Vision Statement
Create and sustain a geriatric residency program which develops and enhances the skills and abilities of the physical therapist to provide state of the art older adult rehabilitation to a diverse population which enables the therapist to help create a culture of patient centered clinical excellence, community service, research initiative and lifelong learning in the workplace.
The Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency is a patient-centered educational program providing advanced physical therapy clinical training and promoting the application of evidence-based knowledge and skills with emphasis on service and life-long learning. The environment has been created to produce leaders with advanced geriatric rehabilitation training who can make a lasting contribution to their local and professional communities. Through this program, residents and staff will educate, advocate, empower and improve the quality of life of our patients, their families, caregivers and our community. The program supports the mission of Bellarmine University by providing high quality health care and education to all those we serve in a manner that responds to the needs of our communities, honors our faith heritage and celebrates our values.
Our Goals
The Goals of the Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency are to:
- Develop advanced practitioners in the field of geriatric physical therapy who meet the needs of patients and clients, their families, and society.
- Train practitioners to be critical consumers of the literature in geriatric physical therapy which includes supporting clinical and basic sciences, and to apply the evidence in the development and implementation of patient treatment and education programs.
- Mentor the resident’s teaching skills in all applicable areas.
- Foster the clinical research and inquiry skills of the residents to meet the needs of evidence based practice in geriatric physical therapy.
- Enhance the residents ability to apply advanced knowledge, skill and care in the examination and treatment of individuals with geriatric conditions.
- Provide formative feedback and facilitate guided reflection for the geriatric physical therapy residents.
- Promote professionalism, community awareness and leadership roles in geriatric residents.
- Improve the resident’s ability to provide continuing education for community leaders in the field of geriatric physical therapy, while fostering best practice habits, active participation in clinical research, and excellence in teaching skills.
- Ensure consistent delivery of high quality patient education and clinical interventions throughout all clinical settings.
Residency Requirements
- Graduate from a CAPTE accredited Physical Therapy program.
- Current PT license to practice in state of the residency
- Submission of application form electronically through RF-PTCAS
- Minimum of 2 letters of recommendation (1 academic and 1 clinical)
Accreditation Status
Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency is accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association as a post-professional residency program for physical therapists in geriatrics.
Residency Outcomes
The Bellarmine Geriatric Residency, established and initially accredited in 2017 has an 88% completion rate to date (one voluntary withdrawal). Five residents have taken the ABPTS certification examination to date with four receiving official certification.
Contact Information
Julie Hartmann, PT, DSc.
Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Geriatric Physical Therapy (GCS)
Director- Bellarmine University Geriatric Residency
Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
School of Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences
Bellarmine University NCAH #370
2001 Newburg Road
Louisville, KY 40205
W 502 272-8367
jhartmann@bellarmine.edu
Grace Klain, PT, DPT
I am a 2023 graduate of Bellarmine University DPT program and have been working with KORT physical therapy ever since graduation. Working with the geriatric population is something that I have always been passionate about and after my first year with KORT I knew that I wanted more education and experience with geriatrics in order to better serve the population and broaden my knowledge. I am excited for all of the opportunities that this residency program has to offer and to be immersed within this field so that I can improve my patients' care and be a resource for my community.
Brandon Samuels
I graduated from WKU’s DPT program in 2021 and have been working full time for KORT ever since then in my hometown of Mt. Washington. I have always enjoyed working with older adults, even before I began my professional career as a PT. My older patients tend to be a bright spot on my workday and it is important to me that I put in the effort to learn how to best serve them and to help them to achieve the goals that they wish to achieve from a functional standpoint. Often times when speaking with colleagues I feel that the geriatric population is often an area that can be overlooked when attempting to find a specialty area or a population niche, despite knowing that our population is continuing to age and that serving this population to the best of our ability will be vital in the decades to come. As the percentage of older adults that I see in the clinic continues to increase, so does my passion for treating them. I am excited that Bellarmine has given me this amazing opportunity to continue to advance myself as a clinician as well as to open potential new doors for me professionally. I am very happy to have joined the Bellarmine family.