JOHNSON CITY — Dr. Patricia King received the Lucy Blair Service Award from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). The award was presented June 13 at the NEXT 2019 Conference and Exposition held in Chicago.

King serves as chair of the Department of Physical Therapy in East Tennessee State University’s College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists and has been a board certified orthopaedic clinical specialist.

King’s APTA service includes positions on the board of directors of three chapters of the APTA-Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas. She is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association. She also served on the board of the APTA’s Academy of Women’s Health Physical Therapy as the Founding Editor for the Journal of Women’s Health Physical Therapy and served more than 20 years on APTA’s Manipulation Work Group co-editing the Manipulation Education Manual, which is used as a standard for instruction in orthopaedic manual physical therapy in physical therapy schools across the United States.

In 2005, she was recognized by the APTA’s Academy of Orthopedic Physical Therapy with the James Gould Award for Excellence in Teaching Orthopaedic Physical Therapy.

King is an ETSU alumna, earning her bachelor’s degree in public health. She went on to complete a bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in medical anthropology from University of Memphis and a PhD in medical anthropology with a concentration in women’s studies from the University of Florida.

The Lucy Blair Service Award was established in 1969 to honor the contributions of Lucy Blair, who served at the APTA national headquarters from 1950 to 1969 as poliomyelitis consultant, chief of professional services, associate director and executive director. The award named in her honor acknowledges physical therapist members of APTA whose contributions to the association reflect dedication, devotion and outstanding service to the physical therapy profession.

To learn more about APTA, visit www.apta.org. To learn more about the ETSU’s Department of Physical Therapy, visit www.etsu.edu/crhs/physther.