LSU Health Shreveport’s School of Health Professionals and Sciences is launching a first-of-its-kind Doctor of Physical Therapy program in Lafayette this spring. Department of Physical Therapy Chairman Dr. Daniel Flowers says it will expand access to physical therapy education in Southwest Louisiana.
“What this additional permission from our accreditor allows us to do, is to have another 24 students per year in Lafayette,” Flowers explained.
Dr. Flowers says by setting up shop in Lafayette, LSU Health Shreveport is helping fill a void in the state.
“We’ve got LSU Health in Shreveport. LSU Health New Orleans has a program in New Orleans. Fran U has a program down in Baton Rouge. ULM is up in Northeast Louisiana. But there’s nothing in the heel of the boot, so to speak,” Flowers said.
Flowers says interviews for admission into the program are starting very soon.
“We will do interviews down in Lafayette and up here in Shreveport within the next two weeks. And our students begin in May and graduate three Mays later,” Flowers said.
The program utilized a hybrid model that combines online coursework with hands-on clinical education through partnerships with Ochsner Lafayette General and other healthcare providers.
