DPT Program Partners with Bethlehem Church to Open Pro Bono Clinic
The doctor of physical therapy program has joined forces with a faith-based partnership to open the first clinic of its kind in Bethlehem.
“The Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering Movement Clinic has a unique pro bono clinical network model,” says Jessica Watson ’15, D’18, assistant professor.
DeSales partnered with Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering, which provides a network of care and hospitality for the unhoused in our community, to open the clinic. Watson played a key role and now works with other faculty members, community partners, and students to ensure the clinic’s success.
“Neighbors receive free evaluations and treatment for neurological, orthopedic, and other movement-related disorders,” she says.
Located at Christ Church United Church of Christ, the clinic embraces Salesian hospitality by serving under-insured and uninsured, unhoused community members who might not otherwise receive treatment. It is open two Saturdays each month and is run on a volunteer basis by DPT students, under the supervision of faculty and alumni who are licensed physical therapists.
On her very first day of volunteering, Francesca Kaspar ’21, D’23 recognized the clinic’s profound impact. She says she’ll never forget the beaming smile of one woman—the result of successfully alleviating her back pain and troubleshooting better ways to get on and off the foam pad she sleeps on.
“This experience is living proof that human touch is healing, and that everyone just wants to be heard. Sometimes I wonder if it was the physical therapy services or the companionship that made them feel so much better, and I suppose the two are intimately connected.”
Andrew Poepoe D’24, another of the clinic’s 22 student volunteers thus far, recalls helping a community member who sleeps in their car every night.
“I had to accommodate my exercise prescription to fit their life outside the clinic,” says Poepoe. “In the middle of working with them, they said they were grateful for what I was doing and that they could never afford to have this treatment outside of the clinic.”
Community members aren’t the only ones benefiting from the clinic’s services. The diversity of the population served provides a unique opportunity for students to hone their skills as clinicians while learning the importance of servant leadership. Kaspar, Marlee Dillion D’23, and Poepoe also assist in other ways to keep the clinic running smoothly, including mentoring the other student volunteers.
“I gained far more than I have given,” Kaspar says of the experience.
According to Watson, the Bethlehem Emergency Sheltering Movement Clinic is only the beginning of the DPT program’s commitment to empowering underserved populations in our community. While servant leadership is already embedded in the program’s curriculum and clinical experiences, there are plans to do even more.
“We are expanding the on-campus services to offer the DeSales Community Wellness Clinic, a year-round clinic to serve individuals that are underinsured or not insured, with a tentative opening in spring 2023,” she says.
