The association, in partnership with its components and other organizations, has amassed a great collection of learning opportunities — all free to members and nonmembers.

The association, in partnership with its components and other organizations, has amassed a great collection of learning opportunities — all free to members and nonmembers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the physical therapy profession on several fronts — not just in terms of providing needed care, but in keeping up with continually evolving practice, payment, health care delivery, and advocacy issues.

As the pandemic began taking hold across the country, APTA and its components were there with timely, insightful webinars and Facebook Live events that connect viewers with peers and experts. We've been learning from and listening to each other in historic and important ways, and leveraging the power of our community, together.

The result: a lot of very relevant content in a very short amount of time, which means it's entirely possible that you may have missed something of interest along the way. Fortunately, nearly everything has been recorded. Here's a rundown of most of what's available to date — all free to members and nonmembers.

Clinical Guidance: A Multi-Module Collaborative Effort

The APTA Academy of Acute Care Physical Therapy, the APTA Section on Health Policy and Administration (HPA the Catalyst), and the APTA Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Section combined forces with to create a multi-module series that connects you with the experts. You can download the sessions separately or in a bundled package.

Acute Care Physical Therapy and COVID 19: How Can We Add the Greatest Value? Part One. Clinical practice considerations and trends including assessing lab values and imaging results, differentiating ventilator versus non-ventilator patients, positioning.

Acute Care Physical Therapy and COVID-19: How Can We Add the Greatest Value? Part 2. A deeper dive into the concept of thoughtful triaging and targeting PT resources to add the greatest value, including leveraging real-time audiovisual technology.

COVID-19: Clinical Best Practices in Physical Therapy Management. This edition focuses on clinical practice considerations.

COVID-19: Minimizing the Impact of Social Distancing for the Older Adult. A session aimed primarily at older adults, caregivers, and therapists looking for ideas on how to minimize the impact of isolation among older adults.

Physical Therapy Considerations of COVID-19 in the Post-Acute Setting. A follow-up webinar to the "How Can We Add the Greatest Value" webinars presented in March that provides updates and a deeper exploration of clinical issues.

Physical Therapy Considerations of Neurologic Presentations in COVID-19. A review of emerging evidence of neurologic impairments found in patients with COVID-19, including discussions on physiology and anatomy, neurological vital sign considerations, impact of medications, and assessment and treatment considerations when evaluating this population.

Meeting the Challenge of Postacute Care: The PACER Series

PACER stands for Post-Acute Exercise and Rehabilitation Project, a training program aimed at helping PTs from any training or experience background to better understand the needs of the patient in the postacute care phase. It's an understanding that will be crucial as the profession begins to treat survivors of COVID-19. The PACER series offered by the APTA Learning Center is presented through a collaborative effort from the APTA Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Section, the APTA Academy of Acute Care Management, and the APTA Section on Health Policy and Administration. Courses may be downloaded separately or as part of a bundled package. Note: the series isn't over--new modules will be added over the coming weeks, so be sure to revisit.

• Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Examination
• COVID-19 Specific Considerations
• Geriatric Considerations for COVID-19
• Pediatric Considerations
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Telehealth

Digital Telehealth Practice: Connect for Best Practice, Compliance, and Health Care. An exploration of the state of telehealth as of early April 2020. Topics include coverage status, APTA's advocacy efforts, and best practices.

HIPAA and Telehealth. Information on how to comply with HIPAA and the professional code of ethics when providing telehealth.

Implementing Telehealth in Your Practice STAT: Practical Guidance From Experienced Telehealth PTs. PTs with experience providing telehealth services discuss how they manage patients and deliver care, as well as share their perspectives on clinical decision making in digital care delivery.

Implementing Telehealth in Your Practice STAT: Practical Guidance From Experienced Telehealth PTs (Q&A) (Facebook Live recorded event). This Q&A session is a follow-up to the recorded webinar of the same name.

Increasing Physical Therapist Acceptance of Telehealth. APTA partnered with the Veterans Administration to create a course that explores why some clinicians are reluctant to embrace telehealth, and provides a model to improve adoption.

Digital Telehealth Practice - Connect for Best Practice, Compliance, and Health Care (Facebook Live event recording). Topics include the status of PT telehealth coverage during COVID-19, as well as an update on coverage generally and where things stand on PTs’ ability to practice telehealth according to scope of practice acts (recorded April 7, 2020—some policies may have changed).

Practice Management

Managing Your Practice Through the Pandemic: Next Steps. A recording of a panel discussion focused on how five practices, from small to large and with varying situations, are each responding to keep their practices going through this crisis, especially as many states begin the early stages of lifting bans.

Outpatient Physical Therapy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Clinician Discussion (Facebook Live event recording). Outpatient PTs from private practice, hospital, and pediatric settings discuss how they have maintained in-person practice while upholding CDC-recommended COVID-19 safety guidelines. Also available via YouTube.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Mental Health of the Patient and Clinician (Facebook Live event recording). Experts from physical therapy, psychology, and the Pan American Health Organization discuss the impact of COVID-19 on mental health and how physical therapists play an important role in the recovery of patients' mental and physical health. Presenters will share experiences from working on the frontlines of COVID-19.

COVID-19: Adapting Your Practice (Facebook Live event recording). PTs who have changed their care models to adapt to the COVID-19 health crisis discuss how they modified their practices in response to the pandemic, and share innovative strategies to provide PT services to patients in need.

Advocacy, Health Care Disparities, International Response

Health Disparities Brought to the Forefront as COVID-19 Spreads: What the Physical Therapy Profession Can Do (Facebook Live event recording). Experts in physical therapy and public health discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on the United States, including how the pandemic interacts with existing geographic, economic, racial, and age-related health disparities.

APTA Policy Priorities and COVID-19 – Q & A (Facebook Live event recording). APTA staff members Justin Elliott, vice president, government affairs, and Kara Gainer, JD, director of regulatory affairs, discuss what’s happening in Congress, what's to come, and what APTA is doing to advocate on behalf of the profession.

International PT Response to COVID-19: Canada and the United Kingdom (Facebook Live recorded event). Presenters provide an overview of disaster phases and epidemiological information on COVID-19, experiences from past disasters, an overview of the response to COVID-19 in Canada and the UK, and global initiatives in the response and recovery phases COVID-19.

International PT Response to COVID-19: Colombia and Peru (Facebook Live recorded event). This discussion features Nancy Molina, president of the Colombian Physical Therapy Association, Gabriela Mallma, president of the Peruvian Physical Therapy Association, and Ana Herrera, PT in Peru. Participants describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their countries, the response of each government, and how PTs are challenged by insufficient PPE and other difficulties to providing services. They also describe how PTs are finding innovative ways to care for their communities.

Movement is Life Health Disparities Podcast. This podcast series, from the organization whose mission is to decrease disparities by raising awareness of their impact on chronic disease management and quality of life, now includes episodes that look specifically at the COVID-19 pandemic. APTA is on the MIL steering committee.