Physical therapy
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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has sounded alarm bells throughout global health systems. As of late May, 2020, over 100,000 COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the United States, which is the highest number of any country. This article describes COVID-19 as the next historical turning point in the physical therapy profession's growth and development. ⋯ Physical therapists need to redouble their efforts to address NCDs by assessing patients for risk factors and manifestations and institute evidence-based health education (smoking cessation, whole-food plant-based nutrition, weight control, physical activity/exercise), and/or support patients' efforts when these are managed by other professionals. Effective health education is a core competency for addressing risk of death by COVID-19 as well as NCDs. COVID-19 is a wake-up call to the profession, an opportunity to assert its role throughout the COVID-19 care continuum, and augment public health initiatives by reducing the impact of the current pandemic.
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Therapists in the hospital are charged with making timely discharge recommendations to improve access to rehabilitation after stroke. The objective of this study was to identify the predictive ability of the Activity Measure for Post-Acute Care "6 Clicks" Basic Mobility Inpatient Short Form (6 Clicks mobility) score and the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score for actual hospital discharge disposition after stroke. ⋯ The use of outcome measures can improve therapist confidence in making discharge recommendations for people with stroke, can enhance hospital throughput, and can expedite access to rehabilitation, ultimately affecting functional outcomes.