About Us

Updated August 2008

Mission

The Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program at Norwalk Community College exists to fill an increasing need in southwest Fairfield County for highly qualified, entry-level PTAs. By providing a solid foundational and program curriculum, the program endeavors to be a leader and partner in the surrounding community, which is in keeping with the mission of the institution. Graduates of the program are compassionate, culturally competent, life-long learners who communicate appropriately with patients/clients, caregivers and other healthcare providers to provide safe, ethical, efficient and effective interventions with competent education methods to the populations that they serve.

Program Goals

To provide quality instruction that prepares highly qualified entry level PTAs who:

• demonstrate the ability to deliver safe, appropriate and effective interventions to populations they serve
• demonstrate the ability to deliver appropriate communication, and to educate populations they interact with and serve
• effect continuous improvement of the profession by actively pursuing career development activities
• utilize human, fiscal and systems resources appropriately to provide efficient, ethical physical therapy services
• demonstrate professionalism, accountability, integrity and cultural competence in all of the duties associated with being a PTA
• display compassion, caring, altruism and social responsibility, not only as a PTA, but as citizens of both southwest Fairfield County and the larger community
• For a printable version of our mission, goals, objectives and expected program outcomes, please click here.

Faculty

Jennifer W. Bresnick, PT, DPT, MPT

Program Director

Doctor of Physical Therapy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD

Masters in Physical Therapy, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD

Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, NY

Associate of Science in Allied Health, Howard Community College, Columbia, MD

State of Connecticut Accreditation Notice:

The State of Connecticut Department of Higher Education's Board of Governors for Higher Education approved licensure of a Physical Therapist Assistant program leading to the Associate of Science degree. This approval was granted on April 22, 2008 and is valid through March 2011. Documentation of this approval is available in the office of the president of Norwalk Community College.

*Accreditation Notice:

Norwalk Community College has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone: (703) 706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). Candidacy is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation.