APTA Academy of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary PT Celebrates its 50^th Anniversary in 2025!

Each Month in 2025, We'll be exploring the history of the Academy. 

Thank you to our Legacy Task Force: Ellen Hillegass (Chair), Meryl Cohen, Anne Mejia-Downs, Nancy Ciesla, Ethel Frese, and John Scherry for sharing these perspectives!

Have something to share with us?  We’d love to hear from you!  Please contact us with photos, stories, and member highlights!

Check out our Historical Slide Show presented at CSM 2025

June Historical Perspective: Cardiovascular and Pulmonary (CVP) Competencies: A Chronology

As we reflect upon the past 50 years of the CVP Academy, we take the opportunity to honor those who were leaders, mentors, and pioneers in our clinical specialty and the APTA with a focus on competencies. Let us reflect on our clinical specialty’s history, and remind ourselves of the many who have contributed, followed, and set the bar for all who will lead us in the future.

In 1973 the APTA wrote a position paper on competency testing in PT.  This was further developed in 1977 when the APTA published “Competency in PT: Analysis of Practice,” also known to many as the “RedBook." Competencies in CVP practice were included in this publication, however, the RedBook was published before the CVP Section existed. Meryl Cohen was invited to review these RedBook competencies at an APTA workshop. The CVP competencies in the RedBook served as a basis for subsequent CVP competency publications.

In 1980, Patrick Arthur, who was in the exercise physiology department at the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse at the time, asked Linda Crane, who was a leader in the CVP PT section, to be on his dissertation committee. Together, Patrick and Linda collaborated over the next 2 years to create the original survey on CVP competencies. Of note, it was important to distinguish between a “description of practice” and “competency.” It was also important to delineate between what constituted entry-level and advanced-level competencies in CVP physical therapy. The survey was administered in 1981 to members of the CVP PT section who were asked to identify competencies that were very, or extremely essential to cardiopulmonary PT practice and were in fact being performed very, or extremely frequently. In the narrative below, we have attempted to document the journey towards competency in CVP practice for entry-level practitioners and advanced practitioners.

Read our June Historical Perspective 

May Historical Perspective: Spotlight on Linda Crane Lecture Award and Past Awardees

Dr. Linda Crane was a dedicated member of the profession of physical therapy from 1970 until she died from breast cancer on March 24, 1999. Dr. Crane’s contributions to the Section and the physical therapy profession are recognized with an award which includes an annual lecture. She was one of the first three APTA board certified clinical specialists and was awarded the Lucy Blair Service Award in 1992. She was a professor at four universities: University of Connecticut, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of New England, and the University of Miami. Dr. Crane’s clinical practice focused on pediatric cardiopulmonary physical therapy, and she played an integral part in developing entry level competencies and specialization in cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy.

The Linda Crane Award is presented to an individual who has made outstanding and enduring contributions to the practice of physical therapy as exemplified by the professional career of Dr. Linda Crane.

Read Our May Historical Perspective 

April Historical Perspective: Spotlight on Past Presidents and Leaders of the Academy

This month we would like to introduce the membership to the former Presidents of the Academy and hear how they got involved and the changes that they have seen. Presidents are the leaders of the Academy, the representative to others (other sections/academies, the APTA, outside groups) and they sometimes have to make some important decisions that affects the membership (along with their executive board). 

Read Our April Historical Perspective

March Historical Perspective: Spotlight on Publications for the Cardiovascular Section/Academy

The focus of this month’s historical perspective is the publications of the CVP Section/Academy. These started with a newsletter and developed into a quarterly journal. We will feature several of the early editors of these publications. Currently, the Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy Journal (CPTJ), is the official publication of the Academy of Cardiovascular & Pulmonary Physical Therapy, published quarterly, with a Special Issue each January. It is indexed in CINAHL and EBSCO, among others, and is on a path toward PubMed indexing.

Read our March Historical Perspective

February Historical Perspective: Spotlight on Specialization and Board Certification in Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy

This month, as we continue celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Academy of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy (CVP PT), we’re focusing on the development of specialization and Board Certification in Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy. We’ll take a journey through its history, highlight key milestones, and celebrate 40 years of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary (CVP) specialization. In this issue, we will spotlight Linda Crane and Meryl Cohen, two of the first Board-Certified Clinical Specialists in Cardiopulmonary Physical Therapy. Scot Irwin, also one of the first Board-Certified Clinical specialists, was the first president of the CVP Section and so was featured in last month’s newsletter.

Read our February Historical Perspective

January Historical Perspective: This is the FIRST of 12 historical perspectives for the year 2025 which is the 50^th anniversary of the founding of the Cardiopulmonary Section (Now the Academy of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy). Each month we will highlight different aspects of our history, and this month we focus on how the Section was started, the key individuals involved in the founding of the Section, and the very first Executive Board.  We will feature key members by asking them 5 questions about their involvement.  We hope you enjoy learning about how the Section got started and the important individuals involved in our history.

Read our January Perspective