations
Requires additional medical evaluation
Is temporarily or permanently ineligible for certain activities
Even though the MSHSL physical may remain valid for multiple years, students should still continue receiving annual wellness visits to maintain their overall health and well-being.
Keep Your Child Healthy On and Off the Field
Whether your child is entering kindergarten, joining their first sports team, or preparing for varsity athletics, annual wellness visits remain one of the most important investments in their health.
Sports physicals help determine athletic readiness, but wellness visits provide the comprehensive preventive care children and teens need to thrive physically, emotionally, and socially. By staying current on annual checkups and planning ahead for sports requirements, families can help ensure their student athletes are healthy, safe, and ready for whatever season comes next.
Sports Physical Instructions: Please complete all the demographic information on the first page of the sports physical form. Page 2 should be entirely completed by parents & their student athlete. In addition, the top portion of the third page (including all 11 questions) needs to be completed by families as well. Our medical team will complete the remaining portions of the sports physical form.
The 2026 – 2027 Sports physical form can be downloaded HERE.
What Parents, Expectant Mothers, and Older Adults ShouldKnow
When people think about respiratory illnesses, influenza and COVID-19 often come to mind first. However, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) has quietly been one of the most common causes of serious illness in infants for decades and can also cause significant complications in older adults. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov]
A Brief History of RSV
RSV has an interesting origin story. The virus was first identified in 1956 in chimpanzees experiencing cold-like symptoms and was originally called the “Chimpanzee Coryza Agent.” A year later, researchers discovered the same virus in infants with respiratory illnesses, leading to its new name: Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
The name comes from its tendency to cause infected cells to fuse together into larger cells called syncytia. [journals.asm.org] Interestingly, some of the symptoms of RSV come not only from the virus itself, but from the inflammation that occurs as the immune system eliminates these infected cells. As syncytia is destroyed, the airways become swollen and fill with mucus and cellular debris. In tiny infant airways, this can contribute to wheezing, bronchiolitis, and difficulty breathing. [historyofv…ccines.org], [vaccinesafety.edu]
RSV is nothing new; nearly every child will get RSV at least once before their second birthday. Most recover with nothing more than cold-like symptoms, but some babies develop much more serious illness. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov]
RSV Symptoms
Symptoms can include runny nose, congestion, cough, sneezing, fever, wheezing, and decreased appetite.
For many children and adults, RSV looks a lot like a common cold. However, some infections progress to bronchiolitis or pneumonia, particularly in infants and older adults. [cdc.gov], [vaccinesafety.edu]
How Does RSV Spread?
RSV spreads very easily through coughing, sneezing, close contact with infected individuals, and touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your face.
People can spread the virus before they even realize they’re sick, which helps explain why RSV moves quickly through households, schools, daycares, and communities. [vaccinesafety.edu], [historyofv…ccines.org]
When Is RSV Season?
In most parts of the United States, RSV season occurs between October and March, with activity often peaking during the winter months. The timing can vary somewhat from year to year and by geographic region. [cdc.gov], [primarycar…liance.com]
RSV and Babies: Why So Much Focus on Infants?
Although almost everyone gets RSV eventually, much attention is placed on babies because they experience the highest rates of severe disease and hospitalization. RSV is the leading cause of hospitalization among infants in the United States. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov]
Very young infants can be more vulnerable because their airways are much smaller than an older child’s. Even minor airway swelling and mucus can make breathing difficult. Additionally, their immune systems are still developing.
The greatest risk occurs during infancy, particularly among premature infants and babies with certain heart or lung conditions. [cdc.gov], [vaccinesafety.edu]
Protecting Your Baby from RSV
One of the biggest advancements in recent years has been the ability to help protect babies before they ever become sick. Previously, only premature infants and infants with serious health conditions had access to RSV protection.
Today, families generally have two options, and most babies only need one of them. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov]
Option 1: Vaccination During Pregnancy
The RSV vaccine is recommended during weeks 32 through 36 of pregnancy during RSV vaccination season.
When a pregnant woman receives the vaccine, her immune system produces antibodies against RSV. Those antibodies cross the placenta and help protect the baby after birth. It’s the same general concept used for vaccines such as Tdap during pregnancy. [cdc.gov], [weence.com]
The RSV vaccine has been studied extensively and is considered safe for use during the recommended stage of pregnancy. The most common side effects are mild and may include soreness at the injection site, fatigue, headache, and muscle aches.
As with any medical decision, mothers should discuss the risks and benefits with their obstetric provider. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov]
The vaccine does not provide immediate protection. It takes approximately two weeks for the mother’s body to develop antibodies and transfer them to the baby. Once transferred, those antibodies generally help protect the infant through the first six months of life. [cdc.gov], [weence.com]
Option 2: RSV Antibody Protection for Babies
If a mother did not receive the RSV vaccine during pregnancy, the baby can typically receive a long-acting antibody injection after birth.
Technically, this is not a vaccine. Instead of teaching the immune system to make antibodies, it provides antibodies directly, offering immediate protection. [cdc.gov], [pedspandem…etwork.org]
Which Is Better: Pregnancy Vaccination or Infant Immunization?
Families often ask if one option is superior.
The reassuring answer is that both approaches are highly effective at reducing severe RSV disease in infants. Current recommendations generally call for one method or the other, not both. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov]
The best choice often depends on timing, maternal vaccination status, and individual medical circumstances.
Why Are RSV Immunizations Recommended Only for Babies Under 8 Months?
The first RSV season is when babies face their highest risk. By the time children are older than 8 months, they typically have larger, stronger airways, more mature immune systems, and have a greater likelihood of previous RSV exposure.
