Time to Get Checked Up For School! #HealthcareClinic #cbias

We’re moving to Maryland…this week. Actually, we were supposed to move this weekend, but, let’s just say, the apartment didn’t work out. On our way to sign the lease though, the boys and I stopped by my favorite Walgreens store in Washington D.C. on 7th St NW. Since I knew we were heading that way, the evening before I popped online to see if they had any appointments available. Thankfully there were several times available!

D.C. is on my way to and from Maryland so it’s the perfect stopping point! We go back and forth quite a bit and I don’t see that stopping any time soon. The biggest reason I chose this location was (aside from the Remy eyebrow bar and Look Boutique) is I love how central it is! It’s right in Chinatown and in the heart of Washington D.C.

So, I told the boys we were going to wake up early, head to D.C. for Doodle’s school physical and then head to see the apartment. I knew we were going to need to get a more recent physical because as it turns out, when you move into a new state, they require a physical to be within a certain period of time. When we moved here to Virginia at Christmas and enrolled the boys in school, I checked and his most recent physical covered him. Now, it’s too old. Blah!

We also haven’t gotten him a doctor yet. Yea, yea, yea Thankfully he hasn’t needed to see one. We also have state health insurance because I don’t have health coverage through my work. With our super huge time crunch, we needed to get a physical done asap. Everything about this move has been a time crunch!

We got to the Walgreens Healthcare Clinic and my son saw his name on the board. I had printed out the paper work from the county for his elementary school and sat down to start filling it out. lol I wasn’t fast enough because our appointment time was available the moment we got there! Good thing the paper work is easy and can be done lickety split!

This was our first time going to somewhere other than our family doctor in Minnesota. My kids had the same doctor for the past 14 yrs. Thankfully, Walgreens’ Healthcare Clinic offers a great range of services that are perfect for us; for our price range and my personal lack of health insurance. A couple of the issues my kids have dealt with on a regular basis that they will see patients for is ear infections and strep throat.

The gal who saw Doodle was very thorough taking all of his vitals, which we haven’t had done for over a year! She also did a vision exam and thankfully his vision is 20/20, unlike his brother who’s vision stinks and hasn’t been wearing his glasses.

The physical itself is pretty quick and easy to do. We were done in about 25-30 minutes. There was no rush and we were in a private room. It completely had the feel of a doctor’s office. One of the things I liked about the gal who saw Doodle, was, she explained everything she was going to do as she did it. It definitely made me feel comfortable and I know it did for him, too. I think when you don’t have an established relationship with a nurse or physician, having that type of communication is important!

Now, as soon as we finished with Doodle’s physical check, we were able to pay right there in the office! lol No check out counter or anything! His physical was only $39! I’m not sure what a doctor’s office visit would be here at a regular doctor’s office, but last time I checked, it was about $125 where we used to go!! Thankfully the $39 for the physicals are good through 9/30 which gives us parents plenty of time even after school starts to get them in! After 9/30 the price goes back up to $60!

Wanting to take advantage of our time at this flagship store, after we left the clinic, I headed upstairs to the third floor to check out the Look Boutique, and ended up getting a small facial and tried out some great makeup! HA! I didn’t realize how long it was going to take. I was only going to check out the eye shadows and mascara! The lady up there ended up cleaning my face and applying makeup! Talk about being pampered.

The boys in the mean time were bored out of their skulls and Buddy took a bunch of random photos (which I won’t bore you with). I finally asked them to go down to the floor below and pick out what they wanted for lunch! This Walgreens has everything!

As soon as I was all done up, the boys and I grabbed our lunches and made our way to check out the apartment we ended up renting, but decided not to rent! That’s a story for another day!

Are you and your kids ready for back to school? Are your physical exams up to date? Do any of your kids need sports physicals? The Walgreens Healthcare Clinics are a fantastic alternative to a traditional doctor’s office!