Foundation For Physical Therapy Research Raises $3 Million To Fund Health Services Research Center

ALEXANDRIA, VA (January 24, 2014) – The Foundation for Physical Therapy Research announced today that it has raised $3 million to fund a Center of Excellence, dedicated to training physical therapists in health services research.

“Thank you to all who participated in our fundraising push last year to establish this ground-breaking initiative,” said Foundation Board of Trustees President William G. Boissonnault, PT, DPT, DHSc, FAPTA, FAAOMPT. “Your support will put us on the road to changing the face of physical therapy, securing our place in the future of health care, and dramatically improving the quality of care we provide to our patients.”

The mission of the Center of Excellence for Health Services/Health Policy Research (COE) is to significantly expand the number of physical therapist investigators specializing in health services/health policy research—including the delivery, organization, and financing of care, and analysis of outcomes.

“We are very excited and encouraged by the enthusiastic response we received during this effort, and we continue to hear from many in our profession who recognize the urgent need for health services research,” said Boissonnault. “The Foundation will continue to raise funds for this campaign to strengthen our ability to offer grants and scholarships, thereby complementing the Center of Excellence. We look forward to working with those organizations, institutions, and individuals who are eager to join our efforts.”

Driving this campaign is the profession’s insufficient health services/policy research data, according to Boissonnault. This is compounded, he noted, by the lack of physical therapists with the skills in health services analyses required to meet today’s health care challenges and to demonstrate the value of physical therapy in the broader health care debate.

The Foundation will award a $2.5 million grant to the most qualified applicant to launch and manage the COE. The Foundation expects to begin accepting letters of intent for the grant later this year. An ad hoc Scientific Review Committee with expertise in health services/health policy research will review the applications, and the Board of Trustees anticipates granting the award in 2015.

The American Physical Therapy Association and many of its affiliated state chapters and components donated to the campaign. Donors included the state chapters of Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin. Donating components included Acute Care, Geriatrics, Health Policy, Home Health, Neurology, Orthopaedic, Private Practice, Research, Sports, and Women’s Health. Donations and pledges also were received from AAOMPT (the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Therapists), CAL-PT-FUND (the California PT Fund), the Institute for Private Practice Physical Therapy, the Magistro Family Foundation, the MPTA (Michigan Physical Therapy Association) Institute for Education and Research, corporate donors, and individual donors.

The Foundation for Physical Therapy was established in 1979 as a national, independent nonprofit organization to fund physical therapy research to optimize health and movement. Since its inception, the Foundation has awarded more than $17 million in research grants, fellowships and scholarships. Many of today’s leading physical therapy researchers, clinicians, and academicians began their careers with this support. Foundation-funded researchers have gone on to secure more than $824 million in follow-on funding.

To donate or learn more, visit www.Foundation4pt.org or call 800/875-13678.

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