Neuro-Clinic
The 91ÖÆƬ³§ Neuro Pro Bono Clinic provides physical therapy for individuals with neurologic disorders who have exhausted their therapy benefits but who continue to demonstrate potential for change. Participants are assigned to work with two second year Doctor of Physical Therapy students. The students complete a comprehensive neurologic evaluation and provide 6-12 weeks of bi-weekly therapy sessions. The duration of therapy is dependent on the participant’s therapy needs. All therapy sessions are supervised by the director of the clinic who is a full-time faculty member and a Board Certified Neurologic Clinical Specialist and two teaching assistants who are also licensed physical therapists with experience in neurologic rehabilitation.
Hear from our students on the experience of serving patients in the pro bono neuro clinic:
Service to our community: The 91ÖÆƬ³§ Neuro Pro Bono Clinic provides physical therapy for individuals with neurologic disorders who have exhausted their therapy benefits but who continue to demonstrate potential for change.
Integrated Clinical Experience: The clinic provides second year DPT student two semesters of hands-on experience working with individuals with neurologic disorders. The clinic is designed to facilitate student growth as a clinician and as a professional.
The clinic offers students the opportunity to develop skills consistent with the core values of a physical therapist: accountability, altruism, collaboration, compassion, duty, excellence, inclusion and social responsibility.
PT, DPT
Board Certified Neurologic Clinical Specialist and Full-Time Lecturer
Dr. Kristin DeMars is a physical therapist and the Director of the 91ÖÆƬ³§ Pro Bono Neurologic Physical Therapy Clinic. She has 20 years of clinical experience in practicing physical therapy. Her expertise includes neurologic physical therapy and vestibular rehabilitation; specializing in assessment and treatment of individuals with neurologic disorders including PD, MS, CVA, TBI and individuals with balance and vestibular disorders. In addition to clinical practice, Dr. DeMars is a full-time lecturer in the 91ÖÆƬ³§ Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy. Her teaching responsibilities include: neuroanatomy, motor control and learning, examination and intervention for individuals with neurological disorders, postural control and vestibular rehabilitation and neurological clinical decision making. Additionally, she is responsible for supervising the 91ÖÆƬ³§ Pro Bono Neurologic Physical Therapy Clinic.
Dr. DeMars has been a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) since 1991 and is a member of two APTA specialty sections: neurology and education. She has been involved in the development of a pre-conference course (ABCs of Vestibular Rehabilitation) for the 2014 APTA Combined Sections Meeting. Dr. DeMars is a member of the Movement Disorders Society and the National Parkinson Foundation.
Teaching assistants: two licensed physical therapists with experience in neurologic rehabilitation.
Jodi Nakawatase
Jodi Nakawatase, PT, DPT, NCS
Dr. Nakawatase completed her Neurologic Residency at Casa Colina Hospital in 2020 and became a Board Certified Neurologic Clinical Specialist in 2021. She is a proponent of evidence-based practice and is dedicated to providing skilled, compassionate, and individualized care to patients/clients in all settings. Her practice areas include: acute care, acute rehab, and outpatient neuro. She currently practices in the acute care and acute rehab settings at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center where she specializes in neurologic rehab for patients post stroke and brain injury. She currently acts as a Lab Instructor for the Examination and Interventions courses in the Neurologic curriculum. She also assists with the operation and management of the 91ÖÆƬ³§ Pro Bono Neurologic Physical Therapy clinic and supports student development and clinical decision-making as a Teaching Assistant.
The clinic is part of a 2 semester course (DPT 782, 783) during the 2nd year of the 3 year DPT Program.
The clinic is designed to provide students with an Integrated Clinical Experience (ICE): a course that provides clinical practice opportunities for physical therapy students while offering cost-effective healthcare to the community (APTA/ACAPT).
Participants have the opportunity to utilize state-of-the-art equipment including a force plate system for balance training, body-weight support systems, parallel bars, FES Systems and a NuStep recumbent stepper.
