After a life-threatening accident at the Texas Motorplex about a year ago, hot rod racing legend John Force had three months to rehabilitate and get back in his race car.

With a broken ankle, knee and wrist, skin lacerations, partial amputations of fingers and torn ligaments, his health and millions of dollars in sponsorships were in jeopardy. After interviewing with six other doctors, Force finally found his physical therapist – Chapman graduate, Robert Orthmayer.

“I’m like a rodeo guy: I need to get back on the bull and I only have three months,” said Force. “Robert Orthmayer is a miracle worker.”

Orthmayer worked with Force for three months, a task that other therapists said would take one year. Force is now back racing and competing in Indianapolis.

The physical therapy program at Chapman has transformed from a small hospital setting into a doctorate program and clinical facility. This year the program celebrates its 80th anniversary of accreditation by the American Physical Therapy Association. On Oct. 10 and 11 the program will host a reception and open house to celebrate the new state-of-the-art physical therapy facilities.

“The art of caring and the science of healing – that’s physical therapy,” said Doctor Jacklyn Heino Brechter, the chairwoman of the department of physical therapy.

Out of 149 physical therapy programs around the nation, Chapman’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program is the nation’s longest continuously accredited program with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, as stated on the commission’s Web site.

The program, established in 1910 at Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, was not originally affiliated with Chapman. In the 1930s the program was called the “emergency class,” and was housed in the basement of the hospital. During this time the students were mostly female, as many of the men were serving in World War II, and they dressed in white collared dresses.

In 1985, physical therapy programs were required to be paired with academic institutions instead of being taught through hospitals. The program at Children’s Hospital joined Chapman College and in 1993 moved from Los Angeles to the Orange campus. The program then began offering a two-year Master’s of Physical Therapy degree.

In 2001 the physical therapy program became accredited with a Doctor of Physical Therapy degree, said Brechter. However, at this time the facilities were too small for the program’s growth. Doctor Venita Lovelace-Chandler, the department chairwoman at the time, worked with President James Doti to prepare for a new facility. To honor the history of the physical therapy program, Lovelace-Chandler will be the keynote speaker at a dinner reception on Friday.

“Chapman took a risk and saved the [physical therapy] program at Children’s Hospital,” she said.

The Doctor of Physical Therapy is not a doctorate program in which students learn how to be a researcher and educators, said Brechter. Instead, the program prepares students for clinical practice, working in hospitals, private practices, or rehabilitation centers.

To retain accreditation, specific guidelines are set by the association including admissions standards. In 2007, the program admitted only 50 out of 365 applicants.

“It’s good that they keep the numbers down because we have more opportunities for [individualized] experience,” said Brooke Varon, a second-year student in the program. “We all become very close as a class and celebrate our life experiences.”

Classes are divided into three 15-week trimesters with an average of 17-18 units each trimester. While the master’s program was a two-year program, the doctorate program is a three-year, 125-unit program.

Out of a starting class of 50 students, about eight people have dropped due to family problems or the demanding curriculum of classes, said Varon.

“It’s a very challenging program but they don’t make it impossible to pass,” she said. “You get back what you put into it.”

As part of the program, students are required to intern and receive hands-on experience. Three trimesters are allotted for clinical work alone, with students working an average of 40 hours a week, said Brechter.

Megan Crowley, a first-year student in the program, became interested in physical therapy after being treated for a shoulder injury. She chose Chapman because the curriculum provides ample clinical experience before graduation, she said.

“I got a huge sense of support within the first month,” she said. “I like that throughout the three years I have the opportunity to go to clinics and practice what I’ve learned.”

While many stay in California, students have the opportunity to get clinical experience nationally and internationally. Nicole Hignojoz, a 2006 graduate of the program, traveled to Costa Rica for an internship where she and four other physical therapy students from Chapman worked in an orthopedic clinic.

“I wanted something different than hands-on experience,” said Hignojoz. “I wanted to learn more about the culture and how they practice [physical therapy].”

While the old facilities were spaced out in the Hashinger Science Center, the new facility at 510 W. Palm has multiple laboratories and classrooms in one central location. Students benefit from the anatomy, cadaver and orthopedic laboratories, which have tables made for elevating or lowering patients. The facility also has laboratories with projectors and television monitors for instructors to use for demonstrations.

“Now the facilities match the quality of teaching,” said Doctor Alison McKenzie, a professor in the department of physical therapy. “Students get the best education … because of the better technology.”

Though the program has updated equipment, Crowley feels that the faculty is becoming familiar with it at the same rate as students.

“We have this new facility, but there are still some quirks they’re trying to figure out,” said Crowley.

The faculty in the program has many areas of expertise, ranging from doctorates in anatomy to cardiopulmonary, the study of the heart and lungs, said Brechter. There are also professors who specialize in orthopedics and pediatrics, Crowley’s current fields of study.

“My interests might change because I’m being exposed to so many things,” said Crowley. “I’ll get a better idea as I learn more about each specialty.”

Brechter feels that the new facility has strengthened the program and improved faculty dedication by being in closer proximity.

“Our faculty works very well together. We’re totally amenable to change,” said Brechter. “If we see something wrong, we move forward. It’s a nice way to be.”

For Orthmayer, individual attention from faculty has been one of the greatest helps, especially when he opened his own practice. But rehabilitating a professional drag racer was something he never expected to do.

“Treating high profile people can be demanding,” said Orthmayer. “But Force was dedicated.”


Contact this reporter: shana.makos@thepantheronline.com