Recently, the University of Michigan- Flint’s HEART clinic took up a new residence at the Insight Health Center. The HEART clinic, which stands for health, equity, action, research, and teaching, is part of the physical therapy and occupational therapy program. The clinic gives students hands-on experience working in a professional environment. At no cost, clients can go to the clinic on Fridays and get treatment from the graduate students currently in the physical therapy or occupational therapy programs. The physical therapy students are supervised by Amy Yorke, a professor at UM-Flint who has a doctorate in interdisciplinary health sciences and a physical therapy license, Elizabeth Yost who is an assistant professor in the Department of Occupational Therapy and has a doctor of occupational therapy degree, and other licensed physical and occupational therapists in the area, several of whom are alumni.
In an interview with Yorke, she expressed she was glad to be able to move into the new space, as it is much larger. With this larger space, she hopes they will be able to accommodate more patients in the future. She also expressed an interest in moving some of the labs typically done on campus into the clinic space. In doing so, she would like to recruit community members to participate in these labs.
The HEART clinic is a space that allows for research as well. One such research program is called MoveMore. “MoveMore is all about implementing high-intensity walking training for people post-stroke or with spinal cord injuries,” Yorke said, “It’s all about getting your heart rate up higher and get your aerobic intensity up a little bit higher, we’ll have better walking outcomes.” The clinic received funding from the Thompson Center for Learning and Teaching for new heart rate monitors to use with MoveMore. There is one publication already out regarding MoveMore and two more that are under review.
HEART is also researching interprofessional outcomes by having the physical therapy students work with the nursing students. The nursing students help the clinic by monitoring vitals and guarding the patients to keep them safe when walking. This not only helps the program and the patients, but helps build the students’ confidence in their abilities as well. “We want to make a difference not only in our communities’ lives but also in our students’ lives,” Yorke said, “So, interprofessional education is something that’s important because as a healthcare provider, you’ll never work by yourself.” She hopes that by providing this interprofessional education, the students can learn to work with each other more effectively, and learn from each other as well. She hopes this can better prepare the students to work in a professional, collaborative environment.
The clinic also received funding from the Hagerman Center to do a project called Active Hearts. In this project, they provide participants with Fitbit watches to have them monitor their physical activity outside of their therapy so the information can be used to give the patients better treatment. Yorke stated that she feels very supported by the UM-Flint and the College of Health Sciences.
Yorke also noted four students are working to implement a qualitative research study. The study will interview the community partners and evaluate their experiences working with the pro bono clinic. The study is starting in the spring, and they hope to get published by the end of December. The students, Drew Uhlmeyer, Sidney Kulhanek, Brookelyn Stafford, and Emma Cleason will be taking an independent research study course through the doctor of physical therapy program in order to get this study done over the summer.
Travis Penrod is an alumnus who works as a physical therapist in the area. He is one of the licensed physical therapists who helps the students at the clinic. He stated that he volunteered at the clinic a lot while he was still a student, so when a spot opened up after he graduated, he was excited to get to participate again, this time as a supervisor. He said that seeing how someone presents, rather than having a classmate pretend for a lab, is a valuable experience and a great opportunity. He stated that he was glad to have the new, larger space since it opened up even more opportunities. He said that he enjoyed how much it feels like a genuine clinic and not a classroom.
To learn more about the clinic, you can visit their website, or watch the video made by UM-Flint.