New Physical Therapy Board Appointed by Gov. Hickenlooper

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper has announced the appointment of five physical therapists and two consumers to the new Board of Physical Therapy. Restoring the Board was the Chapter’s number one priority during the 2011 Sunset process. The legislation, SB11-169 formed the Board and authorized it to promulgate rules and regulations associated with the new PT Practice Act. The Board, which will begin its work on January 1^st, replaces the Physical Therapy Advisory Committee that has been in place for many years. Congratulations to the PTs who are all members of the APTA / Colorado Chapter:

Britt Smith, PT, DPT, private practice, Grand Junction – 2 year term

Carolyn Armstrong, PT, DPT, private practice, Nederland – 3 year term

Steve DiPaolo, PT, corporate practice, Lakewood – 3 year term

Ann Dinsmore, PT, hospital practice, Fort Collins – 4 year term

Tamara Struessel, PT, DPT, CU faculty, Denver – 4 year term

Marion Wells, public member – 4 years

Cindy Charlton, public member – 2 year term

Student Advocacy Challenge Winners!

(picture taken at 2011 National Student Conclave)

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO- APTA STUDENT ADVOCACY CHALLENGE WINNERS!

This year the physical therapy students at the University of Colorado have worked very hard advocating for issues we felt were important. We have held various events in order to increase awareness and educate legislators on important issues regarding our profession. We hosted state legislators on campus, met with state lobbyists, held “lunch-and-learn” lectures and have been committed to writing letters to our legislators. The most exciting experience was the 1st annual CU PT student Legislative Day at the Colorado state capitol. On that day, thirty students from our DPT program met with legislators in small groups and spoke about important issues involving the sunset of our practice act.  We also had students attend the CO Government Affairs monthly meetings to remain up-to-date on important state legislation and relayed this information to the students.  All in all, this has been an exciting experience for all of us who participated.  It was a team effort that focused on advocating for the profession of physical therapy and support of Vision 2020.  We look forward to this year's challenge!

Update on H.R. 1426

Student Loan Repayment Bill- update
-The Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act - H.R. 1426, S. 975
-The NHSC loan repayment provides up to $30,000 in loan forgiveness per year for a minimum of two years of service in an underserved area.
Increased by 35 cosponsors since Hill Day (57 total currently)
Increased by 3 cosponsors since Hill Day (5 total currently)

218 votes are needed!

Student Advocacy Challenge

REMINDER!
The APTA Student Advocacy Challenge is coming to an end for this year! Report your activity so your school can get challenge points. Follow the link below and fill out your activity:
http://www.apta.org/StudentAdvocacy/
-click on report your advocacy activity
-fill out the challenge record sheet

This year's winner will be announced at National Student Conclave :)

The Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2011 (HR 1426/S 975)

On September 1,2011 a group of students consisting of first, second and third year CU PT students (3rd year: Leslie Sanchez, Jennifer Keller, Dave Gerbarg, Jackie Kiernan, 2nd year: Julie Engle, Tracy Louk, 1st year: Erica Hylton) met with Andrea Autobee (Congresswoman Diana DeGette's Congressional Aid).  The meeting agenda included a 1 hour tour of physical therapy facilities on the Anshutz Medical Campus: Dr. Melanson lab, Dr. Stephens-Lapsly lab, physical therapy gait lab, and the physical therapy student teaching labs.  The tour was followed by a 1 hour conversation on the bill HR 1426.  We specifically asked for Congresswoman Diana DeGette to sign on and support HR 1426 while it is in her committee.  Currently, the only Colorado legislator to sign on and support our bill is Congressman Perlmutter.

I have included our 1 page summary statement as to why Congresswoman DeGette should support our bill.
I encourage everyone to continue to write to your legislators and ask for their support!  You may include this 1 page summary with your letters (just don't forget to change the name ;)  Post any of your questions, comments or progress!

BELOW YOU CAN TRACK WHO HAS BEEN SUPPORTING OUR BILL:

H.R. 1426 Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2011

Cosponsors Permalink: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:H.R.1426:@@@P

S. 975 Physical Therapist Student Loan Repayment Eligibility Act of 2011

Cosponsors Permalink: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d112:S.975:@@@P

 Link to 1 page summary handout: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14vgOtuPtg-YUkogH8CICHlLPw8IqqslO1PTqrtLjTYY/edit?hl=en_US#