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Medical and Dental Enrollment Information

Immunizations: Please get all your shots up to date, then fax your Immunization Record Form as soon as possible to 860-701-6665, then mail it to arrive by June 1st.

Dental: Have a thorough exam and complete recommended treatment, including extraction of wisdom teeth, by June 1st to allow full recovery. If you have significant dental history such as cleft palate repair, orthognathic surgery, or oral facial trauma, submit these records. Finally, submit dental xrays taken after January 1st on a CD, with your name and exposure date marked, along with your Immunization Record Form.

Contact Lenses: During your orientation at the Academy you will have to use glasses until a vision exam is given. Bring two pairs of glasses when you report, for backup, plus a supply of contact lenses.

Insurance

Once sworn in, your primary insurance will be Tricare, through the Coast Guard. If you have private insurance, it will serve as a secondary form of insurance. Please note the following important points:

Only the Academy Clinic can make referral appointments for you. Scholars cannot obtain non-emergency medical care at home or elsewhere without prior authorization.
If you are currently covered by Tricare as a dependent, your coverage status will be updated to reflect your active duty status. When you leave the Scholar Program, before commissioning, parents can reinstate your previous status as an eligible dependent.
Keeping private insurance coverage for the duration of your enrollment is recommended, so you do not experience a lapse in coverage.

Medical Services

During Orientation, the Academy Clinic provides primary medical and dental care. The Clinic responds to acute illness or injury around the clock. Facilities include:

Outpatient Department
Dental Clinic
Pharmacy
Physical Therapy Department
Ancillary Services such as Radiology
Lab

At Prep School, medical services are on campus. If specialty care is needed, services are available in the community, by referral. You must contact the Coast Guard Academy Health Benefits Advisor prior to receiving specialty care.

Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.