Donna Bowers, PT, PCS, MPH, Clinical Assistant Professor

Ms. Donna Bowers completed her professional education at Northeastern University, earning a BS in Physical Therapy with Honors in May 1984. She has extensive clinical expertise in pediatrics and has practiced in a variety of settings which include outpatient rehabilitation including development of an aquatics program for children with disabilities and their families; inpatient rehabilitation including supervising PT services for the Special Care nursery; Early Intervention Programs (children aged birth to three) with both home-based and center-based components; and School Systems (children aged 3 to 21) including direct and consultative PT services.

The breadth and depth of Ms. Bower's clinical experience has been recognized by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties, which awarded her certification as a Pediatric Specialist in 1995. Donna has served on the Specialization Academy of Content Experts from 1996 to 1999 as an item writer for the Pediatrics specialty examination. In 2002 she was appointed to the Pediatrics Specialty Council to oversee the continued development of the pediatric specialist certification examination. She was a contributing author on both New Jersey and Connecticut state documents outlining Physical Therapy Services in Educational Environments.

Ms. Bower received her Master of Public Health degree from Southern Connecticut State University in May 2002. The concentration within the MPH program was Community Health with emphasis on program planning, implementation, and evaluation. She was certified as a Community Health Education Specialist by the National Commission on Health Education Credentialing inc. in May 2001. She utilizes her community health skills in her work at the Sacred Heart / St. Charles Health and Wellness Center in Bridgeport. Ms. Bower's current research interest is in the influence of educational programs on exercise adherence in children with asthma. She presented her master's thesis “Exercise Habits of Middle School Children with and without Asthma” at the Tri-State Physical Therapy Conference in November 2001. Other research interests include exercise and adaptive fitness for children with disabilities.

Ms. Bower joined the faculty of Sacred Heart University in September 1997. She has primary responsibility for teaching Neurological Evaluation and Treatment and Introduction to Patient Examination, as well as infusing the pediatric content throughout the problem-based curriculum. Ms. Bower also teaches Adaptive Physical Activities for Children with Disabilities to undergraduate exercise science majors. She continues with clinical practice in various consultative and direct treatment roles.

Contact: Cambridge Building, 1-P-16 Ph: 203-396-8030 Fax: 203-365-4723 Email:  bowersd@sacredheart.edu

Mailing Address: Sacred Heart University College of Health Professions 5151 Park Ave. Fairfield, CT 06825-1000

Curriculum Vitae