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October is Physical Therapy Month. The 2026 theme: "PT for Future Me."

Ask someone what physical therapists do in acute care, and one of the first answers may be: “They help people walk.”

They do, but there is much more behind that walk.

Physical therapists help patients regain the ability to do the things that matter most to them after illness, injury, or surgery. They identify what limits a patient’s function, determine what can improve, and help develop a plan for what comes next.

Sometimes that means helping someone learn to walk again. Other times, it means preventing further decline, preparing someone for surgery, determining whether someone can safely return home, or providing education and training to help someone live with a progressive disease.

Different patients. Different diagnoses. One common denominator: FUNCTION.

By the Numbers — and Departments

Physical Therapy (PT) at UVA Health University Medical Center has grown substantially in the past three decades, tripling in size. Today, Adult PT includes more than 60 physical therapists working across acute care, multidisciplinary clinics, and outpatient surgery. On an average day, the acute care team manages approximately 300 patients while addressing more than 100 new consults.

PT treats patients throughout the hospital — from the Emergency Department and ICUs to Heart and Vascular, Medicine, Neurology, Oncology, Orthopedics, and Stem Cell Transplant, and Surgery — and, most recently, Obstetrics and Gynecology. Physical therapists also work in specialty clinics and support patients in the perioperative setting at UVA Health Orthopedic Center Ivy Road.

Team members hold specialty certifications across cardiovascular, neurological, orthopedic, and women’s health, along with expertise in areas such as lymphedema management, traumatic brain injury, and vestibular rehabilitation.

Challenging What Is Possible

Some of PT’s most meaningful work happens when therapists and their interdisciplinary partners challenge traditional approaches to care.

UVA Health University Medical Center Cardiac Rehabilitation, developed by Deanna McIntire, PT, MSH, and Marc Burkard, DPT, CCS, helps prepare patients for major cardiovascular surgery. Their work has been presented at the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and has generated interest from other institutions looking to develop similar programs.

In another example, patients requiring an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) — a device used to support the heart — historically remained on bed rest. In 2023, an interdisciplinary UVA Health University Medical Center team of nurses, physicians, physical therapists, and others collaborated to develop a safe plan to get these patients up and walking.

That same willingness to rethink where PT can make a difference has led to a dedicated Emergency Department presence since 2019, expanded services for Oncology and Stem Cell Transplant patients before, during, and after hospitalization — and most recently — care for patients experiencing functional challenges during pregnancy and after delivery.

Beyond Patient Care

PT expertise also contributes to quality and safety across UVA Health University Medical Center:

• Falls Prevention: Brett Mitchell, DPT, partners with the interdisciplinary Falls Coalition to improve patient safety and fall prevention across University Hospital.
• Spinal Cord Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury Patient Progression: Autumn Vallow, PTA, collaborates with a multi-disciplinary team to help identify and address barriers that can delay progression for patients with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries, improving patient care and hospital throughput, and helping the hospital to comply with Joint Commission standards.
• Quality Improvement: Leslie Wood, DPT, CSCS, and Kohl Kershisnik, DPT, partnered with Radiology on a project to reduce staff injuries that received the Charles L. Brown Award for Patient Care Quality.

When Function Means Getting Home

Sometimes the impact of PT is best understood through one patient.

After a significant neurological insult left one patient with major functional challenges, his goal was simple: return home to family overseas.

Making that possible required extensive coordination and problem-solving across an interdisciplinary care team. Aubrey Courville, DPT, NCS, worked alongside other providers to address the functional barriers standing between the patient and his goal. Ultimately, he made the journey home and reunited with his family.

His story is a reminder that function is about much more than how far someone can walk — function is about returning to the people, places, and lives that matter.

Moving Forward

The department’s next chapter is about growing strategically, continuously improving how we work, helping our partners better understand PT scope of practice, and identifying opportunities to collaborate in ways that create meaningful value for our patients and health system.

It’s not about asking, “Where can we add more PT?” Rather, “Where can PT make the greatest difference for our patients?”

So yes, physical therapists help people walk. But what we're really helping people do is move forward.

This article primarily highlights Adult Physical Therapy, led by Lara Demers, DPT, BCHE, Director; Poolatsya Maliwad, MsPT, MBA, Manager; and Heidi Cleaver, DPT, Assistant Manager. At UVA Health University Medical Center in Charlottesville. PT services also include Pediatric Acute Care Therapy Services, led by Mike Dembik, DPT; Pediatric Outpatient Therapy Services, Battle Building, led by Jessica Blake, DPT, MBA; and Outpatient Therapy Services, led by James M. Collins, DPT.