UAMS Welcomes First Physical Therapy Students

Officials with the Northwest Arkansas regional campus of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) on Tuesday officially welcomed the first 24 students to its new physical therapy doctoral degree program, a $3 million startup program that’s part of the UAMS College of Health Professions.

The three-year doctoral curriculum is the first UAMS program housed solely on the Fayetteville campus. Students will begin classes in the fall.

Dr. John R. Jefferson, chair and associate professor for the department of physical therapy at UAMS, said there were 65 students who interviewed to be included in the inaugural class of 24. He said of the first 24 students who were offered a spot, 20 of them accepted UAMS’ offer.

“We didn’t have to go too far down on our list,” he said. “I think that says something about both UAMS and the Northwest Arkansas region. This isn’t a mom-and-pop college in the middle of nowhere. We have 24 really top-notch students.”

Of the 24 students, 16 are from Arkansas, including nine from Northwest Arkansas. The remaining students are from Oklahoma, Texas, Illinois and Missouri.

Jefferson said the three-year program will admit 24 students in August each year.

A Powerful Statement

The event to officially dedicate the program launch also reunited a longtime program supporter with the therapist who helped him overcome polio-induced paralysis as a teenager.

Lewis Epley Jr., a retired attorney, banker, community and state leader who served for 10 years (1989 to 1999) on the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees — two years as chairman — and therapist Corrine (Wulkan) Larson of Minneapolis, Minnesota, were reunited after not seeing each other for more than 50 years.

Epley, who grew up in Springdale, credited Larson for helping him find the determination and discipline to revive an arm paralyzed by polio. In 1953, the polio-stricken, 17-year old Epley was sent to the Children’s Convalescent Center in Jacksonville for treatment where she worked with him.

After recovering from the disease, Epley was able to return to Springdale for the second semester of his senior year and graduate with his classmates. He later attended the UA and went on to become the “Voice of the Razorback Band” for seven years. He graduated in 1961 with degrees in public administration and law, and moved to Eureka Springs, where he developed a prominent law practice.

Epley is a founding board member of the Northwest Arkansas regional campus of UAMS and longtime booster for the creation of the UAMS physical therapy program.

“Reuniting Mr. Epley with the physical therapist who had such a healing and formative impact on him makes a powerful statement about what we hope to achieve in our physical therapy program,” said UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn. “We intend to graduate physical therapists with not only the technical skills but the ability to deliver patient- and family-centered care that will create the same kinds of positive and lasting outcomes.”

Epley said he had tried several times over the years to find the therapist who had helped him but was unsuccessful. It was in Larson’s final year of training as a physical therapist at the University of Minnesota that she was sent to Jacksonville by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, an organization that became the March of Dimes.

With the assistance of several, including UAMS development director Dina Wood, the Epley and Larson did finally make the connection earlier this year. After speaking over the telephone, Epley asked if Wulkan would be interested in traveling to Northwest Arkansas, if he arranged for her travel and lodging.

“She did not stutter or stammer or miss a beat with her answer; she immediately said yes,” Epley recalled. He greeted Larson and her daughter at Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport on June 8, their first encounter since Epley left the center in Jacksonville 62 years ago.

Truly Inspiring

After her time in Arkansas, Larson joined the staff of the Minneapolis Curative Workshop, started a home health program and began working with the staff of the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute, a program dedicated to treatment methods the renowned Elizabeth Kenny used for polio, such as heat packs and careful exercise.

In 1966, Larson earned a master’s degree in public health and helped spawn Interstudy, an institute for interdisciplinary studies within the American Rehabilitation Foundation. In 1973, she joined the Minnesota Department of Health and directed its Manpower Division until retirement in 1983.

“Corrine Larson’s journey as a physical therapist — advancing the science and effectiveness of rehabilitation medicine — is truly inspiring,” Jefferson said. “We are eager for our new students to begin charting their own paths this fall while increasing access to therapy and rehabilitative care in Arkansas.”

Inspirational Visit

Learning the details of Epley’s story made Sarah Chancellor excited at the possibility of making similar connections in her career as a physical therapist.

“It’s been very inspiring to visit with them [Epley and Wulkan],” Chancellor said.

Chancellor, 22, is part of the inaugural class of physical therapy students who will begin classes at UAMS in August. She attended Tuesday’s event along with Steven Keller, 23, another student in the inaugural class.

Both students applied to four other physical therapy schools and had other offers besides UAMS.

Chancellor, a Springdale native, is a recent graduate of Oklahoma State University with a degree in nutritional sciences. Keller, who was raised in Dallas, graduated from the University of Arkansas in December with a degree in pre-professional kinesiology.

The opportunity to be part of the first class helped them both decide on UAMS. They also said the new facilities were an important factor.

Renovations to the 14,000-SF space that will house the physical therapy program have been completed. Academic facilities for the program include classrooms and five teaching labs, led by the Schmieding Neurological Skills Lab, which will be used to teach evaluation and treatment of those with neurological disorders including developmental disorders, spinal cord injuries, stroke and conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Other teaching labs will focus on orthopedic and cardiovascular conditions and disorders that require physical therapy.

Program resources also include the Northwest Outpatient Therapy Clinic that opened in late 2014 on the campus. In the 2,735-SF clinic, the staff of experienced therapists provides comprehensive physical, occupational and speech rehabilitation services, using top-of-line therapeutic devices.