The Department is housed in the four-story, 160,000 square foot Health and Human Sciences
building (HHSB), which features state-of-the-art technology and labs and classrooms
designed specifically for health-related teaching and learning. The building also
has an atrium and rooftop garden where students can gather and enjoy beautiful mountain
views.
A grant of almost $300,000 from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust allowed the
physical therapy department to establish the human movement laboratory. The lab is
utilized to educate students, conduct research, and provide diagnostic clinical services
in movement analysis to individuals in the surrounding region.
The simulation labs offer students hands-on and interdisciplinary experience using
equipment common to inpatient clinical practice and enables students to master assessment
techniques necessary for diagnosis and treatment. The simulation labs also serves
as “mediated classrooms” providing the capacity for the use of a variety of technology-assisted
instructional and learning strategies by instructors and students.
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students have access to an expansive cadaver anatomy
lab in the building. DPT students also have an opportunity to teach PTA students
utilizing the lab.
Eleven instructional classrooms and seminar rooms throughout the building facilitate
interactive instructional environments. A large, 100-seat lecture hall in the HHSB
has video conferencing capacity which allows WCU to engage with speakers around the
world.
The Balance and Fall Prevention Clinic at Western Carolina University provides team-based
evaluation, treatment, and consultation services for individuals who have fallen or
are at risk for falling. The team, representing physical therapy and audiology, provide
integrated care to help identify risk factors and other contributing factors associated
with balance disorders.
The Mountain Area Pro Bono Physical Therapy Clinic (MAPPT) provides high quality, effective, pro bono physical therapy services to the under-served
and under-insured population of western North Carolina. The mission of MAPPT is to
improve quality of life, health, and function of clients while serving the community
and fostering student education.
