Learning Through Community Service at MDCHS

Students in physical therapy (PT) and occupational therapy (OT) at MBU’s Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences continue to use their growing professional expertise to build connections and understanding through community projects and events.

The summer and fall terms have seen PT and OT students involved in several programs to support the health and wellness of different populations, including schoolchildren, senior citizens, individuals in wheelchairs, and children who have experienced a burn-related injury.

Community partnerships are key to these events, as OT students engage with opportunities at the Allegheny Mountain Institute Farm at Augusta Health and local schools like Wenonah Elementary School in Waynesboro. PT students recently leveraged the nationally recognized PT Day of Service to conduct fall risk screenings for 78 local adults 55 and older, in partnership with Augusta Health Fitness Center and Augusta Health Therapy Services.

Student and faculty volunteers from Murphy Deming College of Health Sciences provided fall risk screenings and education for 78 local adults, aged 55 and older, at Augusta Health. Falls are a leading cause of injury among older adults.

The fall risk screenings included opportunities for older adults to review their medications, talk about how to make their home environment more safe, take balance assessments, and receive a private consultation with a PT.

PT students from the Class of 2020 led the organization of the fall risk screening as part of PT Day of Service, coordinated nationally by the American Physical Therapy Association.

Backpack Awareness Day brought local school kids to MDCHS where OT students helped them learn how to properly fit their packs and make sure they are in the appropriate weight range to avoid pain and injury.

This summer, OT students helped facilitate games for No Dunking Allowed, a wheelchair basketball benefit in Salem during which individuals with various levels of physical ability could learn about and play wheelchair basketball.

OT students also volunteered this summer at a carnival for the Central Virginia Burn Camp, a week-long residential summer camp for children who have experienced a burn-related injury.