You asked for it, and we delivered!  The Academy is proud to offer membership the ability to post Aquatic-specific job openings, clinic equipment for sale, or Practices for sale on our new Classified System.

Please visit here for introductory pricing and placement! http://www.aquaticpt.org/classifieds/

Presented by Paula Richley Geigle PT, MS, PhD and William Scott MA 

Details and registration can be found here

Aerobic cardiovascular fitness is comparatively low for individuals with SCI, approximately 25% of otherwise healthy young individuals with SCI fail to achieve oxygen consumption levels sufficient to perform essential activities of daily living (ADLs). Glucose metabolism, cytokine levels, HDL concentration, and self-esteem magnitude can be modified through increased physical activity including arm cycle ergometry, functional electrical stimulation, robotically assisted treadmill training, and aquatic exercise. However, controversy exists regarding the frequency and intensity required to achieve these beneficial effects. Clinically it is vital for optimal client health to assess baseline and post intervention cardiovascular levels. This presentation will increase understanding of cardiovascular fitness assessment and intervention for individuals with spinal cord injury as well as other chronic neuromuscular conditions. Pragmatic case examples demonstrate the systemic health issues linked to cardiovascular fitness, intervention concepts, and assessment possibilities (clinical and research). Our ultimate goal is to increase practitioner awareness and advocacy for annual cardiovascular assessment and intervention for all individuals living with chronic neuromuscular conditions.

Presented by Cathy Maloney Hills, PT, DPT, TPS & Sonja McGill, PT, MSPT, TPS

Details and Registration.

Our world is immersed in a pain crisis, and many patients are referred for aquatic physical therapy to address issues related to acute and chronic pain. Leading research pioneers in pain science stress the need to assess and change our patients’ cognitions, beliefs and fears BEFORE launching into a movement-based approach to rehabilitation. This webinar will provide an introduction to Pain Neuroscience Education (PNE) and demonstrate how to incorporate PNE concepts into aquatic therapy sessions; differentiate “tissue issues” from “pain issues”; and how to invite patients to begin the conversation to share their pain experience. Participants will be introduced to current research as well as discover opportunities for more in-depth PNE education and training.

Presented by Marty Biondi, PT, DPT, CSCS, CEEAA

Details and to register.

All too often aquatic therapy and exercise has been relegated to a secondary role when considering functional training for a wide spectrum of older adults. Due in part, to the fact the there is a paucity of literature addressing this topic as well as the mere fact that humans live on land, water therapies have been considered to have limited benefit in addressing either maintenance of or improvement of functional skills. This webinar will define specific, simple functional activities that are within the repertoire of the modern-day older adult. Using objective measures to quantify improvement, this webinar will demonstrate progressions for each skill set. Lastly, there will be a discussion of current literature addressing the use of aquatic interventions to upgrade land function.

• 1st Vice President (Governance)
• 2nd Vice President (Education)
• Secretary
• Director of Research
• Nominating Committee

As you know, the Aquatic Section had its annual membership meeting at CSM 2018.  Two of the big topics were renaming the section to Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy and the adoption of revised bylaws.  Both of which were passed unanimously.  I’d like to take a moment to update you on how we’ll be implementing both of these changes going forward.

Regarding the Bylaws, these were effective immediately following the close of the annual membership meeting. Please find attached the current version for your records.

The name change on the other hand is a bit more involved and will take about 1 year to completely implement.  There are primarily two aspects to changing the name that will occur almost simultaneously. First, we have to implement the new name legally. Adopting the new name by the membership was one of the first steps in changing the name.  In process now is filing with the Alabama State Corporation Commission and the Baldwin County Probate Court. Once that is complete and we have in-hand the updated Articles of Incorporation, then APTA will recognize us as the Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy and subsequently update their records.

While things are legally being changed, we’ll need to re-brand. The Communications Committee has been charged with soliciting and vetting new logos.  The Board will meet on May 5 to select the new logo.  Once the new logo is in place, we will begin updating the website, social media, waterlines, etc. to incorporate and complement the new logo.  Throughout 2018, you’ll slowly see things changing across our media outlets. 

All in all, this is an exciting time and I am looking forward to how things will look in the coming months.

As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

Warm regards,

Marie Stravlo

Executive Director

Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy

1055 N Fairfax Street, Suite 205

Alexandria, VA  22314

800/765-7848 x7101

Fax: 703-738-1606

www.aquaticpt.org

APTA Combined Section meeting was a huge success with over 17,000 attendees in New Orleans Louisiana. The Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy took the time to recognize many dedicated professionals on their contributions to the Academy at their annual membership meeting.

2018 Award Recipients

Congratulations to the 2018 APTA Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy Judy Cirullo award for Exceptional Contribution to the Area of Aquatic Therapy winner Diane Platz PT. This Award recognizes a PT’s exceptional contribution to the field of Aquatic Therapy and can include but is not limited to equipment design; innovative programming or patient care, educational contribution. Diane was recognized for her outstanding promotion of Aquatic Therapy as CSM Conference Coordinator.

