Friday, March 22, 2013

Legislation Would Boost Underserved Patients' Access to Physical Therapist Services

Legislation introduced this week in Congress would authorize physical therapists to participate in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment Program and add for the first time to the Corps a component to provide for rehabilitative care. The Physical Therapist Workforce and Patient Access Act of 2013 was introduced as HR 1252 by Reps John Shimkus (R-IL) and Diana DeGette (D-CO); S602 was introduced by Sens Jon Tester (D-MT) and Roger Wicker (R-MS). NHSC serves as a lifeline to millions of patients living in rural and underserved communities, and inclusion of physical therapists in the loan repayment program is one of APTA's public policy priorities.

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I am currently a physical therapist working in a rural hospital. I also grew up in a small town with an underserved population desperate with physical therapy needs. PTs are highly trained and qualified health professionals that now require a doctoral level degree to graduate and practice. With that increased schooling comes increased financial debt. Due to the financial demands of my student loans from PT school, I found myself at a quandary of what to do... Follow my heart and serve the needs of those who are underserved and who i know need my services most or move to a larger city for employment which salary is needed to repay these PT school loans? To allow PTs to participate in the NHSC loan repayment program would offer more PTs the affordable opportunity to serve these areas and increase the retention rate of highly trained staff in rural and underserved areas. Thank you for your time and attention to such matters

Posted by Nikki Crosser on 3/22/2013 2:51 PM

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