H 4076  Concurrent Resolution, By Lowe
 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
 AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP
 ORGANIZATION FOR THE PHYSICAL THERAPY PROFESSION, WITH THE MISSION OF BUILDING
 A COMMUNITY THAT ADVANCES THE PROFESSION OF PHYSICAL THERAPY TO IMPROVE THE
 HEALTH OF SOCIETY.

   03/16/21  House  Introduced, adopted, sent to Senate
                     (House Journal-page 2)
   03/16/21  Senate Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence
                     (Senate Journal-page 7)

TO RECOGNIZE THE ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION, THE LEADING PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATION FOR THE PHYSICAL THERAPY PROFESSION, WITH THE MISSION OF BUILDING A COMMUNITY THAT ADVANCES THE PROFESSION OF PHYSICAL THERAPY TO IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF SOCIETY.

Whereas, reconstruction aides, strong women who were the predecessors to current physical therapists, were integral to the recovery of many World War I soldiers and demonstrated their value as medical professional and war heroes, showing that those who would eventually be known as physical therapists had a major role to play in the future of America's health; and

Whereas, Mary McMillan, a reconstruction aide, was elected in 1921 as the first president of the American Women's Physical Therapeutic Association; and

Whereas, Emma Vogel initiated the first War Emergency Training Course of World War II at Walter Reed General Hospital in 1941, consisting of six months of concentrated didactic instruction followed by six months of supervised practice at a military hospital; and

Whereas, Lucy Blair was a part of Dr. Jonah Salk's national response to the polio epidemic in the early 1950's, serving as the staff coordinator for physical therapists; and

Whereas, the effort to launch a two-year graduate education program for physical therapists began at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1960; and

Whereas, the first two classes of physical therapist assistants entered the workforce after graduating in 1969 from education programs at Miami-Dade Community College in Florida and St. Mary's Junior College in Minnesota (now St. Catherine University); and

Whereas, the first physical therapy department at a historically black college or university was established at Howard University in 1974; and

Whereas, APTA in 1978 launched the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy, which gained national recognition by the US Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole entity that grants specialized accreditation status to qualified entry-level education programs for physical therapists and physical therapist assistants; and

Whereas, the first doctor of physical therapy students graduated from Creighton University in 1996, and as of 2015 all physical therapists are educated at the clinical doctoral level; and

Whereas, the vision of the physical therapy profession is: transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience; and

Whereas, given that the US Department of Health and Human Services indicated that more than eighty percent of adults and adolescents do not get enough physical activity and that regular activity is one of the most important ways to improve health, physical therapists and physical therapist assistants are critical to health services teams as movement experts who improve quality of life by addressing pain or chronic conditions that limit participation in activities, and by reducing the risk for chronic diseases, enhancing fitness, and preventing injuries through hands-on-care, patient education, and prescribed movement based on rigorous research; and

Whereas, physical therapist and physical therapist assistants treat people where they are, providing care to people in many settings, including hospitals, private practices, outpatient clinics, homes, schools, sports teams and fitness facilities, the US Armed Services, veterans facilities, work settings, and nursing homes; and

Whereas, physical therapists and physical therapist assistants treat individuals across the lifespan and have clinical expertise in 18 specialty areas: Acute Care, Aquatics, Cardiovascular and Pulmonary, Clinical Electrophysiology and Wound Management, Education, Federal, Geriatrics, Hand and Upper Extremity, Health Policy and Administration, Home Health, Neurology, Oncology, Orthopaedics, Pediatrics, Pelvic Health, Private Practice, Research, and Sports; and

Whereas, physical therapy is effective in reducing pain, such as low back pain, as evidenced by a growing body of research for physical therapist treatment of low back pain that includes a 2018 study published in Health Services Research showing that physical therapy as a first-line approach not only saves money but also dramatically reduces the chance of receiving a prescription for dangerous opioids; and

Whereas, students of physical therapy are being educated to address the healthcare needs of Americans for the next one hundred years; and

Whereas, APTA launched in 2020 the Campaign for Future Generations to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for the association and the physical therapy profession; and

Whereas, physical therapists and physical therapist assistants have face the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic head on, treating the most vulnerable, building on their proud history of work in the polio pandemic, and playing an essential role in treating people who are beginning to recover from the most severe effects of the novel coronavirus, both during their time in the hospital and after they leave, for as long as it takes to improve function; and

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina General Assembly recognize that the American Physical Therapy Association has been dedicated to improving the health of society over the past one hundred years, and recognizes that the APTA and its members of essential partners in meeting the health and wellness needs of our country. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:

That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly, by this resolution, recognize the one hundredth anniversary of the American Physical Therapy Association, the leading professional membership organization for the physical therapy profession, with the mission of building a community that advances the profession of physical therapy to improve the health of society.