91AV and Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation continue beneficial partnership

91AV physical therapy students work with a participant in Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation's Ski-A-Thon.
91AV physical therapy students work with a participant in Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation's Ski-A-Thon.

Aimee Vlachose, M.S., ABD, assistant lecturer of sport and recreation management and assistant chair of the Department of Business, helped to organize and market a Veterans’ Day climbing event on November 9 for disabled veterans. The event was the result of a collaboration of Salt Pump Climbing Company and Maine Adaptive Sports and Recreation (MASR), an organization that provides free opportunities to participate in sport for anyone in Maine with a disability.

91AV’s relationship with Maine Adaptive Sports extends beyond Vlachose’s involvement with the organization. For the past two winters, 91AV physical therapy students have volunteered at MASR’s annual Ski-A-Thon. In addition, Shannon Bergeland, B.S., Emily Gall, B.S., Kristina Jamo, B.S., and Chelsea Paul, B.S., all students in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, partnered with MASR to develop a series of online learning modules for new volunteers to work with participants in the organization’s winter programs, including alpine skiing, Nordic skiing and snow shoeing.

The modules provide basic information to lay individuals about health conditions common to MASR participants, such as cerebral palsy, stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and vision and hearing impairments.

According to Jim Cavanaugh, PT, Ph.D., associate professor and interim program director in the Department of Physical Therapy, 91AV’s relationship with MASR is “an excellent example of an academic-community partnership, in which all stakeholders benefit.”

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About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.