![]() Abdicating these essential roles-and allowing our profession to be designated as nonessential and our urgently needed interventions to be viewed as “optional” in a time of crisis-may disproportionately harm the most vulnerable patients and send a troubling message to payers and the general public about our value as physical therapists. ![]() For many patients, participation in physical therapist interventions reduces risk of hospitalization and allows them to remain at home instead of requiring nursing home–level care-both essential public health goals during a viral pandemic that is currently overwhelming hospital and nursing home capacity. Substantial evidence supports home- and community-based physical therapists as essential health care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 8 Availability of physical therapy services in the community-even for urgent concerns-is also lower during the COVID-19 pandemic, as opinions about whether home- and community-based physical therapy should remain open are decidedly mixed both within and external to our profession. 7 Poor rehabilitation continuity is so ubiquitous that the American Association for Retired Persons (AARP) recommends family members specifically ask about availability of physical therapy and occupational therapy services within long-term care facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Media reports suggest, however, that some long-term care, assisted living, and other congregate community facilities across the country have defined rehabilitation services as universally nonessential, 6 despite guidance from the American Health Care Association to consider the necessity of each visit on a case-by-case basis. 3 The American Physical Therapy Association and state boards of physical therapy also support provision of home and community-based physical therapy care to patients who could be harmed by delayed or cancelled therapy sessions. Physical therapists are considered essential workers under state and federal guidelines guidelines and rationale for delivery and utilization of acute care physical therapy have already been published. 1, 2 Widespread mitigation strategies to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are now underway in the United States, with strict social distancing recommendations in place nationally, and with most states implementing even stricter stay-at-home orders that limit work-related travel outside the home to only those performing “essential” jobs. ![]() The novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes coronoavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), is a particularly contagious and virulent pathogen. ![]()
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