Ensuring the Future of Women's Health Research with Planned Gift

Susan Clinton, PT, MHS, OCS, WCS, a previous member of the Board of Directors for the Section on Women's Health (SOWH), now the APTA Academy of Pelvic Health Physical Therapy, made a planned gift to the Foundation to help fund research in women's health. Her gift will be directed to the "Endowment for Research Excellence in Women's Health Physical Therapy." The SOWH generously pledged $100,000 in 2010 to create the fund.

As a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Manual Therapy, Orthopedics and Women's Health, Clinton has been actively treating patients with pelvic floor, urinary, bowel, reproductive, oncology, persistent pain, sports injuries and post-surgical diagnoses. She is the co-owner and founder of Embody Physiotherapy and Wellness and a Master Coach for the Integrative Women's Health Institute. She is also faculty at Andrews University in the Doctor of Science Post Professional Program. Clinton previously served as Secretary of the SOWH Board of Directors, deciding that it was time to "give back" after taking advantage of the Section's many resources such as continuing education and networking.

She supports the SOWH endowment with a planned gift, reasoning that physical therapy is a constantly evolving profession and research is its key, but also for a deeply personal motivation.

"A physical therapist and dear friend of mine, Ann Adams Reeder, PT, MS, passed away, so I tried to think of ways I could honor her life and our friendship. One of the things we had in common was our love for physical therapy. We were educators together at Louisiana State University and were very passionate about our jobs. I thought it would be very meaningful to honor her and the profession with a planned gift. If her death hadn't been so untimely, I believe she might've wanted to do this herself," she explained.