Comprehensive Clinic Addresses the Issues of Mobility in Seniors

Palmetto Health and the University of South Carolina (USC) Arnold School of Physical Therapy have recently established a comprehensive clinic in downtown Columbia to study and treat mobility issues in South Carolina’s aging population. The Palmetto Health-USC Physical Mobility and Research Clinic is set to open soon at Carolina Medical Plaza on the Palmetto Health Richland campus.

The clinic’s team is being organized by Palmetto Health physical therapist Jonathan Donley, PhD, a faculty member at the USC School of Medicine. His team consists of Palmetto Health and USC experts in physical therapy, geriatric medicine, nursing, exercise science and social work.

“Our plan is to tailor programs for patients based on research,” says Donley. “The clinic will provide a forum to assess and apply the latest research techniques. The clinic will focus on three areas with the greatest impact on senior mobility: falls—the leading cause of injury deaths for older adults; stroke—the third leading cause of death in South Carolina; and persistent back pain—a leading cause of activity-limitation for adults of all age groups.”

The SeniorSMART Mobility Clinic is being funded by a $930,000 grant from the Duke Endowment and a gift from Columbia businessman Don Tomlin, whose donation helped purchase three state of the art physical therapy machines that will be used for research and testing.