| Click here for Current News Items |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
posted: February 22, 2012
The section has just launched a new online store with new features to make purchasing educational and promotional items easy! Please visit the new store and encourage your fellow PTs to do so also!
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: February 06, 2012
The 6th of February 2012 marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation. It is the day that statements are made by various non-government agencies and world bodies, condemning this harmful practice that has no benefits and violates the human rights of girls and women. During the day the media release such statements and updates on progress towards abandonment and the problems encountered working towards this goal.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 3 million girls are at risk of the procedure of FGM each year. This year the special focus for the WHO is to raise awareness of the increasing trend of health-care providers performing the procedure
The WHO in their Progress report, ‘An update on WHO’s work on female genital mutilation (FGM), 2011’, reports that as a consequence of a focus on the health effects in efforts towards abandonment of the practice of FGM, parents seek health-care providers willing to perform FGM, mostly within their own communities. The WHO estimates that 18% of all women who have undergone the procedure have had it performed by a health-care provider, thus adding a medical legitimacy to the practice. In 2010 the WHO with other agencies and professional organizations issued a global strategy to stop the practice of FGM by such providers.
The WHO has supported research into reasons for persistence as well as the abandonment of the practice of FGM. There is a multi-centre case-control study in progress looking at the association between FGM and obstetric fistula and a follow up on the seminal study on obstetric risks associated with FGM, published in the Lancet in 2006, looking at the extra costs of obstetric care due to FGM.
The leadership of IOPTWH is strongly against FGM and this is reflected in the position paper presented to WCPT, unanimously endorsed by 108 member countries and then communicated to the WHO. We encourage the IOPTWH membership to be aware of the International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation, and watch for news items and media releases to mark the day. For more information view the following links to the WHO, and the IOPTWH website for our organization’s position statement against the practice.
www.ioptwh.org (document can be downloaded via link at bottom of the homepage)
Ruth Broom Rebecca Stephenson
Chair President
on behalf of the IOPTWH Practice Committee on behalf of the IOPTWH Executive Committee
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: February 02, 2012
Don't miss this youtube video of the PBS special "Second Opinion" on Pelvic Organ Prolapse.
Our President, Wendy Featherstone is on the panel of the educational piece.
See it on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo2z9kWI6uw
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: January 02, 2012
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: November 30, 2011
2011 APTA SoWH Election Results are In!
The Section on Women’s Health is excited to announce our recent election results:
President: Wendy Featherstone
Treasurer: Sara Reardon
Director of Research: Secili DeStefano
Director of Education: Darla Cathcart
Nominating Committee: Karen Weeks
Election winners will serve a 3 year term, from CSM 2012 to CSM 2015. Congratulations to our elected candidates and thank you all for those who took time to run!
It is never too early to start thinking about next year’s elections! Nominations will be taken at CSM 2012 in Chicago for the following positions:
Vice President
Director of Practice
Director of Communications
Nominating Committee
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: November 02, 2011
We are proud to announce the accreditation of the 4th Women's Health Residency in the country! Baylor and Texas Women's University is the only credentialed program west of the Mississippi. They received this status in May of 2011, and are still going strong!
Baylor/TWU offers residents two different clinical sites to help develop their advanced skills and clinical reasoning in the growing field of Women's Health PT. Residents spend 6 months at the Tom Landry Center, a state of the art outpatient PT clinic specializing in obstetric physical therapy, aquatics, the female athlete, and breast cancer rehabilitation. The next 6 months are spent at Baylor Irving, where they focus their clinical time treating men and women with pelvic floor dysfunction, ranging from pain to incontinence. They also continue their lymphedema work and breast cancer rehab training as well. Texas Women's University offers the didactic portion of the residency, with advanced coursework designed to supplement the resident's clinical experience. The residents also become Certified Lymphedema Therapists during the program, through the Norton School. Email Anna Brinker, Program Coordinator, for more information at: CBrinker@BIR-rehab.com
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: September 29, 2011
The Section on Women's Health was awarded the APTA Community Awareness Grant to assist with the translation of the Section's patient education brochure on postpartum health into Spanish.
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: September 20, 2011
Section member Meryl Alappattu has been awarded a Promotion of Doctoral Studies (PODS) I Scholarship by the Foundation for Physical Therapy. See full press release at the link below.
