The inaugural “Run for H.O.P.E. 5K Run/Walk/Roll” on April 18 benefits the Health Outreach Program of Elon, a clinic operated by Elon’s Department of Physical Therapy Education to provide pro bono treatment to those who lack insurance or whose coverage has been exhausted.
Graduate students in Elon University’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program will host a 5K race this spring to raise additional money for a campus pro bono clinic that helps community members with their physical therapy needs.
The “Run for H.O.P.E. 5K Run/Walk/Roll” starts at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 18, at the Gerald L. Francis Center on East Haggard Avenue. Runners travel through the Danieley residential neighborhood before making a loop around parts of campus that include Moseley Center, Belk Library, the Koury Athletic Center and the Global Neighborhood.
Registration is $20 if postmarked by April 15. Day-of registration is $25. The race is open to runners of all ages. For more information and for online registration, visit www.elon.edu/dpt and click on the “Hope Clinic” link in the left menu bar.
“We provide a really unique service to the areas and we want to promote wellness and wellbeing,” said Jessica Nowak G’15, a DPT candidate and one of the race organizers. “This 5K not only helps our patients to get active, but it also helps our community members, who might not need physical therapy, to stay active.”
Harris Teeter is sponsoring post-race snacks and water, and representatives from of Hanger Clinic: Orthotic & Prosthetic Solutions will also be available.
The Health Outreach Program of Elon offers physical therapy services free of charge to those who are uninsured or underinsured in Alamance County and surrounding areas.
Managed by the university’s Doctor of Physical Therapy students, it has run on a weekly basis since November 2013 and was the first student-run pro bono clinic in North Carolina. Elon DPT students treat individuals with various musculoskeletal and neurological impairments under the supervision of volunteer licensed clinicians from the faculty and from the community.
The clinic saved the community more than $50,000 in medical costs and helped over 50 patients during its first year of operation. More than two dozen licensed physical therapists and in excess of 100 Elon DPT students have volunteered at the clinic since then.
The clinic is a chance for Elon DPTE students to improve their clinical skills outside of their scheduled clinical rotations, an outlet for licensed physical therapists to mentor students and provide pro bono service, as well as an opportunity to provide high quality free health care to residents of the local community.
Common treatments include:
- Low back pain
- Neck pain
- Shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand pain
- Hip, knee, ankle and foot pain
- Arthritis
- Tendonitis
- Sports-related injuries
- Muscle, tendon, and ligament strains and sprains
- Post-surgical rehabilitation
- Neurological health conditions
- Pediatric musculoskeletal and neurological condition