Service Learning Clinics

College of Health Professions / Bellarmine College of Health Professions / Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) / Service Learning Clinics

Bellarmine University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy Program provides students with hands-on, real-world experience through a variety of Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinics. These clinics, offered in collaboration with local healthcare organizations and community partners, give students the opportunity to apply their knowledge in meaningful ways while serving diverse populations. Under the guidance of expert clinical faculty, students work with individuals facing musculoskeletal, neurological, developmental, and chronic health conditions.

From diabetes management and pediatric care to oncology rehabilitation and sports therapy, each clinic fosters professional growth, interprofessional collaboration, and a commitment to community health. Explore the unique experiential learning opportunities available through Bellarmine’s Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinics below.

Michael E. Hobbs Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinic

Established in 2003, the Service-Learning Clinic (SLC) was developed to provide physical therapy, rehabilitation, and consultative services to the Bellarmine University community and surrounding areas. In 2004, the on-campus flagship clinic—now known as the Michael E. Hobbs Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinic—was launched and later endowed in October 2013 through a generous gift from Michael E. Hobbs (BU ’71, ’83, ’24 Honorary Doctorate). Thought to be one of the first and only endowed Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinics in the nation at that time, the Hobbs Clinic serves as an innovative teaching and learning space where graduate physical therapy students, under the supervision of expert clinical faculty, provide rehabilitation services to adults with primary musculoskeletal and neurological conditions.

Location	2120 Newburg Road, Room 110, Nolen C. Allen Hall (NCAH), across from the university’s main entrance on Newburg Road. Shuttle service is available between NCAH and the main campus. For directions, visit our Campus Directions page.
Hours of Operation	Fall and Spring Academic Semesters Tuesday: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Thursday: 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Schedule an Appointment	Call 502.272.7978 or email Ms. Autumn Smith at dptservicelearning@bellarmine.edu

Active Steps for Diabetes Clinic at Park DuValle Community Health Center

In collaboration with Park DuValle Community Health Center and Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness, Bellarmine University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program developed Active Steps for Diabetes Clinic in the fall 2006. Active Steps for Diabetes is an interprofessional (physical therapy, nursing, exercise science and medical laboratory science students and faculty) clinic serving individuals who have diabetes mellitus and co-morbidities. Housed in a federally qualified health center, Active Steps for Diabetes is geared to empowering individuals to manage their diabetes instead of having their diabetes manage them. Participants engage in age and mobility appropriate exercise, learn how to “know their numbers” (blood pressure, heart rate and blood glucose) and understand the importance of proper and healthy nutrition.

Parkinson’s Support Group Dance Program: “Let’s Dance!”

In collaboration with the Parkinson Support Center of Kentuckiana, the Let’s Dance! exercise program began in the fall 2009. Individuals who have been diagnosed with Parkinson Disease participate in therapeutic movement in dance instruction and intervention with a focus on balance and mobility.

Oncology Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinic (“FitLou”)

The Oncology Service-Learning Clinic is a new initiative in the DPT Program started in Fall of 2024 under the name of “FitLou”, led by Dr. Chris Wingard and Clinical Adjunct Faculty member, Dr. Audrey Stockwell. The Oncology Service-Learning Clinic developed from several community-based research projects and a recognized need for such a program by so many living with various types of cancer. The Program helps community members in managing their cancer diagnosis before, during, and following chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery by promoting, improving and maintaining physical health and mobility. Oncology physical therapy/rehabilitation is the newest specialty area added by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties (ABPTS). The important role physical therapists have is increasingly being recognized as critical to recovery and improving quality of life for those living with cancer.

Pediatric Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinic

This specialty clinic has been supported in part by the WHAS Crusade for Children Grant since the summer of 2015. This grant has provided necessary resources to the Bellarmine University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program to extend pro bono services beginning in the fall 2015 to infants and children under 1 year to 8 years old with developmental delay and a variety of neurological conditions such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida. Additionally, this work includes reaching families through the iCanBike and GoBabyGo programs.

Norton Cressman Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinic

In August 2015, Bellarmine University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program entered into a collaborative partnership with Norton Cressman Center to provide Bellarmine Doctor of Physical Therapy students with opportunities to provide therapeutic intervention with adults with neurological movement disorders such as Huntington’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.

Bellarmine Sports Rehabilitation Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinic

In October 2015, the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program entered into a collaborative partnership with the Athletic Training Department to provide interprofessional (physical therapy, athletic training) clinical services to Bellarmine University student-athletes with a variety of musculoskeletal and overuse injuries.

Physical Therapy Service-Learning Clinic at THRIVE Center, Inc.

In cooperation with the Thrive Center, Inc., faculty and students of the Bellarmine University doctor of physical therapy program offer community-based programming for aging adults and their families. Students and faculty are also involved in collaborative applied clinical research projects around falls prevention, awareness, and mobility training using innovative technologies, and a “high tech-high touch approach.” One of the signature programs includes a fall awareness and prevention program called “Strive to Thrive.” Older adults are assessed for fall risk and participate in a fall prevention program aimed at mitigating falls and injury due to falls. Innovative technologies and learning approaches are used to engage participants & students and these technologies are not only therapeutic but engaging for all. Students are trained in some of the most innovative technologies on the market and receive hands-on learning with older adults.

Learn more: Strive to Thrive Program

Our Mission and Core Values

Rooted in the Catholic liberal arts tradition, the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program’s Service-Learning Clinic offers students the opportunity to provide compassionate and ethical care to the surrounding community. Through mentoring, cooperative learning, and intellectual reflection, students gain professional development, clinical application experience, and a commitment to community service.

The Service-Learning Clinic upholds the Core Values established by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and adheres to the APTA Code of Ethics. The Bellarmine University Doctor of Physical Therapy Program proudly supports the Vision of the APTA.