The Center on Health Services Training and Research, or CoHSTAR, is nearing the end of its grant funding timeline, but its legacy will live on: The Foundation for Physical Therapy Research has committed to continuing the momentum built by the center by providing more than $600,000 specifically targeted at health services and implementation science research in physical therapy.
The first awards are expected to be made in 2025, as CoHSTAR approaches the final year of its 10-year charge to increase physical therapy's footprint in health policy by funding pilot studies, training researchers, and facilitating interdisciplinary work in health services research. The center's activities have included supporting postdoctoral fellowships, hosting visiting scientists, and providing summer training sessions.
Paul A. Rockar, PT, DPT, MS, FAPTA, president of the Foundation's Board of Trustees, says that CoHSTAR's leadership deserves to be celebrated — and its work carried forward.
"The Foundation continues to be committed to making health services and implementation science research a strategic priority for years to come, " Rockar said in a Foundation news release. "We are incredibly proud of the work produced by CoHSTAR trainees and pilot awardees; they have set a new standard of excellence in this area of research. We are excited to see what the future holds with the Foundation's continuing commitment through multiple scholarships and grants in this important area of research as well as continued support for training programs."
Linda Resnick, PT, PhD, FAPTA, CoHSTAR's director, credits the Foundation for its vision in creating the center, which she says "set the stage for physical therapy involvement in implementation science and health services research" in ways that helped to move physical therapy "to the forefront of transformative initiatives to improve rehabilitation care."
"The profession is fortunate that the Foundation continues to recognize the importance of physical therapy engagement and leadership in health services research and pledges to support new initiatives in this arena," Resnick adds.
The Foundation has also committed to providing supplementary support to the Learning Health Systems Rehabilitation Research Network, an NIH-funded Rehabilitation Resource Center that extended CoHSTAR’s training and research efforts to be inclusive of all rehabilitation professions. Current offerings from the network include a virtual institute on the role of rehabilitation in the care of people with chronic conditions, set for June 13 and 15.
CoHSTAR was established in 2015 with a Foundation for Physical Therapy Research grant of $3.75 million. In addition to APTA’s $1 million donation, funding for CoHSTAR also came from APTA components, individual PTs, foundations, and corporate supporters.