History

Theodore M. Cole, MD (photo) is the second to serve two terms as president of ACRM--1993 and 1998. Evidence of the changing focus on relevant rehabilitation research is reflected in articles published in the Rehabilitation Outlook and in the content of the annual educational conference. ACRM celebrates its 75th Anniversary during the annual meeting held in Seattle November 8-10, 1998. The anniversary committee, chaired by Robert H. Meier III, MD, coordinated a number of events and activities in celebration of this momentous occasion. While celebrating the rich traditions of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, there has been a renewed commitment to the vision and future of ACRM.

Continuing the evolution, the Board of Governors conducted an extensive study of the field of medical rehabilitation associations and professionals to determine the need and focus for ACRM in the future. Based on the findings and the coincidental release of the Institute of Medicine Report, Enabling America, the Board of Governors committed to a focus devoted exclusively to relevant rehabilitation research for those who generate, utilize, or fund rehabilitation research. In her presidential address, Karen Hart, PhD (photo), presented the rationale, process, and implementation plans for the new focus on this unfulfilled niche within the rehabilitation community.

The Board of Governors began articulating a new vision for ACRM. It was developed in response to the changing dynamics within the healthcare environment and changing demographics within the membership of ACRM. Board members acknowledged that a new paradigm for ACRM needed to evolve if the association was to flourish in the future.

Continuing with the transition of the organizational structure, a total of six members-at-large were seated on the Board of Governors. Thomas P. Dixon, PhD (photo), who was the last individual to be elected as Fifth Vice President, ascended to the Presidency. Under Tom Dixon's direction, the corporate membership program began to expand substantially.

The first independent annual meeting of ACRM was held in Denver, CO. This was the first meeting held independently from the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation since 1938. Over 625 registrants participated in the meeting.

Over 980 ACRM members attended the combined meeting of the Congress and American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in San Francisco. Further enhancements to the organizational structure were proposed but defeated by the present members.

At the annual meeting in Washington, DC, organizational politics focused on the changes resulting from the decision to separate from shared offices and management. Revisions to the constitution and bylaws were debated during the annual business meeting. Substantive changes included a restructuring of the board of directors to eliminate the succession through multiple offices to the presidency. An executive committee was established and provisions requiring submission of an annual budget were included.

Dorothy Gordon, DNSc (photo), presided over a year of significant change for the Congress. The American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine separated operationally from the shared offices and management of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. ACRM was visibly involved in support for the Americans with Disabilities Act, which was signed into law on July 26, 1990

The first Distinguished Member Award was presented to Mary Romano, MSW (posthumously). The first Edward W. Lowman (photo) Award was presented to Wilbert Fordyce, PhD.

The annual meeting held in Orlando, FL, was presided over by Dorothea Glass, MD, whose presidential address, "Accessibility and the American Congress of Rehab Medicine," reflected the conference theme.

Rehabilitation professionals with bachelor's degrees were admitted into membership. ACRM's membership grew from 2,902 members in 1986 to 3,360 members in 1989.

The first Elizabeth and Sidney Licht (photos) Award for Excellence in Scientific Writing was presented to Carl Granger, Gary Albrecht, and Byron Hamilton for their article "Outcomes of Comprehensive Medical Rehabilitation: Measurement by PULSES Profile and the Barthel Index."

The first official meeting of the ACRM Head Injury Task Force, chaired by Sheldon Berrol, MD (photo-right, Tom Anderson, MD-left), took place at the annual meeting. Now known as the Brain Injury ISIG, this group has been very influential in the development of standards and guidelines in the brain injury rehabilitation field over the past twenty years.

The article "Independent Living: From Social Movement to Analytic Paradigm" by Gerben DeJong, PhD, was printed in the October issue of the Archives. This landmark article was reprinted sixteen times and translated into seven languages.

The annual conference in New Orleans, LA, boasted over 350 presenters, in a variety of formats ranging from panel discussions and didactic lectures to papers and posters. Key topics addressed were Sexuality and Disability, the Independent Living movement, and Measurement and Evaluation models.

The first nonphysician ACRM President, June Rothberg, PhD RN (photo), took office. In her presidential address entitled "...And It Came to Pass," she focused on the evolution of ACRM from unidimensional to multiprofessional in scope and interest.

The first prize in the scientific exhibit competition was awarded to the Sexuality and Disability exhibit presented by Sandra and Ted Cole. (Sir Ludwig Guttmann, the world's preeminent expert on spinal cord injury and medical director of Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, attended that meeting and praised the exhibit as a first in the field.) This exhibit led to the establishment of the Sexuality and Disability Task Force. The task force changed its name to the Sexuality Interdisciplinary Interest Group which in turn led to the creation of ACRM's first Special Interest Group. This was the genesis of today's Interdisciplinary "SIGs," the I-SIGs.

ACRM's Social and Environmental Aspects of Rehabilitation (SEAR) Committee was formed to work in collaboration with the Legislative Committee in making legislative recommendations and in developing model architectural barrier legislation. During the Carter administration, under the direction of Chair Nancy Crewe, PhD, SEAR was asked to examine some of the issues involved in independent living and to prepare a position paper that could be used in testimony. SEAR's involvement in the independent living movement led to the 1978 Amendments of the Rehabilitation Acts of 1973.

