By: Vicki VerMeer, MSPT and Owner
In 2021 the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) is celebrating 100 years as a member association, raising awareness about our great profession.
As Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.” That statement is a reminder to us all that life will have its ups and downs, but it is precisely these rough seas that make us compassionate, resilient, and dynamic people and professionals. Roosevelt should know as it was Alice Lou Plastridge, an experienced physical therapist in the field of polio who had been successfully treating him when he began visiting Warm Springs, Georgia, to swim in the thermal spring waters.
Strange that 100 years ago we were battling the influenza pandemic; and here we are combating the COVID-19 pandemic that keeps packing punches with new strains being recognized. The global focus is on the vaccine that we all hope will slowly get us back to normal.
Despite the pandemic, we are still here and doing our jobs day in and day out, doing our very best to CARE for you both in person and virtually in some cases. As our current APTA president Sharon Dunn stated, “Responding to hardship with purpose and progress is what we do, it’s who we are.” It’s the only control we have at the helm, for now, to help all of us continue to adapt and overcome the twists and turns we will continue to navigate in the foreseeable future.
The APTA’s vision statement for the physical therapy profession continues to be transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience. So here we are 100 years later amidst a pandemic to help you; to be an extension of the care you need when surgeries are postponed, you become deconditioned from quarantine, or develop complications such as Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome from COVID-19.
In closing, my hope is that each of YOU are taking good care of yourself physically and emotionally! Because as we all know if we don’t take care of ourselves, we are no good for those who need us the most!
