The Board of Trustees at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital have passed a resolution to donate $300,000 to the College of Allied Health Sciences at UTHSC.
The Board of Trustees at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital have passed a resolution to donate $300,000 to the College of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. The support will go toward helping the college recruit more physical and occupational therapy students, as well as provide renovated lab space for occupational therapy education, research and practice.
Currently, there is a national need for more physical and occupational therapists to serve patients in a variety of healthcare settings. Last year, the UT College of Allied Health Sciences in Memphis graduated 30 physical therapists and 12 occupational therapists. Several of those graduates have been employed by West Tennessee Healthcare. Through the years, UT has been the main source of physical and occupational therapists employed by West Tennessee Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest public, not-for-profit healthcare systems. Anchored by the 612-bed Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, West Tennessee Healthcare is headquartered in Jackson, Tennessee and provides healthcare services for all people in a 17-county area.
“The PT and OT programs at UT have always produced top-notch therapists for our clinical sites here at General Hospital,” said John Yarbrough, director of West Tennessee Rehabilitation Center at General Hospital. “We look forward to broadening our relationship with the university by increasing recruitment for their program and hiring more of their graduates. With more physical and occupational therapists, we will be able to continue providing the best care for our patients,” he continued.
Susan Peterson-Mansfield, dean of the College of Allied Health, stated, “We are excited about this venture with West Tennessee Healthcare. Many of our students and graduates come from the service area of West Tennessee Healthcare, and we appreciate this donation which will provide a state-of-the-art facility for our occupational therapy students.”
The donation will allow UT to renovate existing campus space to accommodate a new occupational therapy lab and purchase equipment. In honor of the donation and the relationship between the two organizations, the lab will be known as The West Tennessee Healthcare Occupational Therapy Research and Practice Lab.
Additionally, General Hospital will work with UT to intensify student recruitment in the West Tennessee area, and West Tennessee Healthcare sites will be designated as preferred training sites for students’ clinical training rotations.