Health Professions

1940 Appeal to Washington University to Establish a Program in Physical Therapy

In October 1940 the Committee on Physical Therapy of the National Research Council in Washington, D.C. appealed to medical institutions to help prepare for the possible national emergency by offering training programs in physical therapy. Though Dr. Frank Ewerhardt had made efforts as early as 1930 to begin a baccalaureate program in Physical Therapy at Washington University, no formal program had been established. The request from the Committee on Physical Therapy resulted in a certificate program being established under the auspices of Barnes Hospital in 1942.

This letter from J.S. Coulter, M.D. to Dr. Frank Ewerhardt includes Dr. Ewerhardt’s notes indicating that letters were sent to Philip A. Shaffer, dean of the Washington University School of Medicine, and Frank R. Bradley, superintendent of Barnes Hospital.

Letter from J.S. Coulter to Frank Ewerhardt, 1940