Physical Therapy is More Than Just Physical

The Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program at Hardin-Simmons University is renowned for its student preparedness and its one-of-a-kind focus on servant leadership. The DPT program regularly incorporates service into its curriculum with yearly mission trips, fundraising projects, and volunteering with nonprofits, both domestic and abroad. These opportunities provide curriculum and spiritual enrichment, creating unique and powerful moments for all involved.

Dr. Beth Schaeffer ’00 works in Lima, Peru.

The drive for servant leadership comes from the DPT faculty. They themselves have set the foundation for mission work and provide an example for their students. “The Lord gave you skills to utilize,” explained Professor of Physical Therapy, Dennis O’Connell, PT, Ph.D., DPT, FACSM, also known as “DO’C.” The DPT faculty share their time and talents with those who need it most and create an environment where that behavior becomes second nature to their students.

The first DPT cohort joined the campus in January 1996, and, since that first semester, service has been a core component of the program. HSU DPT has been actively engaged in serving the poor and the underserved since the program began partnering with community agencies in 2000. DPT faculty and students have volunteered in several countries, including Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Kenya, Mexico, Thailand, and Peru, while also serving those in need across the state of Texas. Their focus is to bring Christ to all they meet by assisting with wheelchair fittings, building construction, vacation Bible schools, or physical therapy evaluations and treatments.

Recent partnerships include Joni and Friends, Africa Inland Church, Presbyterian Church of East Africa, Habitat for Humanity, Boots on the Ground, and Medical Mission of Abilene, plus the clinic they offer each Friday on the HSU campus.

DO’C and Dean of the College of Health Professions, Janelle O’Connell (Dr. J), PT, DPT, LAT, ATC, Ph.D., FTPTA, were founding faculty of HSU’s DPT program and continue to lead today. They both possess servant hearts and a drive to heal others through medical intervention and sharing the gospel. They have taken their students across the globe and across the street, pouring into neighborhoods near and far. In 2019, the O’Connells were awarded the Humanitarian Award by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) for their years of service. According to APTA, “the award honors individuals who exemplify the compassionate nature of the physical therapy profession by actively expressing a commitment to humanity and exhibiting admirable degrees of selflessness in addressing key health concerns.”

Currently, every student who graduates from HSU’s DPT program participates in service trips and is shown the impact of mission work. Director of Clinical Education, Beth Schaeffer, PT, DPT, C-DN, and Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Joe McCormick, PT, DPT, Sc.D, COMT, OCS, are graduates from the HSU Physical Therapy program, respectively in 2000 and 2012, who learned under the O’Connells. After graduating from HSU, Dr. Schaeffer and Dr. McCormick continued to prioritize service opportunities and are both happy to be back at HSU, working with a program that emphasizes servant leadership.

HSU DPT’s reputation of service reached the ears of the nonprofit Joni and Friends in 2015. Joni and Friends is committed to reaching and serving people with disabilities with practical help and the saving love of Jesus. They offer wheelchair customization, family respite, physical therapy training, and other services, all while preaching the gospel and empowering individuals and communities to be inclusive of individuals with disabilities. Joni and Friends has partnered with HSU DPT since, sending faculty and students throughout the state and abroad.

Dr. Beth Schaeffer ’00 poses with participants in Lima, Peru.

In May 2023, DPT faculty were invited to travel on behalf of Joni and Friends to Lima, Peru. While this was HSU DPT’s third time traveling to Peru with Joni and Friends, this trip was unique.

As a way to empower local communities and churches, Joni and Friends gathered physical therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, and pastors from Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Brazil, and Venezuela to learn from HSU faculty, and in turn take that education to their home countries and continue to spread the knowledge. Joni and Friends has implemented this new initiative to impact communities in need that may not be receptive to outside help or safe for Americans to travel. By gathering key members from six different countries, DPT faculty were able to educate and evangelize, and watch their prayers leave with participants back to their home countries.

Prior to this trip, DO’C, Dr. J, Dr. Schaeffer, and Dr. McCormick, with the aid of other faculty, created a manual on how to modify wheelchairs to best suit patients. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to evaluate patients; how to fit a person to a wheelchair; how to mechanically alter a wheelchair; and how to do this all safely. Correct positioning in a wheelchair is imperative for overall health: an aligned pelvis positively impacts one’s spine, breathing, legs, and overall disposition, while mobility improves quality of life. While in Peru, Drs. McCormick, O’Connell, O’Connell, and Schaeffer taught with this manual.

Joni and Friends translated the manual, provided the space, transported the wheelchairs, and gathered participants who could take the knowledge back to their home churches, villages, and countries, improving the livelihood of community members. DPT faculty spent the first day going through the manual with participants. Afterward, patients were brought in for practical, hands-on training. Patients ranged in age from 2-years to 90, all with various physical needs.

Throughout their time, the HSU faculty are always in prayer with and for their patients.

Dr. Joe McCormick ’12 modifies a
wheelchair for a patient.

“Wheelchair distribution is just the mechanism to reach populations to share the gospel,” explained DO’C. He went on to compare it to the proverb of teaching a person to fish. If someone is given mobility, they suddenly have access to community, to relationships, and to church. At the heart of this event was to train community leaders to grant mobility to those who are disabled, housebound, and ostracized in their communities back home. Community leaders will then train more people, and like a ripple effect, remove the stigma around those with disabilities and create spaces to welcome those with disabilities and their families into the church and community.

James B. Simmons’ foundation for Hardin-Simmons was “to bring students to Christ, to teach them of Christ, and to train them for Christ.” HSU DPT emulates Simmons as they bring mobility to patients, teach patients the benefits of mobility, and train therapists how to bring mobility to others. By doing this, DPT provides the opportunity for engagement and access to community.

At the end of their week in Lima, 130 wheelchairs were customized, and 128 individuals (patients and their families) accepted Christ.