New Therapy Programs Get Green Light
The Continuing Board for Higher Education has approved new PTA (physical therapist assistant) and OTA (occupational therapy assistant) degree programs being developed in mid-Missouri through a consortium of five community colleges and the University of Missouri School of Health Professions. Earlier this year, RehabCare pledged $1.3 million toward the creation of these programs. The first OTA graduates are slated for program completion in December 2010, with annual graduation rates close to 50 within the next four years. A PTA program will be added in the next two to three years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predict that by 2014 there will be a shortage of over 100,000 physical, occupational and speech therapists in the U.S.
