IPTA Announces 2020 Scholarship & Award Recipients

APTA IA News

IPTA Announces 2020 Scholarship & Award Recipients

April 16, 2020

The Iowa Physical Therapy Association is excited to announce the 2020 scholarship and award recipients. These recipients will be recognized at the 2020 IPTA Fall Conference.

Olive C. Farr Distinguished Service Award

This award is the highest honor bestowed on a PT member of the Iowa Physical Therapy Association. It is named in memory of Olive C. Farr, whose bequest in 1983 to the Iowa Physical Therapy Foundation provides scholarships and loans to students enrolled in Iowa physical therapy education programs.

Olive Farr was born Sept. 22, 1895, in Waverly, Iowa, and was educated at Cedar Falls Teachers College (where she also taught), the University of Iowa where she graduated in 1922 with a degree in physical education, and the University of Wisconsin at Madison where she received her certificate in physical therapy.

After eight years as a clinician, she became the first director of the physical therapy education program at the University of Iowa where she remained until retirement in 1963. She served as president of the Iowa Physical Therapy Association from 1946 to 1948.

Olive C. Farr Distinguished Service Award 2020 Recipient: Kathleen A. Sluka, PT, PhD, FAPTA

Dr. Sluka is a professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science at the University of Iowa. She received a physical therapy degree from Georgia State University and a PhD in Anatomy from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. After a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. William D. Willis, she joined the faculty at the University of Iowa. She has been on faculty at the University of Iowa for 24 years. Dr. Sluka’s research focuses on the neurobiology of musculoskeletal pain as well as the mechanisms and effectiveness of non-pharmacological pain treatments. She has published over 200 peer-reviewed manuscripts, numerous book chapters, and a textbook on Pain Mechanisms and Management for the Physical Therapist. She has received numerous awards including the Marian Williams Award for Research in Physical Therapy and Catherine Worthingham Fellowship from the American Physical Therapy Association and the Frederick W.L. Kerr Basic Science Research Award from the American Pain Society. She is actively involved in the International Association for the Study of Pain, the American Pain Society, and the American Physical Therapy Association serving on committees, task forces and society boards.

Max Shelton Friend of IPTA Award

The Max Shelton Friend of Iowa Physical Therapy award recognizes individuals or organizations other than PTs/PTAs for exceptional service to the physical therapy profession in Iowa. It is named in honor of Max Shelton who was the founder of what is now the Shelton-DeHaan Company. Max was a vendor of physical therapy supplies for many years, he became a friend and supporter of our profession and played an active role in the development of the physical therapy profession in Iowa as both a patron and benefactor.

Max Shelton Friend of IPTA Award 2020 Recipient: James Hall, CPA

A graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Jim worked for two years in public accounting in the Dallas/Fort Worth area prior to joining the Medicare Intermediary Audit Staff of Mutual of Omaha. Work at Mutual of Omaha included audits of hospitals, psychiatric facilities, certified outpatient rehab agencies and physical therapist in private practice clinics.

Subsequent to being promoted to Senior Auditor, Jim was hired by Healthfocus, an outpatient physical therapy chain, based near Houston, TX, to examine their Medicare reimbursement. After helping recover over one million dollars in Medicare reimbursement his first year on the job, Healthfocus promoted Jim as the Director of Internal Audit to begin the process of standardizing procedures among their 60 national clinic locations. Healthfocus was acquired by National Rehabilitation Centers (NRC) and Jim assumed their Director of Audit position and was transferred to their corporate offices in Nashville. A short time later, Jim moved to the Business Development Department where he performed due diligence work and helped determine business valuations on potential acquisitions.

Jim later worked with The Rehab Group (a privately held corporation also located in Brentwood, Tennessee), and oversaw business office operations and advised corporate management on how to maximize cash flow on their existing clinic operations. Through his corporate therapy work, his duties included:

• Negotiation of managed care contracts and clinic acquisition terms

• Financial analysis and cash flow maximization of existing clinics

• Preparation of cost reports

• Audits of clinics against company established benchmarks

• Establishment of communications between top management and clinical operations to increase performance and profitability.

Jim’s experience in the areas above led to starting his own company, which will celebrate 23 years in business in August 2020.

