The weekend of August 13th and 14th, during ceremonies at the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) House of Delegates, our very own Kent Culley was recognized for his extensive body of work for PA Physical Therapy Association (PPTA), American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) in Pennsylvania and the APTA nationally. Kent has made significant contributions to the profession. He was humbled for the acknowledgement and appreciation of his impact that his career has made. Included are just a few highlights of his accomplishments below:
- He successfully argued and secured a landmark decision with national implications, paving the way for physical therapists to be classified as exempt employees, thus separating the profession from nonexempt technical employees.
- He represented APTA Pennsylvania in the seminal Pennsylvania Supreme Court case that resulted in protection of the term “physical therapy,” preventing the term from consideration as generic in Pennsylvania, and setting this precedent for multiple other jurisdictions.
- He was instrumental in developing the language that permitted direct access to physical therapist services in Pennsylvania.
- He consulted in the successful litigation against the Pennsylvania Labor Bureau’s attempt to devalue the physical therapist evaluation that led to the October 2021 9-0 court decision in favor of APTA Pennsylvania, which restored evaluation reimbursement retroactive to 2017.
These are just the highlights. If you are interested in reading the entire recommendation APTA PA sponsored to the APTA Board of Directors, you can read more here.
Congratulations, Kent and thank you for all that you have done in the past and continue to do for Physical Therapists and Physical Therapist Assistants.