Researchers found that the greatest benefit comes from protecting babies during those earliest months when severe disease is most common. Some children with specific high-risk medical conditions may still qualify for protection during a second RSV season. [cdc.gov], [pedspandem…etwork.org]
Can a Protected Baby Still Get RSV?
Neither maternal vaccination nor infant antibody protection guarantees that a child will never get RSV. Their primary purpose is to prevent severe illness, hospitalization, and complications. [cdc.gov], [cdc.gov] So, while babies may still become infected, the illness is much less likely to become serious.
How Long Does Protection Last?
Current RSV prevention strategies are designed to cover a baby’s highest-risk period.
Maternal vaccination provides protection for approximately 6 months after birth.
Infant antibody protection lasts approximately 5 months or longer.
Will My Child Need Another RSV Immunization Later?
Most babies only require protection during their first RSV season. Certain children with chronic lung disease, severe immunocompromise, cystic fibrosis, or other high-risk conditions may qualify for protection during a second season. [pedspandem…etwork.org], [cdc.gov]
What Else Can Families Do to Prevent RSV?
Vaccination and antibody protection are important, but they’re only one part of prevention.
Helpful prevention strategies include frequent handwashing, cleaning high-touch surfaces, avoiding close contact with sick individuals, limiting newborn exposure to large crowds during peak season, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding tobacco smoke exposure, and staying home when sick These habits help reduce transmission of RSV and many other respiratory viruses. [vaccinesafety.edu], [historyofv…ccines.org]
Can RSV Be Treated?
There is no medication routinely used to cure RSV in otherwise healthy children. Treatment is generally supportive and may include; clearing nose with suctioning or nasal saline, frequent offering of fluids, rest, fever-reducing medications when appropriate, monitoring breathing, and using a humidifier. Severe cases may require oxygen therapy or hospitalization. [vaccinesafety.edu], [en.wikipedia.org]
RSV and Older Adults
RSV is often discussed in connection with infants, but it can also cause serious illness in older adults, including pneumonia, hospitalization, and worsening heart or lung disease. Adults age 75 and older, and adults ages 50–74 who are at increased risk should ask their healthcare provider whether RSV vaccination is appropriate. [cdc.gov] Vaccinations for this age group are typically administered at pharmacies.
Vaccination may not prevent every RSV infection, but it can reduce the risk of severe illness and hospitalization. Older adults can also lower their risk by washing hands often, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding close contact with sick people, cleaning frequently touched surfaces, and staying home when ill. [cdc.gov]
Looking Ahead to RSV Season
Public health experts continue to recommend RSV prevention for eligible infants, pregnant women, and at-risk older adults before community transmission increases in the fall and winter months. Families should talk with their healthcare provider about the timing that makes the most sense for their situation. [cdc.gov], [aafp.org]
Laura Mohling, MD
Dr. Mohling enjoys all aspects of pediatrics and she particularly enjoys the relationships with her patients and their families. Dr. Mohling has special interests in newborn care, lactation support, child behavior and development, asthma and allergy management, sports medicine, and adolescent health issues.
You’re Invited: Lakeview Clinic Waconia Open House
Thursday, September 17 | 4:30 to 7:00 PM Lakeview Clinic Waconia
Join us for a fun, family-friendly evening at the Lakeview Clinic Waconia Open House. Meet our care teams, explore our renovated space, learn about a wide range of services offered close to home, and visit with community partners who help support the health and wellness of our region.
Whether you’re a longtime patient or visiting for the first time, this event offers a great opportunity to learn more about the comprehensive care available at Lakeview and meet medical providers from various specialties and departments, all while enjoying activities, giveaways, and complimentary treats!
Upon arrival, visitors will receive a cinch bag to collect giveaways as they explore our updated space. In addition, a “Passport to Health” can be completed as guests visit with members of our Lakeview teams in each department. Completed passports can then be renewed for a free Mama’s Java smoothie (fruit or coffee), or free Gourmet Popcorn from Three Mad Poppers!
Members of our front office team will also be available to assist guests with Follow My Health enrollment and questions. They also will be happy to share information about LUNA – Lakeview’s new 24/7 online scheduling platform. (currently in soft launch phase)
New Physicians
Four of the five physicians joining Lakeview Clinic this fall will be available during the open house. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet Laura Bowman, MD (OB/GYN), Emma Leirdahl, MD (Internal Medicine), Alison Vecellio, MD (Internal Medicine), and Hannah Schull, MD (Internal Medicine). All four of these providers will see patients at our Waconia clinic with additional availability at our other clinic locations. Alex Mangan, MD (Family Medicine) is also joining Lakeview this fall, and will see patients at Lakeview in Chaska.
Community Partners
We’re excited to welcome several community organizations and specialty groups who will be onsite to share information and resources as well. Information about services such as physical therapy, hearing health, public health & more will be available.
Optical Style Show & Sale
Lakeview Clinic Optical will be hosting a style show and sale featuring Europa Eyewear in conjunction with the open house on September 17th. All Europa styles purchased with prescription lenses during the show will receive a 25% discount. All other prescription eyewear will receive a 10% discount. (some exclusions apply) Our experienced opticians are happy to work with current/valid prescriptions from outside eye doctors. (Just bring a copy in with you!)
Celebrating Community-Centered Care The Waconia Open House is designed to showcase the people, programs, and partnerships that make Lakeview a trusted healthcare resource. From primary care and specialties to innovative patient tools and community collaborations, we’re excited to share how we’re working to make healthcare more accessible, connected, and compassionate for everyone we serve.
We look forward to welcoming you and your family for an evening of exploration, connection, and community. See you on September 17!