Congratulations to the 2018 APTA Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy Richard Ruoti Research Award for Excellence winner Lori Thein-Brody PT, PhD, SCS. This award is named for one of the founders of the of the Academy who was dedicated to exemplary research in the area of aquatic therapy, this Award recognizes exceptional research that impacts Aquatic Physical Therapy.

2018 Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy President’s Award

Presented by Charlotte Norton to the

Communications Committee

Christine Schulte PT, MBA Committee Chair

Michael Murray PT, DPT

Eileen Ray PT

Sean Campbell PT, DPT (Not Pictured)

Service Awards for Alethea Crespo – Outgoing Membership Chair

Christine Taylor – Outgoing Director of Practice

Nicole Needles – Outgoing Nominating Chair

Outstanding Service Award Presented to

Past President Charlotte Norton

By Current President Christine Schulte

As well as a surprise Shark attack to celebrate Charlotte!

Thank you for your contributions to the Academy of Aquatic Physical Therapy over the past 2 decades

By now, most physical therapists (PTs) have heard the news: the final 2018 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) released in early November by the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) included some significant variations from the PFS proposed in July. Instead of finalizing CPT code values that were the same as—and occasionally larger than—current values, CMS opted to offer up a more complicated combination of cuts and increases that could affect PTs in different ways, depending on their case-mix and billing patterns.

So what should PTs do in the wake of the new PFS? Here are APTA's top 4 suggestions.

1. Know the design process for the fee schedule. It's important to understand what led to the changes to provide context, a slight sense of relief, and a reminder of why payment needs to move toward value-based models and away from fee-for-service.

The PFS now set to debut January 1, 2018, is the CMS response to an American Medical Association (AMA) committee's recommendation on potentially "misvalued" codes associated with a wide range of professions, not just physical therapy. When the process began in early 2016, many predicted that the final outcome would be deep cuts to nearly all valuations—as much as 10% or more overall. APTA and its members fought hard to substantiate the validity of the current valuations, and even the need for increases in some areas. The end result was a significant improvement from where things were headed at the start of the process.

That's not to say it's been an entirely satisfying process from start to finish. This recent PT in Motion News story goes into more detail about the sometimes-frustrating journey from points A to B.

            2. Understand what's being changed. Just about everything that happens at CMS is complicated, and the process that led to the new CPT code valuations is no exception. Still, a working knowledge of how CPT codes are valued is helpful in understanding why the PFS contains such a mix of positives and negatives.

One important thing to understand is that code valuation is actually a stew of 3 separate elements, known as relative value units (RVUs). These are estimations of the labor, expense, and possible professional liability involved in performing any given treatment or evaluation task associated with a CPT code. The 3 types of RVUs are known as "work," "practice expense" (PE), and "professional liability." The coding valuation differences between the proposed and final PFS were due to changes to the PE RVUs only.

This wasn't part of the proposed rule. While the AMA Relative Value Scale Update Committee Health Care Professions Advisory Committee did recommend changes to PE RVUs, CMS initially opted to not adopt those suggestions. When the final rule was released 3 months later, CMS—without seeking input from APTA or any other stakeholders—did an about-face and adopted the changes to PE RVUs.

So what? The answer is twofold: first, the tweaks to PE RVUs mean it's difficult to make many sweeping generalizations about how the new PFS will affect individual practices and clinics; second, it's worth noting that individual work RVUs either remained unchanged or increased.

A more detailed explanation of how the codes were affected is available in an APTA fact sheet on the 2018 PFS (listed under "APTA Summaries and Fact Sheets"). For a more complete explanation of RVUs and the differences between the 3 types, check out this APTA podcast on the CPT valuation process.

            3. Get a sense of how you might be affected. A sense of history and understanding of detail are all well and good, but the  bottom line is your bottom line.

Here's the complication with the 2018 PFS: because of the wide variation in upward and downward adjustments, it's hard to make statements about how PTs in general will be affected. CMS estimates the overall impact at a 1%-2% reduction, but a lot depends on the types of patients a PT or clinic typically sees and what interventions are commonly used. Some providers could see increases.

In an effort to clear up some of the uncertainty, APTA offers a calculator than can help you see how your typical case-mix would fare in the new PFS. The calculator, offered in Microsoft Excel, allows you to enter different codes to see what changes to expect, given your Medicare service area.

            4. Keep learning. There's much more to understand about the PFS—not just in terms of the details of how the new rule will work, but in terms of APTA's work to safeguard CPT codes throughout the misvalued codes review process.

One great way to learn more about what to expect is coming up in December, when the association hosts a free webinar on Medicare changes for 2018 on December 6 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm ET. The webinar will be presented in a "flipped" format, meaning that when you register, you'll be provided with a prerecorded presentation to listen to in advance. That way, more of the actual session can be devoted to live interaction with the presenters. Be sure to sign up—and listen up—soon.

Another opportunity is available December 13, when APTA hosts an "Insider Intel" phone-in session that will cover many of the same topics, albeit in a pared-down 30-minute session, from 2:00 pm to 2:30 pm ET. Instructions for signing up for this session are on APTA's Insider Intel webpage.

To view the news story, please see: http://www.apta.org/PTinMotion/News/2017/11/21/PFSTipsNovember2017/