APTA Missouri

08/26/2025

Looking for some great CE but having a hard time getting it worked into your busy schedule? We’ve got you covered!

APTA MO is teaming up with the California Physical Therapy Association and bringing you virtual courses on Wednesday nights. This allows us to introduce you to new speakers, as well as a wide variety of ideas and topics related to PT practice. These virtual courses are offered via Zoom from 8-10 PM. Most are recorded and the recording is shared with registrants so you don’t have to worry about unexpected interruptions or missing info. (Please note however, that the course on 9/3 does not allow recording). If available, handouts are also shared prior to the sessions.
The member price for the Webinar Wednesday courses is just $35 for 2 contact hours of CE. Non-members may register for $80 and earn 2 hours of CE. Certificates are e-mailed the week following the presentations.

Take advantage of this new opportunity and register today!

This week sessions is titled:
Watch your Mouth: Improving Therapeutic Alliance Through Effective Communication

https://www.mopt.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1986400

08/20/2025

TONIGHT!!!

✨ Webinar Wednesday coming up! ✨

Holistic care of hypermobile dancers: Neuromuscular coordination, breathing, fascia & tendon loading

Wednesday, August 20, 2025
8:00-10:00pm

Webinar Wednesday Courses are $35 for APTA MO Members and $80 for non-members. ONLY REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS may earn CE.

Follow the link to register:
https://www.mopt.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1986398

08/19/2025

✨ Webinar Wednesday coming up! ✨

Holistic care of hypermobile dancers: Neuromuscular coordination, breathing, fascia & tendon loading

Wednesday, August 20, 2025
8:00-10:00pm

Webinar Wednesday Courses are $35 for APTA MO Members and $80 for non-members. ONLY REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS may earn CE.

Follow the link to register:
https://www.mopt.org/events/EventDetails.aspx?id=1986398

08/16/2025

Did you know that August is National Wellness Month? Check out this article from the APTA Magazine from this month about PT and GLP-1
medication:

What PTs need to know about working with patients taking glucagon-like peptide-1 agonists.

08/13/2025

Need some CE? Check out the options below. Webinar Wednesday courses are from 8-10 PM. Courses are $35 for members and $85 for non-members. ONE IS TOMORROW NIGHT, so register soon if you would like to earn CE!

8/13/2025
Webinar Wednesday: Infants and Toddlers with Spastic Cerebral Palsy: Innovations

Webinar Wednesday Courses are $35 for APTA MO Members and $80 for non-members. ONLY REGISTERED PARTICIPANTS may earn CE. https://ccapta-org.zoom.us/j/83710454437?pwd=7gM7OpMN9vKWb4dNTES0GEXwkzANtb.1 Meeting ID: 837 1045 4437 Passcode: CPTA2025

08/11/2025

APTA MO- please see the call for action from Federal Affairs Liaison Chris Marsh. Please help spread the word with PT professionals who work for home health agencies.

CMS is proposing a 6.4% reduction in reimbursement to Home Health agencies. They have submitted the rule & the comment period is now open. Any Physical Therapist doing Home Health should comment against this!!! The deadline for comments is 8/29/25. We need to "get moving" on this. See the link below from the APTA Home Health section.

Thanks Everyone!!
Chris Marsh P.T.
APTA MO, FAL

Read and directly submit comments here:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/02/2025-12347/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-calendar-year-2026-home-health-prospective-payment-system-hh-pps-rate

Or via APTA’s Patient Action Center

https://www.apta.org/advocacy/take-action/patient-action-center

This proposed rule would set forth routine updates to the Medicare home health payment rates in accordance with existing statutory and regulatory requirements. In addition, this proposed rule proposes permanent and temporary behavior adjustments and proposes to recalibrate the case-mix weights...

08/06/2025

Need some CE? Check out the options below. One on August 6th TONIGHT! (you must register soon – click Pain Games title below by Aug. 6th!), and one on August 14th (RSVP to Austin Williams at austinwilliams317@gmail.com by noon 8/14 to earn CE.)

- Register for Webinar Wednesday! This week’s Zoom course will begin at 8 PM on Aug.6th . Learn more and register for this 2-hour course by clicking the title: Pain Games: Virtual Reality As a Treatment for Pediatric Pain

https://www.mopt.org/events/register.aspx?id=1984210&itemid=3478600d-c37a-4add-b299-61d482ad997f

The cost is $35 for PT and PTA members and $80 for non-member PTs and PTAs. The course recording will be shared, but PTs and PTAs MUST REGISTER no later than 6 PM on August 6th in order to receive the recording and earn CE.

