The success of the Special Olympics Healthy Athletes program, which includes the physical therapy fitness screening FUNfitness, has led to a $12 million donation to expand Special Olympics' health-related services and launch a new Healthy Communities initiative. The donation, made by United States businessman and philanthropist Tom Golisano, was announced September 23 by former President Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative event in New York City. 

Healthy Athletes has provided free health screenings and products to athletes for 15 years. In addition to physical therapy screenings the program offers podiatry, better health and well-being, audiology, sports, vision, and dental screenings. The donation will allow FUNfitness to expand its efforts to develop and promote fitness activities at the community level in a multitude of locations around the globe.

Healthy Communities' goal is to achieve improved health outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities with the ultimate goal of ensuring that all are receiving health services and are able to reach their full potential. It will expand services to more athletes, increase partnerships with local organizations, expand the use of technology, and promote awareness of the health difficulties facing people with intellectual disabilities. The program will be launched in 7 countries (Mexico, Peru, Romania, Malawi, South Africa, Malaysia, and Thailand) and 6 states in the US (Arizona, Florida, Kansas, New Jersey, Wisconsin, and New York). It will build upon and broaden the scope of the current Healthy Athletes program.

Several APTA members have been instrumental in the success of FUNfitness and the Healthy Athletes program. Donna Bainbridge, PT, EdD, ATC, is global clinical advisor for FUNfitness and Fitness Programming. Jim Gleason, PT, MS, serves as FUNfitness research and education coordinator. Vicki Tilley, PT, GCS, is FUNfitness coordinator of Clinical Services-North America.

APTA developed FUNFitness, an assessment of flexibility, functional strength, and balance created for athletes participating in the Special Olympics, as an outgrowth of the North Carolina Chapter's successful flexibility screening program created for the 1999 Special Olympics.

For the past decade, APTA's Board of Directors (Board) has sought feedback to provide critical information on the public policy priorities and issues that are important to its members. This feedback is used by APTA's Public Policy and Advocacy Committee to draft the association's public policy priorities for consideration and refinement by the Board at its November meeting. Please fill out the survey, and send it to your colleagues to fill out.  

Survey responses are due October 15.APTA will publish its public policy priorities for the 113th Congress on its website and share them with its components by January 1, 2013. Questions or requests for additional information should be directed to Justin Moore, PT, DPT, APTA vice president of public policy, practice, and professional affairs. Thank you for your participation in this effort.

On October 1 significant changes will occur regarding the Medicare therapy cap exceptions process that will impact physical therapists (PTs) and their patients. In order to help make the transition as smooth as possible, APTA has developed a Medicare Therapy Cap Resources webpage. This webpage compiles relevant information available from APTA and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in 1 place. The resource page includes: 

• a frequently-asked-questions sheet, a webinar that reviews the new exceptions process, and a podcast on the therapy cap
• links to Medicare Administrative Contractor websites where information on manual medical review is posted
• manual medical review complaint form
• CMS resources, including a fact sheet, a frequently- asked-questions sheet, open door forum transcript and transmittals
• information for Medicare beneficiaries
• medical necessity and documentation resources
• advocacy information

Share this information and new resource with your colleagues and staff.

E-mail questions to advocacy@apta.org. Questions regarding the therapy cap also can be e-mailed directly to CMS at therapycapreview@cms.hhs.gov.

Barefoot and minimalist shoe wearers reported a more anterior footstrike than traditionally shod runners, say authors of an article that will be published in the October-December issue of the US Army Medical Department Journal. Traditionally shod runners were more likely to report injuries of the lower extremities than runners who wear minimalist shoes.  

For this retrospective descriptive epidemiology survey, the authors recruited 2,509 runners (1,254 male, 1,255 female) aged 18 to 50 to complete an anonymous online survey. The survey assessed running tendencies, footstrike patterns, shoe preferences, and injury history. Reported footstrike patterns were compared among 3 shoe groups: traditionally shod, minimalist shoes, and barefoot runners. Overall and specific anatomical injury incidence was compared between traditionally shod and minimalist shoe-wearing runners. They did not include 1,605 runners in the analyses due to incomplete data or recent changes in footstrike patterns and/or shoe selection.

Shoe selection was significantly associated with reported footstrike (χ² (4df) =143.4). Barefoot and minimalist runners reported a more anterior footstrike than traditionally shod runners. Traditionally shod runners were 3.41 times more likely to report injuries than experienced minimalist shoe wearers (46.7% shod vs 13.7% minimalist, χ² (1df) =77.4, n=888). Minimalist shoe wearers also reported fewer injuries at the hip, knee, lower leg, ankle, and foot than traditionally shod runners.

Additional longitudinal prospective research is required to examine injury incidence among various footstrike patterns and shoe preferences, the authors add.

The article was written by APTA members Donald L. Goss, PT, DPT, PhD, OCS, ATC, and Michael T. Gross, PT, PhD, FAPTA.

The President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition will phase out its Youth Fitness Test, which dates back to 1966, and replace it with the Presidential Youth Fitness Program. The comprehensive school-based program employs the latest science and promotes health and physical activity for America's youth. This voluntary program represents a significant change in how schools and parents approach kids' physical fitness. Instead of recognizing athletic performance, the new program assesses students' health-related fitness and helps them progress over time.

The Presidential Youth Fitness Program minimizes comparisons between children and instead supports students as they pursue personal fitness goals for lifelong health. By adopting the program, schools gain access to a robust selection of resources to promote lifelong physical activity: web-based access to test protocol, standards for testing, calculators for aerobic capacity and body composition, promotion of PALA+, online training, school recognition programs, and more.

Key to the success of the Presidential Youth Fitness Program is the expertise and resources provided by partnering organizations, which include:

• The adoption of the Cooper Institute's fitness assessment, FITNESSGRAM®.
• Professional development, such as monthly webinars, led by the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, a leading organization of professionals involved in physical education.
• The Amateur Athletic Union's continued administration of the youth fitness recognition program.
• The expertise of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lead the development of a plan to track and evaluate the Presidential Youth Fitness Program.

APTA's Innovation Summit 2013: Collaborative Care Models will bring together innovators and thought leaders from physical therapy, health policy, payment, and other health professions to explore the role of physical therapists in new models of health care delivery and payment. Participation in the summit will be available to all members through live web streaming. Attendance onsite will be limited to speakers, panelists, and invited attendees, including the member innovators selected through this nomination process.

APTA sections, chapters, and the Student Assembly are each invited to nominate a member who is involved in an innovative model of care to attend and participate in the Summit, to be held March 7-8, 2013, in the Washington, DC area. A panel of member experts will select 20 member innovators to share their practice models as a part of the Summit. Those selected will receive free registration and a stipend for travel and lodging expenses. Chapters and sections whose nominees are selected will receive special recognition during the Summit.

The deadline for nominations is Monday, October 22. More information about the Summit is available at www.apta.org/innovationsummit. Components can direct questions about the nomination process to innovationsummit2013@apta.org.