Minnesota joined 37 other states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico in licensing physical therapist assistants (PTAs) when Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently signed into law a major healthcare bill.
Physical therapists are now able to delegate patient treatment procedures to qualified licensed physical therapist assistants as a result of language from the state's House and Senate legislation, filed by Rep. Kim Norton and Sen. Patricia Torres Ray. This language is included in the omnibus Senate File 26.
"Our members have worked alongside lawmakers and other groups to demonstrate the need for this legislation, and that hard work has paid off," says Minnesota Chapter President Joan Purrington, PT, MA. "Minnesota physical therapy patients will benefit from this much-needed measure."
Licensure for physical therapist assistants guarantees the highest degree of public protection and ensures that PTAs will have the necessary education and training.
"The American Physical Therapy Association( APTA) congratulates our Minnesota members for seeing this legislation through to fruition," says APTA President R Scott Ward, PT, PhD. "Physical therapist assistants are vital contributors of physical therapy services, and physical therapist assistant licensure provides needed recognition and regulation of their efforts."
Source: APTA