- APTA Missouri Northwest District will be hosting a Statewide Meeting on Thursday, August 14th, 2025, at 7:00 PM at Rockhurst University in Science Center Room 115 but will also be shared via Zoom for all members! This meeting will feature Matt Dodge and Patrick Zink from Vivistim, who will be presenting an in-service on their innovative platform. PTS AND PTAS CAN EARN 1 HOUR OF FREE CE BY ATTENDING THE LIVE OR VIRTUAL MEETING – BUT YOU MUST RSVP TO AUSTIN WILLIAMS AUSTINWILLIAMS317@GMAIL.COM NO LATER THAN NOON ON AUGUST 14TH IN ORDER TO EARN THE CE. Students and those who do not need CE do not need to RSVP in order to participate.
"Vivistim Paired Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS) is a FDA-approved, evidence-based treatment to help chronic stroke survivors regain motor function. The treatment involves pairing VNS with intensive outpatient therapy. Patients complete physical/occupational therapy After a brief outpatient surgical procedure. VNS boosts neuroplasticity by increasing neuromodulation allowing patients to rebuild lost neuronal connections through repetitive and task-specific therapy; thereby regaining functional motor control. Come learn more about the neuroscience, evidence, and implementation of Vivistim Paired VNS."

Meeting Details:
📅 Date: Thursday, August 14th, 2025, 7 PM
📍 Location: Rockhurst University – Science Center, Room 115
🅿️ Parking & Campus Map: [See Attached]
💻 Virtual Access: Join Zoom Meeting - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81654406713?pwd=d0CkPDbFTewpAO0c5H0f8Qj4PYB1iw.1
Meeting ID: 816 5440 6713
Passcode: 835343
We strongly encourage local PT and PTA students to attend the meeting in-person if able, and we hope to see a great turnout online from those across the state who aren't able to attend in-person!

Please mark your calendars

07/24/2025

Time is critical—support Missouri’s PT-PAC today! Your donation fuels the advocacy that protects our profession and patients across the state. Physician groups are forming new PACs and funneling tens of thousands of dollars into them—and they wouldn’t be doing that unless they planned to challenge Missouri’s ban on self-referral. Major legislative battles are looming, and without a strong PT-PAC, our voice could be drowned out. Every dollar you give helps safeguard patient access and defends our ability to practice independently. Don’t wait—stand up for physical therapy. Donate today. https://www.mopt.org/donations/donate.asp?id=11788

07/14/2025

Your APTA MO delegates are having a great time advocating for you and your patients at the 2025 APTA House of Delegates. Look for our state update meeting in the coming months! ⭐️

06/19/2025

MEET ED APTA MO DISTRICT CHAIR NOAH WATSON!!!⭐️

Noah Watson is a physical therapist based in St. Louis, Missouri, where he was born and raised. He attended physical therapy school at A.T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona, and graduated with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2023. He currently works as a physical therapist in the Department of Physical Therapy at Washington University School of Medicine.

Before assuming the role of Chair of the Eastern District, Noah held other leadership positions, such as student liaison for the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and the Physical Therapy Political Action Committee (PT-PAC). Additionally, he participated in several House of Delegates sessions as well as numerous federal and state advocacy events. He also served as an Executive Board member at A.T. Still University’s Pro Bono Clinic, where he worked to increase access to and equity in healthcare for members of the community. He currently serves as APTA Missouri’s Eastern District Delegate and is an APTA Leadership Scholar—a 12-month Leadership and Professional Development program designed to foster personal and professional growth within the field of physical therapy.

Outside of his professional career, Noah enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, whether it's going to the park, hitting the gym, or finding the newest coffee shop or restaurant in the St. Louis area.

Noah is excited to begin his tenure as Chair of APTA Missouri’s Eastern District. He has a vision to not only support the careers and needs of PTs/PTAs in the area but also to redefine what physical therapy means. He hopes to enhance the professions visibility for therapists as well as the general public in the Eastern District, both at the state and national levels.

We are glad to have you as part of APTA MO, Noah!!

06/19/2025

We're pleased to share that Aetna has updated its physical therapy policy to provide unrestricted direct access to physical therapist services in response to ongoing advocacy efforts by APTA. Effective June 17, Aetna will no longer require a referral or signed plan of care for physical therapy.

The change in policy is the result of sustained and strategic effort from APTA staff and the engagement of members spanning almost a decade and marks a significant victory for patients and for the profession.

The previous policy indicated "Aetna considers physical therapy (PT) medically necessary when this care is prescribed by a chiropractor, DO, MD, nurse practitioner, podiatrist or other health care professional qualified to prescribe physical therapy according to State law. . ."

06/13/2025

You can submit until July 20th!