The Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts
Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic
Who We Are
Where We Are
Our History
How to Volunteer
Other Ways to Help
How to Refer
Our Staff
Contact Us
Clinic Hours and Dates
FAQs
Who We Are
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The Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts is a Catholic religious order that provides
medical service to the poor as well as other charitable services.
The volunteers of the physical therapy clinic consist of local physical therapists
licensed in the District of Columbia, students from local physical therapy programs
(such as George Washington University), medical students from Georgetown
University and physicians and other medical professionals primarily through the
Spanish Catholic Community Center of Catholic Charities.
Learn more about the great work that the Little Workers do here and around the world
at www.medicalmissionaries.org
Where We Are
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The physical therapy clinic is based out of a convent, which is home to the Little
Workers, and is on the corner of 15th Street and Otis Street in Northeast DC. It is
about a 10-15 minute walk up Otis Street from the CUA/Brookland Metro (exit
Brookland side of Metro). It can also be accessed by Metrobus H6 from the
Brookland Metro stop toward Fort Lincoln/Brookland. Get off at 14th and Otis
Streets and walk East 1 block to 15th street.
Our History
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A doctor/Sister who treats at a free medical clinic through the Spanish Catholic
Community Center discovered a desperate need for physical therapy services for
her uninsured patients. The patients were mostly Spanish-speaking and were
having difficulty keeping their jobs and paying for medical care because they
suffered from chronic injuries that severely limited their functional abilities. She
would perform their surgeries and follow-up care, but they had no way of
accessing the physical therapy services that would surely help them return to a
more functional and better quality lifestyle. In 2006, this doctor/Sister (Sr. Deirdre
Byrne) formed a relationship with a new PT (Katie Drummond) and a rudimentary
pro bono PT clinic was in the making. Several other dedicated PTs (Alexa
Stevens, Yvonne Francis, Vanette Lagera and Gloria Rogers) and PT students
from GWU (Lauren Wohl, Liz Makoid and Cat Denny) were pivotal in turning a
one-room structure attached to a convent into a functional physical therapy clinic
equipped for evaluating and treating a growing waitlist of patients. The clinic
opened its doors on September 22, 2007, and has been treating patients 1-2 days
per week ever since… as long as there are PTs available to treat them.
How to Volunteer
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If you are ready to volunteer or would like to receive a tour of our facility,
please contact one our clinical coordinators, Sr. Anitta Mathew, or Sarah
Melissa Asbrey.
If you would like to receive more information, or would like to talk to a PT
who treats at the clinic regularly, please contact Alexa Stevens, MSPT.
If you are interested in performing foot screenings at one of our Diabetes
Eye/Foot clinics, which are typically on the 3rd Saturday of the month, you
please contact Katie Drummond, PT, DPT.
Other Ways to Help
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Donate equipment: Getting rid of equipment/supplies?
Consider donating them to help serve our patients who have
nothing. See our wish list for suggested items.
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Donate time: Do you own a clinic or have access to a gym
for your patients? Are you an aquatic therapist with access to a
pool? Consider donating time at your discretion to open your
facilities to the uninsured population.
Our Staff
• Medical Director:
– Sister Deirdre Byrne, MD
• PT Clinical Directors:
– Alexa Stevens, MSPT
– Stephanie Coleman, MSPT
– Katie Drummond, PT, DPT
• PT Education Liason:
– Gloria Rogers, PT, MMS
• Chief of Opthalmology Clinic:
– Dr. Dan Finkelstein
• Chief Nurse:
– Sister Anitta Mathew
• Clinical Coordinators:
– Sister Anitta Mathew
– Sarah Melissa Asbrey
Contact Us
• lwsacredheartclinic@gmail.com
• 3620 15th Street, NE, Washington DC
20017
• (202) 526-0130
Clinic Hours and Dates
• Clinic hours are generally 10am-1pm on
Saturdays by appointment only. All
patients are given an appointment time of
10am and are treated on a first-come firstserved basis.
• Based on volunteer availability, we are
open on some Friday afternoons as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Does the clinic offer insurance to its volunteers? What kind of liability would I assume treating patients pro bono?
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How many patients will I be scheduled to see?
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Area physicians who treat in free clinics (such as Community of Hope and the Spanish Catholic Community Center) are asked to email their request for a referral
to lwsacredheartclinic@gmail.com with “referral request” in the subject line. A pre-fabricated screening form from our clinic can be used. If this is not available,
the email should include at least the following information: name and contact information of the patient, name a contact information of the professional making the
referral, primary impairment/diagnosis, precautions/contraindications, patient’s primary language. Our clinical coordinator will respond to the request and provide
the physician with available dates on which the patient can be seen.
What resources, equipment and modalities are available to the patients?
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The PTs typically arrive a few minutes before 10am. We try to schedule at least 2 PTs every Saturday. Every patient has a 10am appointment time and is
treated on a first-come first-served basis. When the treatments and evals are finished around 1pm, the Sisters provide lunch and refreshments for the volunteers
to thank them for their time and service.
How are referrals made?
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Most likely, yes. Our clinic has developed a strong partnership with the DPT program at George Washington University. Through this partnership we have many
dedicated PT students of varied levels of experience who volunteer at our clinic on a rotating schedule. A PT usually has 1-2 students who join them during
therapy evaluations and treatment sessions, but a PT will never be asked to directly supervise more than 3 students at a time, as the DC law delineates.
What is a typical day in the clinic like?
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Due to the wide variety of backgrounds and experience levels of our PT volunteers, we typically schedule evaluations for 1 hour and follow-up visits for 30
minutes –however many of each will fill in a 3-hour time slot. Any PT who would like to treat more or less than this needs simply to let our clinical coordinator
know when signing up to volunteer, sot that the appropriate number of patients can be scheduled . As much advanced notice as possible is necessary in order
to accommodate this.
