Committee Information

Quick Links

Find a Physical Therapist

Calendar of CEUs

Continuing Education Course Approval

Why Physical Therapy

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

Upcoming Opportunities

Our quarterly committee meeting is planned for Tuesday, April 1^st at 12pm CST on Zoom.

https://creighton.zoom.us/j/92425786083

Our next lunch and learn webinar is planned for Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 12pm CST. Consider joining academic and clinical physical therapists and physical therapy assistants across Nebraska to increase your knowledge of PT in a primary care setting and learn how we can continue to advocate for all patients. Amber Herrington, PT, DPT, NCS earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and is a board-certified clinical specialist in neurologic physical therapy. Amber currently has her own mobile practice and serves as an adjunct instructor for the Southeast Community College Physical Therapist Assistant Program as well as the University of Nebraska Medical Center Physical Therapy Program including teaching in the area of practice management. She will be discussing the role of physical therapy in primary care and how we can continue to advocate for the ability to practice at the top of our scope of practice to meet the needs of our patients in our communities, including rural practice. Zoom Link: https://creighton.zoom.us/j/95065440215

Webinar Recordings

In January, we hosted a lunch and learn for our members to increase knowledge of physical therapy access and care in rural Nebraska. Jed Hansen, PhD, APRN, FNP-C, the Executive Director of Nebraska Rural Health Association, presented interesting facts about the history of Nebraska, statistics related to physical therapy in a rural health setting and ideas for effective care models and workforce development.

In February, the Center for People in Lincoln shared with us how they work to address basic needs, education, career development and barriers to healthcare to better lives in the community. The lunch and learn was presented by Macala Carter, Executive Director, Katie Bruggeman, Director of Education, and Michaela Weverka, Director of Funding.

We have had a great turnout of clinicians, students, and faculty though we understand not everyone was able to attend live. With the speakers’ agreement, we are making the lunch and learn webinar recordings available for viewing. The links will remain active through April 30^th. As a reminder, no CEUs are available for these webinars. These webinars belong to the APTA Nebraska, and should not be downloaded, disseminated, reproduced, or altered for use without permission.

Rural Health Recording

Passcode: P4*ReHwt

Center for People Recording

Passcode: 87H9zV$x

Committee Work

Please reach out with any questions or ideas for the committee as we seek to influence positive change in the association, profession, healthcare system, and communities we serve.

Rossie Heckman and Sonya Irons

APTA NE DEI Committee

This committee’s primary purpose is to Influence positive change in our association, profession, healthcare system, and communities that we serve in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Committee members have the opportunity to:

Provide input on ways to make APTA Nebraska a more inclusive organization
Provide input on and research potential speakers and programming in the areas of DEI
Organize and distribute DEI resources to the general membership (i.e. scientific articles, glossaries, websites)
Assist with recruitment events to foster greater representation in the field
Share and learn ways physical therapists can improve DEI in clinical, educational and research settings.

If you are interested in joining this committee, contact Sara BIlls at [email protected].

Our Workgroups


INCLUSIVE PRACTICE	HEALTH EQUITY	DIVERSE WORKFORCE
A workgroup providing education and resources that foster inclusive environments	A workgroup focused on measuring and addressing health disparities in our state	A workgroup committed to increasing the diversity of the healthcare workforce
Our Goals Offer a minimum of 4 interactive sessions for members to explore ways PT/PTAs can foster an inclusive environment Offer an average of 2 self education resources per month.	Our Goals Will share information related to health disparities in Nebraska and effective strategies to mitigate them. Will share and promote policies that improve health equity.	Our Goals Utilize the APTA PT Moves Me Ambassador program to enhance recruitment efforts across the state. Increase member access to recruitment materials, including Nebraska-specific information.