Fall
CSU DPT Program Clinical Education Update
As 2016 draws to a close, the
DPT students have been keeping active in our community before the holiday
season arrives. During the month of October, our 2nd year student
class took part in this year’s Global PT Day of Service in an effort to give
back to the community and to celebrate National PT Month. The PT Day of Service
was started the previous year as an opportunity for students, therapists, and
other team members associated with the physical therapy profession to volunteer
and give back to the community, bringing care out of the clinic and to the
public for a day. This year the 2nd year DPT class chose to
collaborate with the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging located in Cleveland,
Ohio. The Benjamin Rose Institute is an aging center that offers advanced
services for seniors and their caregivers, including home-delivered meals,
supportive housing, adult day services, partial hospitalization, social work,
mental health services, and Senior Companions. The institute also participates
in local research and education to better advocate for older adults in the
community. For this year’s Day of Service, our students took the time to visit
the Benjamin Rose Institute to provide blood pressure screenings and grip
strength testing for those seniors interested in participating. Furthermore,
this semester is the time that our DPT students volunteer at the American
Cancer Society Joseph S. and Jeannette M. Silber Hope Lodge in Cleveland. The
Hope Lodge provides a positive, comfortable environment and supportive
accommodations for patients who are going through cancer treatment. It is a
Cleveland State University DPT tradition to volunteer each year near the
holiday season at the lodge, typically by providing a meal for patients and
their families. This year, the 2nd year class prepared and shared in
a dinner with the Hope Lodge residents and family members.
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| 2nd year student volunteers for PT Day of Service at the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging |
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| 2nd year students at the Hope Lodge dinner |
The first year DPT students have also been keeping busy by participating in volunteer activities throughout Northeast Ohio, including MedWish and the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. MedWish is a non-profit organization that takes discarded medical materials and equipment to be repurposed and dispersed to humanitarian aid locations in underdeveloped countries. Our DPT students took the time this year to visit the distribution warehouse and assist in packing the newly repurposed medical equipment for shipment across seas. A trip to the Greater Cleveland Food Bank was also organized to assist with food collection, organization, and packaging of the groceries donated to the warehouse to prepare for distribution. The opportunity to volunteer and work with such groups allows our students to not only give back to the community here in Northeast Ohio, but also reach out and positively contribute to those in need on an international level.
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| 1st year student volunteers at MedWish |
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| 1st year students volunteering at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank |
At this holiday time, we would also like to take a
moment and express our gratitude for the efforts of our clinical instructors
over the past year! We are extremely fortunate
have such a talented and caring group of clinical instructors, and we look
forward to more collaboration in 2017!
Adriana Zalar, DPT Class of
2017
Karen McIntyre, Director of
Clinical Education
