ENROLLED
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 27
BY REPRESENTATIVE FRIEMAN
A RESOLUTION
To commend the American Physical Therapy Association on the occasion of its
one hundredth anniversary.
WHEREAS, the American Physical Therapy Association, or APTA, is the leading
professional membership organization for the physical therapy profession; its mission is to
build a community that advances the profession of physical therapy in order to improve the
overall health of Americans; and
WHEREAS, physical therapy in the United States is rooted in the work of
reconstruction aides during World War I; these aides were strong women who played an
integral role in the recovery and rehabilitation of injured soldiers and whose incredible
efforts demonstrated their value as both medical professionals and war heroes; and
WHEREAS, many women throughout American history laid the foundation for the
modern practice of physical therapy: Mary McMillan served as a reconstruction aide and
was elected in 1921 as the first president of the American Women's Physical Therapeutic
Association; Emma Vogel initiated the first war emergency training course during World
War II at Walter Reed General Hospital in 1941, which consisted of six month of instruction
followed by another six months of supervised practice at military hospitals; and Lucy Blair
served as the staff coordinator for physical therapists on Dr. Jonah Salk's national response
team during the polio epidemic of the 1950s; and
WHEREAS, efforts to establish a two-year graduate education program for physical
therapists first arose in 1960 at Case Western Reserve University, and the first two
graduating classes of physical therapist assistants entered the workforce after graduating in
1969 from programs at Miami-Dade Community College in Florida and St. Mary's Junior
College in Minnesota; and
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WHEREAS, the first physical therapy department at a historically black college or
university was established at Howard University in 1974; and
WHEREAS, the APTA launched the Commission on Accreditation in Physical
Therapy in 1978; the commission was nationally recognized by the U.S. Department of
Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole entity that grants
specialized accreditation status to entry-level education programs for physical therapists and
physical therapist assistants; and
WHEREAS, the first physical therapy doctoral degree candidates graduated from
Creighton University in 1996; today, all physical therapists are educated at the clinical
doctoral level; and
WHEREAS, the APTA launched the "Campaign for Future Generations" in 2020 to
advance diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for the association and the physical therapy
profession; and
WHEREAS, the APTA has contributed significantly to the physical therapy
profession and, consequently, to the health of all Americans; it is most deserving of
recognition on its one hundredth anniversary.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend the American Physical Therapy Association
on the occasion of its one hundredth anniversary; does hereby recognize the APTA for its
dedication to improving the health of society over the last one hundred years; does hereby
further recognize that the APTA and its members are essential partners to meeting the future
health and wellness needs of our country; and does hereby extend sincere hopes that the
APTA enjoy another one hundred years of progress and prosperity.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
president of the American Physical Therapy Association.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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