Being “Free From Falls” is something that most of us take for granted on a daily basis; however, for some people, particularly those who have diseases that make it difficult to walk or stay balanced, learning how to avoid a fall is critical. In 2014, the GW’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) Doctorate of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program and the National Capital Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society teamed up to offer a program called “Free From Falls” that teaches people with MS how to minimize the risk of falling.
The program, which is held on GW’s Foggy Bottom campus, is a national initiative designed by the MS Society to offer people with MS an eight-week curriculum that meets for two hours per week consisting of one hour of Fall Awareness classroom instruction and one hour of Building Better Balance exercises. The “Free From Falls” program also serves as an additional opportunity for students to work with people with MS and practice the skills they have learned in class. “It was a really great experience to work with the participants directly and get their perspective of the day-to-day challenges they have to deal with — seeing it in real life was helpful,” said Samantha Shook, a second-year student in the DPT program. Since students were paired up one-on-one with participants, the Building Better Balance exercises could be tailored to each individual’s needs and abilities.
“Free From Falls” is not only a great opportunity for the students, but the program at GW is also supported by a robust team of six faculty members who have taken the curriculum and goals and added a research component. The team is working to collect data from pre- and post-test outcome measures to determine the effects of the “Free From Falls”program with aims to publish in an academic journal later in 2015.
“Upon the initial meeting with the National Capital Chapter of the MS Society, we knew that this was a perfect opportunity for collaboration,” said Sue Leach, Ph.D., PT, assistant professor of physical therapy and health care sciences at SMHS, and one of the leads of the partnership. “With the MS Society providing the ‘Free From Falls’ program and the connections to potential participants, and with the DPT program providing the space and faculty and student resources, this was an ideal situation to work with people with MS to prevent falls.”
Steve Nissen, M.S., CRC, senior director for Employment and Community Programs at the National Capital Chapter of the National MS Society, agrees with Leach and noted that “the partnership was mutually beneficial for everybody.” Nissen hopes that the students who participated in the program will consider working with people with MS later in their careers.
“It was a great experience; everyone felt fortunate to be a part of the program. It was great to hear from the participants that they were seeing progress as they worked through the eight weeks,” said Shook. “There is nothing more beneficial for students than getting hands-on experience and the ability to practice our skills.”
