La Crosse, Wis. (SPECTRUM NEWS)- Programs that provide free physical therapy for community members are happening in Wisconsin Colleges. From Carroll University’s TAC program to UW- La Crosse’s EXPAND program.
Physical therapy graduate student at UW- La Crosse get class credit. Their clients from the community get PT twice a week for two hours per day, free of charge.
UW- La Crosse’s EXPAND program stands for Exercise Program for Adults with Neurological Disorders. The program takes place for roughly twelve weeks each semester.
PT students such as Mary Parrott say she has learned so much in a short time from her client, Karla Johnson.
“They’re our teachers in a way,” says Mary. “We get to learn a lot from them as well and not just about her Parkinson’s disorder, but also how to interact with someone and how to set goals together.”
Johnson says she first discovered her Parkinson’s disorder while sitting on a bench, looking up Christmas recipes in 2007.
“I felt really nervous and shaky and I was like ‘I wonder if I have Parkinson’s.”
Johnson says Parkinson’s runs in her family. Her grandfather and his sister had it. Her mother and aunt also had it.
“There are four kids in my family and two of us have it,” says Johnson. “My brother and I have it.”
Johnson is one of the original clients for EXPAND. She began getting treatment when it first started back in 2008.
“You couldn’t get a better program because all I have to pay for is my gas to get down here and that’s it,” she says, through tears. “They’re learning a lot about Parkinson’s and my goal is to hopefully have a cure for it at some point.”
Inga Cluppert leads EXPAND. She’s a Clinical Assistant Professor at UWL and used to practice physical therapy.
“What you’ll hear a lot of the clients say is if I didn’t have this program, I wouldn’t be living independently and that’s a strong message to send to our students that we can impact somebody’s life very significantly in a short amount of time,” Cluppert says.
34 clients participate in the program this year. A pilot program has also rolled out, providing treatment to 10 UWL ROTC programs.
She says she’s looking to take EXPAND off campus next year and get clients into a gym, training them how to work out independently.
She also hopes to incorporate other disorders in the future, including pediatrics.