YSU Physical Therapy professors speak at seminars in China

Two faculty members in the Department of Physical Therapy at Youngstown State University were invited speakers at two regional hospital seminars in China earlier this year and also set the foundation for what could turn into an international clinical partnership.

Nancy Landgraff, professor and chair, and Weiqing Ge, associate professor, presented at seminars in Handan Central Hospital in Handan City and at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xian Jaiotong University in Xi’an.

They also toured the SinoRehab, a medical services company that specializes in orthopedic and sports rehabilitation in Beijing. The tour, Langraff said, was the start of a process to establish an international clinical contract for Physical Therapy students at YSU. 

The seminar in Handan City included more than 200 attendees from eight county hospitals. During the seminar, the Handan Central Hospital and the surrounding counties formed the Handan Alliance of Rehabilitation Medicine and bestowed the title of honorary president on Landgraff and Ge. On the second day in Handan City, Landgraff and Ge spent an afternoon treating patients in the rehabilitation hospital and teaching the rehabilitation staff.

In Xi’an, the faculty members visited the Deng Jingyuan Center for Community Rehabilitation and Volunteering Services in Yanta Distric, observing the clinic structure, patient treatments and discussing care with therapists. Landgraff and Ge also were bestowed the title of Visiting Professor to the Jiaotong University for three years. 

The trip was sponsored by the Chinese hospitals as part of an effort by the YSU Physical Therapy department to develop an international presence and influence the care of patients around the world through teaching and mentoring.