WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — A physical therapy clinic — staffed by students supervised by licensed professionals and offering free services to volunteer community participants in need — is planned for fall 2025 at Pennsylvania College of Technology.

The clinic is being funded by Penn College President Emeritus Davie Jane Gilmour, whose gift will be used to purchase much of the needed equipment, upgrade the space (the former Occupational Therapy Assistant Lab at the college), and support the first two years of operations at the facility.

Each volunteer will be informed of the clinic’s educational focus, complete an intake form, and be screened by physical therapist assistant program faculty and staff. The volunteer participants will typically be uninsured or underinsured, and they may have run out of covered physical therapy visits. Musculoskeletal and neurological diagnoses will be most commonly seen and treated in the clinic.

Referrals will come from multiple medical and community sources. All services will be provided free of charge.

“Hands-on learning and real-life experiences are the hallmarks of a Penn College education,” Gilmour said. “Supporting this clinic was an easy decision, as it will provide an outstanding opportunity for students and faculty to enhance the physical therapist assistant program. I was very pleased to be asked and to provide my support.”

UPMC also will support the clinic by donating some of the equipment used in the lab.

“Many individuals in our community face barriers in accessing quality health care services, like physical therapy,” said Patti Jackson-Gehris, president, UPMC in North Central Pa. “Our community is healthier when we work together, and partnering with Penn College is a great example of how we can work together in an innovative way to create pathways for individuals in need to get the care and support they need in a way that’s convenient for them.”

“As a physical therapist myself, I am proud that UPMC can be part of the professional development of physical therapist assistants, many of which will provide care to the communities we serve following graduation,” said Tom Hoy, administrative director, Neurosciences and Rehabilitation, UPMC in North Central Pa. “This clinic will also serve as an important complement to the therapy services UPMC offers by providing an additional stop-gap for the uninsured, underinsured or those that have exhausted their benefits for these services.”

The clinic will be located on the second floor of the Breuder Advanced Technology & Health Sciences Center on the Penn College campus, utilizing existing space for a rehab gym and functional training.

The clinic will be open during the fall and spring semesters and closed during the summer months.

Physical therapist assistant students will be supervised by experienced professionals who are licensed as physical therapists or physical therapist assistants. The emphasis will be on required student outcomes through hands-on experiences with real community volunteers. Coursework will include a minimum number of required hours in the clinic per semester.

First-year students may observe treatments, while second-year students will perform interventions under the supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant. The students will use an electronic documentation system — including mock billing — and develop home exercise programs for the community volunteers.

“We are grateful for Dr. Gilmour’s generous support, which will help to make our program’s dream a reality,” said Victoria Hurwitz, director of the physical therapist assistant program. “The Community PT Clinic will be a state-of-the-art space to educate the next generation of physical therapist assistants through experiential learning, while providing pro bono physical therapy services. The clinic will prepare PTA students to provide compassionate and competent care that will mutually benefit the students and the community.”

Gilmour served as president of Penn College for 24 years, retiring in June 2022. The college’s former Student & Administrative Services Center was renamed the Davie Jane Gilmour Center in her honor that same month, and she was granted emeritus status by the college’s Board of Directors.

 A member of the college’s Visionary Society on the Donor Wall, Gilmour has supported the college through a number of scholarship gifts over the years. She began her career with the college in 1977.

For more about physical therapist assistant and other programs offered by the School of Nursing & Health Sciences at Penn College, visit www.pct.edu/nhs.

For more about the college, a national leader in applied technology education and a special mission affiliate of Penn State, visit www.pct.edu.