As the Department of Physical Therapy at UAB commemorates six decades of excellence and evolution, it's an opportune moment to reflect on the profound impact of its alumni. Here we honor two of our earliest graduates who have made meaningful contributions for decades.

UAB alumni Larry and Jane Crane moved to Pine Mountain, Georgia in 2021 and quickly discovered the dire need for physical therapy services. This inspired them to combine their skills in physical therapy and health administration to create Spine Mountain, a hybrid physical therapy clinic and wellness studio.

The Marylin R. Gossman Endowed Lectureship celebrated its 10th anniversary with an inspiring presentation delivered by Elizabeth Dean, PT, Ph.D., titled "This is What it Takes to Address Societal Health and Equity. Are Physical Therapists Ready?"

The UAB School of Health Professions has 12 people, including Dean Andrew J. Butler, Ph.D., named to the Birmingham Business Journal’s 2021 Who’s Who in Health Care.

The UAB National Alumni Society has named six UAB School of Health Professions’ (SHP) alumni to the UAB Excellence in Business Top 25. The program was created to identify, recognize, and celebrate the success of the top 25 UAB alumni-owned or UAB alumni-managed businesses.

They say necessity is the mother of invention. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this came to life in order to provide UAB PT second-year students an opportunity to participate in providing physical therapy via telehealth.

Rocky and Amelia Barnes established the Barnes Family Endowed Scholarship. In a recent Q&A session, Rocky told us how he ended up at UAB, what advice he gives students today, and why he supports UAB PT: "I felt the need and obligation to give back to the program that has given so much to me."

On Thursday, August 1, 2019, Sean Skelton, PT, DPT, a Physical Therapy Resident in UAB Medicine, became the first to finish the UAB Neurologic Physical Therapy Residency program. Skelton received a graduate certificate during a small ceremony at UAB Spain Rehabilitation Center.

Faculty and alumni from the UAB Department of Physical Therapy, along with students from the UAB Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program, were joined by students from UAB’s Department of Occupational Therapy and School of Engineering, to adapt electric toy cars for Alabama children with disabilities as part of the nationwide GoBabyGo program.

The latest edition of Breakfast with Blazers features an alumnus from the UAB School of Health Professions’ Department of Physical Therapy.

*This story originally appeared on the UAB National Alumni Society website

UAB alumni share success as TherapySouth and Godspeed collaborate on a unique business model.  Both Birmingham-area businesses benefit from the concept they are working together on.

When Ron Kleinman, PT, was looking for a college to attend he wrote, that’s correct - he physically wrote, to the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and asked for a list of the best Physical Therapy schools in the United States. The APTA wrote back and placed the University of Alabama at Birmingham at the top of the list and Kleinman was soon on his way south from Ohio.

The “UAB Excellence in Business Top 25” award winners have been announced and four of them graduated from the School of Health Professions. The UAB National Alumni Society partnered with the Birmingham Business Journal to present the awards.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Health Professions recently launched a new undergraduate degree in disability studies and rehabilitation science. The new program is already accepting applications.

Governor Kay Ivey, during a bill signing ceremony on Thursday, signed into law the Preceptor Tax Incentive Program to provide income tax credit incentives for certain health professions students who train in rural and underserved counties across Alabama.

Physical therapists' role is everchanging and adapting with society. The rise in healthcare disparities has revealed the crucial role physical therapists play in preventative care, chronic disease management, and promoting overall health and well-being. The new UAB Graduate Certificate in Primary Care PT for Underserved Populations is a new comprehensive program designed to equip physical therapists with specialized knowledge and skills to address the unique healthcare needs of underserved communities.

The UAB Office of Standardized Patient Education has been selected to receive the Physical Therapy Advocate Award by the Alabama Chapter of the American Physical Therapy Association. The honor recognizes individuals outside of the profession whose activities promote and elevate the practice of physical therapy.

In honor of Black History Month, the UAB Department of Physical Therapy celebrates the Black/African American individuals who have had a profound influence on the profession.

The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees appointed Donald Lein, PT, Ph.D., to the Bergman/Pinkston Endowed Professorship in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Department of Physical Therapy on November, 13, 2020. Lein is only the second ever to earn the physical therapy professorship that honors UAB professors emeritus Joan Bergman and Dorothy Pinkston.

The UAB School of Health Professions’ Wellness and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committees collaborated to create tours of the murals and landmarks that celebrate Birmingham’s history in the Civil Rights Movement, plus, today’s efforts for justice and healing. These tours can be enjoyed walking, driving or online.