ACRM formed the Ad Hoc Committee on Rehabilitation of Children to address the unique needs of this population. The committee was active for over a decade and included the work of physicians such as Dennis Mathews, Michael Alexander, Gabriella Molnar, Bruce Gans, and other noted pediatric physiatrists. One of the most notable achievements of this committee's efforts was the allotment of more time in ACRM meetings to pediatric programs (photo).

A major exhibition tracing the development of physical medicine in the United States in the past 200 years opened at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, under sponsorship of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Entitled Triumph Over Disability, the exhibit was planned as part of the observance of the 50th anniversary of the founding of ACRM.

The PDC published the landmark report Development of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine into a Multidisciplinary Professional Society. As noted in the introduction of the report, "his report reviews the methodology by which reorganization [of the association] was accomplished and records the progress made in restructuring membership, program, publications, and governance." ACRM President Herman J. Flax, MD (photo), was the Project Director and John W. Goldschmidt, MD, and Edward Lowman, MD, were the principal investigators.

Another constitutional amendment opened the membership to rehabilitation professionals with earned master's degrees. ACRM's membership grew from 1,572 members in 1970 to approximately 1,940 members in 1973.

The first Interdisciplinary Forum was held, supported by a training grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare Rehabilitation Services Administration. It was attended by 142 physicians and 196 nonphysicians. Some of the topics included "Stroke," "Intellectual-Perceptual Deficits and Implications for Team Management," and "Operating Conditioning."

A group of forward-looking physicians in the Congress recognized the need for a forum in which members of various rehabilitation disciplines could share their professional, scientific, and technical talents. An amendment to the Congress constitution extended membership privileges to persons "holding an earned doctoral degree and active in and contributing to the advancement of the field of rehabilitation medicine." This allowed membership to be extended to psychologists, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, social workers, vocational counselors, and others. Membership grew from 1,195 members in 1965 to 1,458 members in 1967. The name was officially changed once again, to the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine.

A thorough study of the Congress and its functions was begun with the formation of the Professional Development Committee (PDC) under the chairmanship of John W. Goldschmidt, MD (photo). Some impressive accomplishments of the PDC include a study of the objectives, constitution, and structure of the Congress, sponsorship of interdisciplinary forums, and a broadening of the membership. The PDC contributed significantly to the management and direction of ACRM for thirty years.

Walter J. Zeiter, MD (photo), concluded the fourth Coulter Lecture by stating, "Our history has been crowded with individuals, ideas, and actions that have fostered our growth. We have a proud past, and I have every confidence that we will have an illustrious future."

Increasing recognition of the relationship between physical medicine and the rapidly growing field of rehabilitation resulted in a change in name to the American Congress of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The official name of the journal changed to its present name, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation the following year.

The first John Stanley Coulter Memorial Lecture was presented by Kristian G. Hansson, MD, and it highlighted the many contributions of John S. Coulter, MD (photo), the third association president.

During the annual meeting the membership voted to collaborate with the British Association of Physical Medicine in the formation of an International Federation of Physical Medicine.

The 24th Annual Meeting was canceled at the request of the National War Committee on Conventions. This was the first and only time since the Congress was founded that an annual meeting was not held.
The name of the journal became the Archives of Physical Medicine. The term physical medicine represented a change of emphasis from the purely clinical to the scientific and diagnostic basis of the medical use of physical agents. It also served to clarify the distinction between physicians and technicians of physical therapy, a stance the American Medical Association (AMA) had recently adopted.

The Congress again changed names, to the American Congress of Physical Medicine.

A specialty society was founded called the Society of Physical Therapy Physicians, which became the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in 1956. The society was restricted to physicians who devoted themselves exclusively to the practice of physical therapy. The Archives was designated as its official journal.

The journal name was shortened to Archives of Physical Therapy due to the decreased emphasis on X ray and radium.

In another change reflecting the times, the American Congress of Physical Therapy assimilated the American Physical Therapy Association, whose membership was comprised solely of physicians. Albert F. Tyler, MD, was elected as president of the newly configured association.

The first Gold Key Awards were given to a total of seven people, including William L. Clark, F. Howard Humphris, and Albert F. Tyler

The journal, which began publication in 1920, changed its name to the Archives of Physical Therapy, X-ray, Radium and was declared the official journal of the American Congress of Physical Therapy. In 1930, Albert F. Tyler, MD, presented the Archives to the Congress as a debt-free, unencumbered gift.

The trend toward specialization in medicine resulted in a separation of radiology from physical therapy and a change in name to the American Congress of Physical Therapy. The 1925 Annual Meeting of the Congress was promoted in the Journal of Radiology

The Congress was founded as the American College of Radiology and Physiotherapy, a professional association of physicians who used physical agents to diagnose and treat illness and disability. The first elected president of the organization was Samuel B. Childs, MD.

Content for this poster was obtained from historical records, conference proceedings, and other documents of ACRM. This is in no way intended to reflect the comprehensive history, and therefore, it is highly likely that many significant events are not included. It is intended as an encapsulated sampling of those events and markers along the way that reflect the evolution of ACRM.