Home, at last.
The Department of Physical Therapy and Health Sciences (DPTHS) officially opened its newest facility, the Glen and Polly Barton Clinic for Fitness and Functions.
This facility has the necessary equipment for DPTHS students to gain hands-on experience before working with real patients.
“This increases student confidence that they can work with more complex patients prior to going out into their clinical rotations in the community,” Mellissa Peterson, DPTHS department chair, said. “It provides a welcoming space, state-of-the-art equipment and resources ideal for collaboration with classmates and faculty.”
DPTHS had previously been located in numerous buildings across campus, which limited the number of opportunities for its students and faculty.
With its own facility, DPTHS can provide a new experience for its students and faculty.
“When we were spread out across campus, not all students got to interact with each other, so it’s a chance for all of them to come together,” Jamie Way, DPTHS assistant professor, said. “All faculty are now under one roof, so it’ll allow us to better collaborate with research.”
The facility had been in the works for years and was finally completed thanks to support from the Bradley administration and the Peoria community.
“Polly [Barton] and her late husband Glen are generous philanthropists from the Peoria area who saw the potential in our clinic,” Peterson said. “Our patients and students also found the resources necessary to make this new location happen.”
With this new facility, DPTHS aims to continue serving patients in Peoria with various pathologies. This gives DPTHS students a better understanding of the material they are learning in classes while also providing them with the opportunity to help those in need.
“Being able to work with individuals that have the pathology they’ve been learning in class allows students to apply their knowledge from the classroom,” Ways said. “It also is a way of giving back to the community as well.”