Rehab Management Services was founded in order to provide support to therapists in private practice who were struggling to remain independent in the midst of a continually changing payment and legislative environment. Jim uses his experience to assist therapists and their staff in making decisions regarding insurance contracts, healthcare regulations, and efficient practices. Additionally, Jim serves as a Federal Lobbyist on behalf of APTA and PPS and as a volunteer on the PPS Payment Policy Committee. In 2016, PPS honored Jim with the Friend of Private Practice Award.

Jim and Beth (his wife and co-owner), live in Cedar Rapids and have two children and a grandson.

Olive C Farr Scholarship

The Iowa Physical Therapy Foundation established an annual $500.00 physical therapist student scholarship in 1983. An annual $250.00 physical therapist assistant student scholarship was established by the IPTF in 1995 which was initially funded by a contribution from physical therapists Steven and Susan Bell. In 2010 the IPTF increased these awards so that each year four physical therapist student scholarships and one physical therapist assistant student scholarship are awarded. The scholarships are made possible by a bequest to the Foundation from Olive C. Farr, PT, the first director of the physical therapy education program at the University of Iowa.

The scholarships are awarded to student members of the American Physical Therapy Association enrolled in accredited Iowa PT/PTA education programs who have concluded the first year of their accredited entry-level Iowa program. Award of the scholarships is based on demonstrated scholarship, potential for professional contributions and leadership qualities.

Olive C Farr Scholarship 2020 Recipients:

Alex Harms: Alex Harms is a second-year student in Des Moines University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program. He will graduate with the class of 2021. His physical therapy practice and research interests include neurological rehabilitation, pediatrics, clinical communication, and PT education and academics. Professional highlights include attending the APTA CSM in 2020, participation in Des Moines University’s Mentored Student Research Program, and completing his first Clinical Education Experience in Lincoln, NE. He earned bachelor’s degrees in Psychology and Philosophy from the University of Iowa in 2009. In 2017 he returned to his education and earned a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Simpson College. He is a coach of Olympic-style fencing and enjoys table top gaming with friends.

Emma Peeler: Emma Peeler is a member of the St. Ambrose University DPT Class of 2020. She has previously received a B.S. in Exercise Science and a B.A. in Psychology also from St. Ambrose University. Since starting in the DPT program, Emma has taken on the roles of President of Graduate Student Government Association and PT Clinical Coordinator of the SAU Interprofessional Health Clinic Board, a group of students who organize a free student-led clinic that provides PT, OT, speech and language pathology, and social work services to underserved members of the community. She has also taken advantage of the opportunity to run strength and conditioning sessions for a collegiate varsity cheer team and taught high school dance athletes about the concept of sport specific training at regional conventions in Des Moines, Iowa and Houston, Texas. Emma is looking forward to a successful career as a physical therapist in pediatrics or orthopedics and hopes to be involved with treating dance and cheer athletes wherever her careers takes her.

Cody Birely: Cody is a second year DPT student at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA. He will be finishing the didactic portion of his program in May and begin long-term rotations through December. After graduation in December, he plans on enrolling in a residency program, either in neurologic or orthopaedic physical therapy. Ideally, he would love to be in an outpatient setting where he can work with patients in the neurologic and orthopaedic populations. Outside of PT school, he greatly enjoys doing volunteer work, running, biking, camping, hiking mountains, hanging out with family and friends, eating lots of Whitey's Ice Cream, playing the pipe organ at church, and spoiling his chocolate lab puppy.

Erin Dunn: Erin Dunn is a second-year physical therapy student at St. Ambrose University. She has been interested in the field of physical therapy since she was in middle school. After going through physical therapy many times growing up, she grew to understand how rewarding of a career it is and decided that was where her passion was. She is actively involved in the St. Ambrose Student Physical Therapy Organization (SPTO) which allows her to participate in many service activities and give back to her community. She serves as a graduate assistant for the physical therapy department where she enjoys mentoring her peers, assisting with research projects, and helping organize weekly lab sessions. Outside of physical therapy school, she enjoys running, roller blading, and hanging out with friends. She is currently preparing to begin her long-term clinical experiences and she looks forward to getting more hands on experience. After graduation, she plans to gain clinical experience working in an outpatient orthopaedics clinic, while working towards a specialization in orthopaedics.