Will I be supervising students?
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As healthcare volunteers, we are all covered to some degree under the Federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. The law provides all volunteers (including
clinician volunteers) of nonprofit organizations and government entities with protection from liability for certain harms caused by his/her acts or omissions while
serving as a volunteer. As with practically all such state laws, volunteers who qualify for the VPAs protection are shielded from harm caused by simple
negligence so long as it is within the scope of the volunteer’s duties. As with most states laws attempting to reduce volunteer liability, the law does not prevent
people from bringing law suits nor does it provide for defense cost reimbursement to volunteers, While our clinic does not pay for additional professional liability
insurance for its volunteers, it is recommended that all volunteer physical therapists carry their own individual plans, which can be found at a reasonable rate
through HPSO (www.hpso.com).
We currently have a mat table, two plinths, a therapy ball, several foam rollers and TENS units, free weights, a treadmill, an UE bike, an ultrasound/estim combo
unit, cold packs, dry heat, a VHI cd rom exercise program that translates into several languages, parrafin, some theraband, and a liimited number of arch
supports, ankle supports and lumbar supports. Our wish list is always evolving, so please check it out on our website.
What is a typical patient like?
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We primarily serve the local “working poor” population referred from free medical clinics in our area.. These patients often have chronic musculoskeletal
conditions requiring physical therapy in order to return to a functional lifestyle.. Due to our referral base, many of our patients speak Spanish as their first
language, however translators are available to assist the therapists with communicating across language barriers.
Frequently Asked Questions
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I do not want to treat on a Saturday, but have time to treat on another day of the week. How do I volunteer?
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Simply contact one of our clinical coordinators to discuss your availability and whether or not patients can be scheduled on that day and time of
day.
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Do I have to be licensed in Washington DC?
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What is the Diabetes Eye/Foot Clinic?
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We understand that giving up a Saturday morning is not an easy task; however even volunteering for just one 3-hour day does a great service to
the poor in our community who would otherwise never be treated. We have several PTs who come back after their first day to treat on many
other Saturdays and even regularly 1-2 days per month. Any time you can offer is extremely valuable to us.
I hear the clinic is in a convent. What does that mean?
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We encourage and our patients benefit from having PTs from a variety of backgrounds/settings and levels of experience. The larger our network
of PTs, the more we can use our resources when clinical cases warrant their expertise. New grads are welcome! If your lack of experience in
an outpatient setting makes you hesitant to volunteer, we have experienced PTs at our clinic with whom we can schedule your first day until you
become comfortable to treat on your own.
What kind of commitment must I give?
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On your first day, we ask that you bring a copy of your current Washington DC PT license. You will be scheduled with a PT who has treated at
the clinic before and can provide you with a brief orientation before treating patients. Our clinical volunteers will pull the charts and help you with
anything you need (scheduling follow-ups, translating, finding equipment/supplies etc.) . If you would like to tour our clinic prior to your fiirst day,
simply set up a time to stop by with one of our clinical coordinators or one of our PT Clinical Directors.
I have no experience in an outpatient PT setting. Is that okay?
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On typically the 3rd Saturday of the month, from 10am-1pm, the clinic runs a Diabetes Eye/Foot Clinic. At this clinic, physical therapists, physical therapy
students, an ophthalmologist, medical students, nurses and Spanish translators team up together to provide free eye and foot screenings on patients
previously diagnosed with Diabetes referred from the Spanish Catholic Community Center. The purpose of this service is to help educate and screen
individuals who may present with complications affecting their eyes and feet that are associated with their Diabetes diagnosis, such as peripheral neuropathy.
What will my first day be like?
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Yes.
Our clinic is run out of part of the building where the Little Workers of the Sacred Hearts call their home. The room used for the clinic has been
used for several other purposes in the past, including a children’s preschool classroom.
Can I provide pro bono PT services to these patients in my own clinic?
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There are often occasions when a PT is unable to volunteer at our clinic but owns their own outpatient clinic or works at a clinic that iswilling to
extend clinic hours or accept additional patients on a pro bono basis. There are also several occasions when we evaluate a patient at our clinic
and discover that he/she would benefit better from the equipment, location , frequency, expertise, etc. that another clinic may provide. Due to
the generosity of these PTs, we have been able to refer and thus provide better service to these patients. If you are interested in providing
services to our patients in your own clinic, let our clinical coordinator know. When we find a patient that would be a good fit for your facility, we
can evaluate the patient and send the evaluation along with the referral to your office, where you can continue to treat the patient on a pro bono
basis.
Our Wish List
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PT volunteers!
Theraband of all resistances/colors
Hydrocollator with accessories
Heel wedges & arch supports in size large
Laminated spine picture
standing mirror
rocking board
cones
Airex mat
Graduated steps
Stretch out strap
Braces – such as back braces and some knee and ankle that will fit
larger adults, SI Loc braces
• Mobilization belt
Updated: 3/19/10
Diabetes Eye/Foot Clinic
• On typically the 3rd Saturday of the month, from 10am-1pm, the clinic runs
a Diabetes Eye/Foot Clinic. At this clinic, physical therapists, physical
therapy students, an ophthalmologist, medical students, nurses and
Spanish translators all team up together to provide free eye and foot
screenings on patients previously diagnosed with Diabetes referred from
the Spanish Catholic Community Center.
• The purpose of this service is to help educate and provide treatment for
individuals who may present with complications affecting their eyes and
feet that are associated with their Diabetes diagnosis, such as peripheral
neuropathy.