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: August 04, 2011
Oprah.com delivers high profile press for the Section and the field of women's health physical therapy! Click the link below to read more and to share with patients/colleagues:
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: July 21, 2011
The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Section on Women's Health (SOWH) has produced many leaders and pioneers within physical therapy. Elizabeth Noble, PT, founded the Section in 1977 to serve as a resource for physical therapists interested in the healthcare of women before, during, and after pregnancy. Today, the Section encompasses practice for all health concerns of women.
 Susan Clinton, PT, MHS, OCS, WCS, modern day pioneer, is joining the ranks of leaders within the profession. Clinton is a SOWH officer who recently made a planned gift to the Foundation for Physical Therapy to help fund research in women's health. Her gift will be directed to the "Endowment for Research Excellence in Women's Health Physical Therapy." The SOWH generously pledged $100,000 in 2010 to create the fund. The Section is encouraging their members to make additional donations to help grow the fund and increase the investment in the future of women's health.
Clinton, a member of the Women's Rehab and Men's Health team at Centers for Rehab Services in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the director of one of three APTA credentialed residency programs in the country for women's health physical therapy. Additionally, she provides clinical services and professional education, and is completing her Doctor of Science degree at Andrews University. Clinton also serves as Secretary of the SOWH Board of Directors, deciding that it was time to "give back" after taking advantage of the Section's many resources such as continuing education and networking. "I love working in a profession that has allowed me to grow and change with it." Physical therapy has become more scientific and impacted various subsets of our population.
These movements have encouraged me to challenge myself to take on leadership roles and pursue higher degrees in the field to better facilitate my patients' recoveries," said Clinton. She supports the SOWH endowment with a planned gift, reasoning that physical therapy is a constantly evolving profession and research is its key, but also for a deeply personal motivation. "A physical therapist and dear friend of mine, Ann Adams Reeder, PT, MS, recently passed away, so I tried to think of ways I could honor her life and our friendship. One of the things we had in common was our love for physical therapy. We were educators together at Louisiana State University and were very passionate about our jobs. I thought it would be very meaningful to honor her and the profession with a planned gift. If her death hadn't been so untimely, I believe she might've wanted to do this herself," she explained.
Clinton chose to make a gift that will not only honor her friend but also support important research topics related to women's health. She hopes her colleagues will join her efforts by making a donation or considering a planned gift to benefit the "Endowment for Research Excellence in Women's Health Physical Therapy." "The impact of the Foundation and research is critical. Without good research in women's health, we're not going to be able to advance the field in the direction it needs to go.
There are a lot of questions that need to be answered. Funding towards women's health research can help provide the answers. It's important for clinicians to understand what truly works, versus guessing, or saying ‘this is the way I've always done it.' Having a scientific basis, even if it's just in the physiology and anatomy of what we do, is important. I'd like to see that mission carried forward," Clinton said. "A donation to the Endowment for Research Excellence in Women's Health Physical Therapy is a wonderful way to ensure that the profession and particularly the specialty of women's health physical therapy continues to stay current and viable, said Wendy Featherstone, PT, president of the Section on Women's Health. "Susan's generosity is an inspiration."
Donations can be made to the "Endowment for Research Excellence in Women's Health Physical Therapy" online at http://Foundation4PT.kintera.org/SOWH. Foundation staff are also available by phone to accept contributions or to discuss a Planned Giving Program option at 800/875-1378. Please specify that your gift should be made toward the SOWH endowment fund.
Top of Page
|
| |
|
posted: July 21, 2011
SoWH 2011 ELECTIONS
Open October 1st
We want you to take part in the FUTURE of SoWH!!!
The Section on Women’s Health will hold elections electronically again this year. The election process will begin on Saturday, October 1, and end on Monday, October 31, 2011. We are excited to have excellent candidates for the section’s leadership positions.
Please ensure that we have your current e-mail address on file by contacting APTA's Membership Department at membership@apta.org, or by calling 800/999-2782, ext. 3124. You will be seeing more information on this process coming soon on the Web site and in the e-NOTES. Members will receive a postcard notification when the elections will open and close. You may request a paper ballot by contacting the Section office at SOWH@apta.org, through the SoWH Web site at www.womenshealthapta.org, or by calling 800/999-2782, ext. 3229.
Your active participation in the section is very important. Thank you in advance for continuing to ensure a healthy SoWH by taking the time to VOTE.
Click here to go to the elections page.
Top of Page
|
|
|
