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Jan. 30, 2004
CONTACT:
Gordon Ovenshine (724) 738-4854; e-mail: gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu
SRU TO OPEN
‘CENTER ON DISABILITY AND HEALTH,’ FUNDED BY $161,000
FEDERAL GRANT
SLIPPERY
ROCK, Pa. – Building on its national reputation for adapted
physical activity, Slippery Rock University will use a $161,000
federal grant to open the “Center on Disability and
Health.” The resource center will help people with
disabilities develop healthy lifestyles through education and daily
workouts.
“A
hot topic today is obesity, and people with disabilities are even
more vulnerable, leadingto secondary conditions such
as diabetes and heart disease,” Dr. Robert Arnhold, professor
of exercise and rehabilitative science and center coordinator,
says. “If we get people healthy and active now, we’ll
reduce a lot of secondary health conditions, and we’ll save
on healthcare costs in the long run.”
The
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provided the grant
working with U.S. Rep.Phil English, of Erie. The
on-campus outreach center will open later this year, complementing
SRU’s plans for an equestrian center for special populations
and several existing programs.
The
Center on Disability and Health targets those with disabilities and
their families. It willprovide parent and teacher
training, printed materials, professional contacts and exercise
programs six days a week.
Arnhold
says he intends to open the center in a campus building. Community
participantswill use the swimming pool, weight room
and indoor track, among other facilities.
The
center will employ a full-time faculty member, work-study students
and secretary, Arnhold says.
“Providing
services to people with disabilities has been a professional and
personal interestif mine for years,” says Dr.
Jane Fulton, dean of the College of Health, Environment and
Science.“This federal support enables us to open a
resource center that will benefit students and residents.I
firmly believe Slippery Rock University is becoming a hub for this
important education.”
SRU
offers many programs aimed at improving the lives of people with
disabilities:
•First university in
Pennsylvania to launch a minor in adapted physical activity.
Students learn to develop workout regiments for children and adults
with disabilities.
•One of few universities
offering equine facilitated therapy, which teaches students how
to
incorporate horses in
workouts for people with disabilities.
•Launched plans for a
20-acre equestrian center on campus.
•Exercise and rehabilitative
science students and faculty are studying wheelchair propulsion
to
devise safe and
healthy workouts for those in wheelchairs.
##PN, PgN
Post-Gazette
Health Editor
Trib Health
Editor
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