Interprofessional Education Event
On March 21st, the St. Augustine campus welcomed a guest speaker from one of our clinical education partners, Functional Pathways, to present on the upcoming changes to Medicare reimbursement that will impact therapists in October 2019.
The event was attended by 75 students and faculty from the OT and PT Administration and Management courses. The Patient Driven Payment Model will have a significant impact on therapists working in the post-acute settings such as inpatient rehab, skilled nursing facilities, and home health. This IPE opportunity was a great way to leverage the knowledge and experience of our clinical education partners, with the goal to ensure our students are well-prepared and informed about policies and regulations that impact the care they will be providing.
2019 AOTA Conference in New Orleans
It was great to see USAHS students, faculty and alumni come together at this year’s AOTA conference!
The University of St. Augustine participated in the annual AOTA Conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans on Friday, April 5, 2019. (Photo by Peter G. Forest/Forest Photography, LLC)
PT Legislative Day in Sacramento
San Marcos PT students Jessica Phung, Amanda Orr, and Roxanne Mueller attended PT Legislative Day in Sacramento on Tuesday, March 26. The focus of the day was to meet with legislators from all over California to discuss bills that affect physical therapy as a profession.
They discussed two pieces of legislation though neither were in their final format.
SB 537 is a bill being released directly to the Senate that targets regulating third party payers (TPPs) that have taken advantage of portions of the ACA. TPPs modify patient plan of care, unbundle and rebundle submitted CPT codes, and directing care to professionals that accept less money, rather than what may be most appropriate for patients. The bill will be submitted within a larger piece of legislation and presented to the senate. Final language should appear sometime in the next week.
The second bill will be released to the assembly and heard sometime next week, but as of PT legislative day the final language had not been presented. This pertains to Athletic Training Licensure. In the past, attempts for athletic trainer licensure in the state of California have been resisted by the CPTA, OTAC, PAs, and other medical professional groups due to its broad language and overreaching scope. The CPTA is pro regulation of ATCs, but anticipates that the iteration of the bill to be released this year will likely have the same weaknesses. Last year the bill was AB 3110.
Pictured in front of the Capitol is Dr. Cornelia Lieb-Lundell (professor), Dr. Sean Witkin (alumni), Dr. Steven Ung (alumni), Dr. Dana Haddon (alumni and professor), and students, Roxanne, Jessica, and Amanda.
Pictured in the office is Hillary and Laura, two PT students from Fresno, Roxanne, Dr. Tricia Brown from Chapman University, and Senator Patricia Bates.
SPTA will also be doing a lunch n learn on Monday, April 1st in room 209A to give students and any USA faculty and staff that wish to attend an overview on the day.
Austin DPT student, Danielle Sigman, tells us about her unforgettable clinical experience.
“When I stepped foot into Africa, I had no clue the impact it would have on me or what I would be able to do with my time there. In the 6 short weeks I was there, I had an opportunity to lecture at the College of Medicine to 3rd and 4th year PT students, I provided an in-service to my team and provided bi-weekly research reviews on subjects they wanted to know about, I got to teach 2 PT students underneath me and collaborate with them, I helped make medical decisions for children in need, helped make shoe raises for children with leg discrepancies, pepped the inpatients up with ukulele lessons and lollipops, helped my fellow colleagues move from mostly to passive treatments to mostly active treatments, and made some friends I will never forget. Don’t ever underestimate the impact one person can have on a community. Plant the seed and watch it grow.
Here is my main takeaway from living in another country. Religion is not a barrier. Cultural differences are not barriers. Skin color is not a barrier. Language is not a barrier. Being rich or being poor is not a barrier. Kindness, the quest for understanding, and keeping an open mind are the tools you need for success, not just in a different country, but right there in your own backyard as well. I will keep this experience with me as I go out and treat patients from all different walks of life. I will leave you with my favorite quotes about travel. “
SLP student, Hannah Griffey, presented at the state conference for Indiana State Speech Language Hearing Association.
Forward Leadership Tour
The group is led by Council on Aging member, Sue Richerson, and includes 12 amazing older adults from the St. Augustine community. They travel to locations within our community that represent and provide leadership to others. The Tour requested to attend our campus, as we are leaders in health sciences, and arrived on Wednesday, March 27th from 10:30 until 11:30 a.m. The SA campus provided a guided tour of our campus, meet and greet in our Heritage Lounge, and a Health Screen led by students from respective occupational and physical therapy campus programs.
DPT White Coat Pinning Ceremony
The TXAU residential DPT white coat pinning ceremony took place Friday, April 5th. It was a beautiful ceremony at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower center right across from the TXAU campus. All guests of the event were given free access to tour the Wildflower center after the event which they were surprised by and thankful for.
CarFit
32 occupational therapy students from the Clinical Applications in Gerontology course participated in the CarFit event held in St. Augustine.
OT Olympics
St. Augustine students hosted an OT Olympics event Friday, April 12th.
The event line-up went as follows:
– Opening Ceremonies
– ADL Relay
– Low Vision Challenge
– Feeding Challenge
– Hip Fracture Challenge
– Assistive Tech. Challenge
– Synchornized Swimming
– Closing Ceremonies
Teams of 13 students competed in the events as fun way to learn and practice their professional skills. Students and faculty gathered together for a potluck after the event.
Italy Immersion Trip Spring 2019
While the students learned many things, and shared daily reflections and discussions during the trip, each student considered the Immersion a life changing event that led to the creation of friendships and perspectives in their personal lives. Students from all different programs had an amazing trip with many academic and personal life lessons learned, said trip organizers.
First Coast News studios in Jacksonville
DPT students from the Prosthetics, Orthotics and Assistive Technology (POAT) course joined faculty members Dr. Scott Love and Dr. Rick Coleman at First Coast News studios in Jacksonville to demonstrate a new device invented to assist amputees run. The news feature will run on local news next week – look for a copy of the clip in next week’s Campus Connection. The story was also featured in the St. Augustine Record.
Ping Pong Tournament
PT students raised $120 in a Ping Pong tournament to support the Foundation for Physical Therapy Research Pitt/Marquette Challenge. It is a grassroots, student-led fundraising effort to support the Foundation for PT Research. The event was organized by students, who hope to continue to have a tournament every term.
