News about Physical Therapist Assistant

On April 23, 16 Pennsylvania College of Technology physical therapist assistant students – joined by Victoria Hurwitz, program director – partnered with Trailing Pines Tree Farm to plant 170 tree seedlings for conservation. The farm is a partner of the Keystone Ten Million Tree Partnership/Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

The physical therapist assistant program has helped to plant seedlings for the past three years on the farm, owned by Paul Huffman.

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Victoria Hurwitz, director of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant program, recently completed a Fellowship in Higher Education Leadership through the American Physical Therapy Association.

The fellowship provides developing and aspiring program directors in physical therapist and physical therapist assistant education programs with the skills and resources they need to be innovative, influential and visionary leaders.

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Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant major learned about their community and themselves when they spent a recent Saturday morning with a group of “Superstars” at the Eastern Lycoming Branch of River Valley YMCA near Pennsdale.

The YMCA Superstars is a movement class developed by River Valley YMCA fitness instructor Diana Logan for individuals with diverse abilities. Using “Drums Alive” activities with music, drumsticks and stability balls, participants can develop motor skills, coordination, stamina and strength.

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“If a career in a health care setting is your calling, your path to a thriving career starts right here at Penn College,” says dental hygiene student Dacia James, who leads a virtual tour of the School of Nursing & Health Sciences. The Williamsport resident (aided by Ally K. Swartz, a paramedic technician major from Bellefonte, and Alexia O. Zelenevskaya, a dental hygiene student from Ephrata) guides viewers through an 11-minute exploration of paramedic, physician assistant, dental hygiene, nursing, physical therapist assistant, surgical technology, radiography and applied health studies, as well as the school’s newest majors: health science and allied health.

Students in Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant major put their skills to use by providing video activities for Camp Victory, known as “a special camp for special kids.”

The camp, in Millville, was built for children with diverse needs – those living with chronic health problems, physical or mental disabilities or the aftermath of catastrophic illness.

In a typical summer, the facility is busy hosting camps for a variety of partner groups. This year, those camps are being held virtually.

“Our goal is to bring a little bit of camp fun to the campers at home,” explained Camp Victory Director Kate Stepnick, a 2007 graduate of the college’s bachelor’s degree in human services and restorative justice, then known as applied human services. “We know they are missing camp, and this gives them a way to participate in camp activities even from far away.”

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Penn College’s “My Tomorrow” program (June 21-24 and June 28-July 1) opened middle-schoolers’ minds to a variety of vocational possibilities through hands-on activities and faculty-led sessions. The initiative, sponsored by the Soars Family, exposed students to a number of prospective careers – such as engineering, business and hospitality, the arts, and health sciences – as well as giving them a jump on charting their paths to success and satisfaction.

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More than a half-dozen Pre-College Programs attracted a knowledge-hungry host of teenagers to Penn College’s campuses in recent days, the season opener for high schoolers’ exposure to next-level academics. Campers were engaged and enlightened among the week’s bountiful offerings: Architecture Odyssey, Automotive, Aviation, Engineering, Future Restaurateurs, Health Careers and Information Technology. A second week – inviting more students to test the waters of collegiate opportunity through hands-on learning – will begin July 18.

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Following the footsteps of their predecessors, members of the physical therapist assistant Class of 2022 recently visited Trailing Pines Tree Farm in Muncy, where they planted 150 seedlings as part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership. The certified tree farm is owned by Paul Huffman, a 1987 graduate of Williamsport Area Community College, a forerunner of Penn College. The farm is dedicated to wildlife management and conservation. The college’s physical therapist assistant program’s Class of 2021 (set to graduate in August) has been to the farm twice, and this was the first visit for the Class of 2022. Service learning is part of the physical therapist assistant program’s curriculum, with the goal of fostering altruism – putting patients and others above self – and community involvement.
Photos courtesy of Victoria Hurwitz, director of physical therapist assistant

Four virtual workshops in April, continuing Penn College’s series of free community presentations, will provide expert advice on topics as richly varied as the institution’s curriculum portfolio.

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Jodi F. Stiner, a part-time faculty member for Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant program, recently received the Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialist credential.

Stiner completed a 32-hour course conducted by Neurorecovery Unlimited, in collaboration with the American Stroke Association, followed by an online competency examination. The course, taught by physical therapy educators and researchers, was designed to equip treating clinicians with current, evidence-based instruction and hands-on training in the treatment of strokes.

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Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant Class of 2021 recently helped to plant 140 trees as part of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership.

Twenty-one students gathered at Trailing Pines Tree Farm in Muncy to plant trees in late June.

The certified tree farm is owned by Paul Huffman, a 1987 graduate of Williamsport Area Community College, a forerunner of Penn College, and is dedicated to wildlife management and conservation.

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Mary T. Stout, assistant professor of physical therapist assistant at Pennsylvania College of Technology, recently completed course requirements to become a certified Champion Performance Specialist.

To earn the certification, Stout completed a 34-hour course through Champion Performance Therapy and Training System and the Advanced Continuing Education Institute in Belmont, Massachusetts.

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Victoria Hurwitz has been named director of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant program.

Hurwitz, a licensed physical therapist, also holds certification as a Women’s Health Clinical Specialist, and for the past five years, she was a pelvic health physical therapist for UPMC Williamsport.

She had served as a part-time faculty member for the college’s physical therapist assistant program since January 2019.

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The first graduating class of Pennsylvania College of Technology’s physical therapist assistant major not only achieved a 100% first-attempt pass rate on the national certification exam for physical therapist assistants, but the graduates have subsequently achieved 100% employment in their chosen field.

All Class of 2018 graduates who sought employment are employed as physical therapist assistants. They are working in hospitals, long-term care facilities and outpatient centers across Pennsylvania and as far south as North Carolina.

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Career Day brought hundreds of ninth-12th graders to campus on Thursday to explore more than 30 activities offered by employees and students to help high-schoolers learn about the wide variety of career options available to them. The event is coordinated by the College Transitions and First Year Initiatives Office.

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