The physical therapy profession lost leader, educator and physical therapist Kathleen A. Cegles, D.Ed., who died Sept. 1 in Miami.

Cegles

Cegles was instrumental in starting physical therapy services in what is now known as the Community Aid, Relief, Education and Support Clinic (CARES) at MUSC, a student-initiated and managed non-profit organization providing free medical care and rehabilitative services to underserved, uninsured population in the local Charleston area.

Memorial donations are being accepted and will be designated to support Physical and Occupational Therapy at the CARES Clinic in memory of Cegles.

To make your donation online, visit: http://tinyurl.com/9tlfrfl. Click on the designation drop-down box that reads "Physical Therapy Support Fund."

Donations may also be mailed to the MUSC Foundation, 18 Bee St., MSC 450, Charleston, SC 29425. In the memo line, designate your gift to: Kathleen Cegles/PT-OT CARES Clinic.

The MUSC Foundation also accepts credit card donations by calling 792-7910.

To volunteer at the CARES Clinic, which is open from 6:30 to 9 p.m., Monday, Tuesday and Thursday at 1145 Six Mile Road, Mount Pleasant, call 876-7097.

To make a gift memorial directly to the CARES Clinic general fund, visit http://www.thecaresclinic.org/.

The following are reflections from MUSC staff who served with her.

"Kathy was a kind and generous person. She was my best supporter of CARES from the College of Health Professions, having accepted my invitation to bring physical therapy (PT) students on board. I had helped students at the University of Kentucky prior to coming to MUSC with a student-run clinic and at the University of Kentucky, PT's were also involved. At the very first meeting with the College of Health Professions faculty, she said yes. She had had a similar 'free clinic' with PT students in the past and felt it was a wonderful learning experience. It was a year later that others came on board such as physician assistants, followed by pharmacy.
I'll always be grateful for her support of CARES. She loved the students and the patients. She came in those early days by herself and worked hard to get other faculty involved. After she left MUSC, it was a couple of years later before other faculty became involved."
—Wanda C. Gonsalves, M.D., Associate Dean for Resident Inclusion and Diversity Education, Associate Professor, Department of Family Medicine

"I first met Kathy Cegles as an adjunct faculty member when she was the division director of the MUSC Doctor of Physical Therapy program. She was always welcoming and made an effort to make me feel a part of the faculty.
She was a strong advocate for CARES and her enthusiasm for CARES was infectious. Because of Kathy, I began to volunteer as a PT clinician monthly at CARES and am now one of the faculty advisors for the downtown PT, occupational therapy CARES clinic. Kathy's early support of CARES set the foundation for a truly interprofessional clinic and excellent learning environment for physical therapy and occupational therapy students."
—Gretchen A. Seif, PT, DPT, Assistant Professor and Assistant Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education, Division of Physical Therapy