The Jackson Clinics Foundation: Celebrating A Decade of Service
If you were to poll a group of Physical Therapists, most of them would say that their main reason for pursuing a career as a PT is to “make a difference.”
After 50 years in clinical practice, Richard Jackson’s mission is just that: to Improve Human Lives. Along with The Jackson Clinics’ co-founder, Anna Jackson, the desire to positively impact an entire generation of clinicians remained at the forefront of their life’s purpose.
And that’s when, in 2011, at the World Congress in Amsterdam their purpose met the perfect opportunity. By chance Richard ran into one of his former students from Kenya where he had worked as a Peace Corps volunteer, 35 years prior.
This was the start of a series of meetings that would set in motion the journey of a lifetime for Richard and Anna. It was the beginning of a program that would go on to change the lives of hundreds of Kenyan clinicians, while enriching and developing our own Physical Therapists in Northern Virginia.[/vc_column_text]
Getting Started
The goal of the program would be to elevate Kenyan therapists (called Physiotherapists) by providing them a path to earning a Bachelor of Science (BSc), by upgrading their previous education to the level of a Bachelor’s. Subsequent meetings revealed little interest by Kenyan Universities in such a project.
That’s when the idea of creating a post-graduate Orthopedic Manual Therapy (OMT) program emerged. It would provide a Higher Diploma to effectively upgrade the physiotherapists’ clinical skills, while they worked to create an official path to a Bachelor of Science upgrade.
The program was launched in 2012, by partnering with the Kenya Medical Training College (KMTC), who would facilitate the program and grant the Higher Diploma to graduates. It was set up as an 18-month post-graduate program consisting of 6 two-week modules taught every three months.
Richard and Anna knew that the success of the program depended on sending the highest quality educators from the best Universities in the country to teach in Kenya, and therapists from the Jackson Clinics to assist them. So, during 2013, they sent 16 educators including Doctors of Physical Therapy from The Jackson Clinics to work with Kenyan students and provide modern physiotherapy education and mentorship to them.
More Than Just A Project
By 2014, the program was in full swing. Another 16 instructors were sent to teach what was now three full cohorts of Kenyan students. Later that year, our very first Kenyan cohort finished the program and graduated with their Higher Diploma in Orthopedic Manual Therapy! In addition, Richard and Anna launched a Neuro-Rehabilitation, (NRT), Higher National Diploma program to serve the needs of neurologically involved patients and pediatric patients. Again, the best teachers that could be recruited from around the country were sent to teach in Nairobi.
As 2016 rolled around, the OMT program had grown enough to warrant the hiring of their first paid Kenyan staff! The goal was to provide mentorship to students throughout the country, not just in and around Nairobi. At the same time graduates of the program began to teach about 30% of the course content.
This was a critical step in providing the program with self-sufficiency and sustainability, while providing alumni with teaching opportunities post-graduation. That year also marked the start of the program’s 6th Cohort. That year Richard and Anna sent another 22 instructors to mentor and teach their Kenyan counterparts.
As the program graduates put their new skills to work in hospitals and clinics across Kenya, clinicians started to take notice of the impact the program was having on their clinical reasoning and patient outcomes. That brought more physios into the programs.
Between 2017 and 2018, several studies done that looked at the outcomes of the OMT program. The very positive results were published in 9 peer-reviewed articles, 2 book chapters and 2 poster presentations at international physical therapy conferences.
Looking Ahead
In 2018 the Jacksons hosted the first OMT Graduate Symposium, bringing together over 60 program graduates to discuss ways to continue driving the field of Physical Therapy forward in Kenya, as well as across the continent. The goal was to organize as a political body for the advancement of OMT. Here is a slide from that presentation.
One of the critical issues discussed was the need for elevating Women’s Health and Pelvic Floor treatment protocols and training. As a result, in 2019 the Jacksons launched the first educational module focused on this desperately-needed field of study. The class included over 30 female students, as well as several instructors.
This, however, was just the beginning. Stay tuned to learn more about how we tackled Covid-19, and the strides our program has made since then!
The program wouldn’t be possible without the gracious generosity of our supporters. If you’d like to learn more, check out this 6-minute video highlighting our work in Kenya! To learn more, or contribute to our mission, click the link below and get in touch with us today.
