The Delaware Physical Therapy Clinic has handled more than 7,600 patient visits since reopening for in-person appointments in June. The clinic halted face-to-face visits in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic and instead switched to telehealth appointments. Since reopening, patient visits are at about 70% of the volume in a typical year, said Tara Manal, academic director of clinical services and residency training for the clinic.

Manal said the clinic, now in its 26th year, has always had a reputation for operating safely, but the addition of COVID-19-related protocols — including extra personal protective equipment (PPE) for clinicians and students, frequent sanitizing during and between patient appointments, and expanded social distancing to ensure patients have limited contact with others — has helped patients feel good about their decision to return. Although the clinic still offers telehealth appointments, there are only three patients using them, she added.

“Not only are we following lots of protocols, it's very clear what they are. Patients can see them as soon as they come in,” Manal said. “They have been super comfortable.”

The PT clinic provides needed physical therapy care for the region, but it also offers critical training opportunities for the graduate students in UD’s top-ranked physical therapy program, who spend hundreds of hours working with patients as part of their graduation requirements. The pandemic upended the traditional clinic schedule for PT students, Manal said, but faculty and clinicians made adjustments after reopening to ensure the students graduating in December would get the patient hours they needed.

“We opened ourselves 100% to the people who were trying to finish, so no patient care was done without students,” Manal said. “We did that so that we could maximize their opportunity with one-on-one patient care because there's nowhere else to squeeze it in.”

Cailtin Craig is a third-year doctor of physical therapy student who has been working in the clinic as she prepares to graduate in December. She stayed busy during a recent day at the clinic, juggling multiple patients with shoulder, back and leg issues. As she worked with patients, she was overseen by Fred Breidenbach, a physical therapist who supervises the students in the clinic.

“I wasn't sure if I was going to graduate on time, honestly, but everything's worked out,” Craig said. “I’m able to get the hands-on experience I really need to be able to succeed in the field. And it's really nice to know that we're safe here.”

Breidenbach said the in-person connection between students and patients is one that both missed as a result of the pandemic.

“I think just that there's so many things you can talk about and understand, certain treatment techniques or patient presentations. And there's another thing to be able to implement those treatments in person,” he said. “Learning how to get through those things is impossible to do without being in-person. That's really when you get the most value from the hands-on techniques and just the general learning of handling busy situations or different patient scenarios.”

Alan Hamant, a retired UD employee, spent part of his morning in the clinic raising and lowering dumbbells. In addition to suffering a sprain in his left arm a month earlier, he’s also been having motion and soreness issues with his right shoulder that cause problems with his back. He and his family have been coming to the clinic for years, and the safety precautions in place made that decision even easier.

“This is as good physical therapy as you're going to find anywhere because they're always on the cutting edge. Since it's a teaching institution, they always seem to be very advanced,” Hamant said. “I wouldn't really think about going anywhere else.”

While the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the trajectory of learning this year for students like Craig, it hasn’t derailed her goals of pursuing a career in physical therapy. “Despite the circumstances right now, I still want to be treating my patients,” she said. “I want people to feel better.”