Innovative VA aquatherapy partnership helps Veterans heal

“I had three surgeries on my right knee, and all the muscles and the scarring in there made it hard to walk up the stairs,” Powell continues. “Now, I’m getting along where I can walk up the stairs with absolutely no problems."

Powell’s therapy recommendation came as he performed strengthening exercises in a swimming pool under the guidance of a VA physical therapy clinician, part of a new aquatic therapy partnership between the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center and the Black River Coliseum Aquatic and Fitness Center.

“This program will streamline and expedite Veterans getting aquatic therapy,” says VA Supervisory Physical Therapist, Dr. Scott Arnold.

Prior to the new agreement, Veterans needing aquatic therapy services could only get them through VA’s Care in the Community program, but because those services had to be requested through outside providers, Arnold says, and that took longer.

“The new arrangement offers an alternative,” he says.

Now, Veteran patients at the VA medical center who are referred to the physical therapy clinic for aquatic therapy services will be seen by VA clinicians during appointments at the coliseum’s indoor pool.

“To team up with VA is huge, and to bring everyone together and show we can do that is going to be a huge step,” says Taylor Thompson, manager of the Black River Coliseum’s Aquatics and Fitness Center.

Giving Veterans a “place to go for therapy and to work on their wellbeing is very important, not just for us, but also for the people that need it,” adds Thompson.
The benefits of aquatic therapy for patients, says VA Physical Therapy Assistant Zuleika Goans, are many.

“I think aquatic therapy is a positive place for these patients to be able to come get in the water and take all the weight off their joints and bones and just have a better way of rehabilitating their bodies,” Goans says.

Though the program is new, Goans notes, she’s already seen good results.

“So far, people have loved it,” she says. “They like the pool water, and it’s been a good, positive experience.”

Aquatic therapy sessions initially will be offered on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays at the coliseum, Arnold says, and currently, he has enough staff to provide approximately 10 aquatic sessions per week.

As the program grows, Arnold adds, his staff will work to procure more equipment to increase the aquatic therapy services offered.

He’s also cautiously optimistic about potential expansion into VA’s whole health program.

“Depending on the success of the aquatic physical therapy, there is potential … for us to integrate recreation activities into our Whole Health program,” Arnold says.