By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The start of the 2025-26 school year is just around the corner. Athletes will have several opportunities for free physicals around the area. The Barton County Health Department also wants to help out by making sure students have the proper immunizations required for the classroom. Lindsey Ensley, a registered nurse at the health department, said the facility will be open from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 2 for a Back to School Immunization Clinic.
"We have put together an event that will kind of coincide with free school physicals in the beginning of August," she said. "We're going to be at the Barton County Health Department. We're going to provide all the vaccines that are necessary for school starting for ages Pre-K through 12th grade."
The clinic will be a walk-in event with no prior registration required. Parents who are unsure what their child may need can call the health department ahead of the event to find out.
"They can call at any time during our business hours," Ensley said. "They would give the name and date of birth of their child to our clerical staff and a nurse will review their immunization record, call them back, and let them know their kiddo is due for this or that or up to date."
Parents need to bring insurance information to the clinic on Aug. 2. The Barton County Health Department is located at 1300 Kansas Ave. in Great Bend.