Acute Care Physical Therapy Residency Program 

Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network is committed to the training of the next generation of physical therapy clinicians, researchers, and scholars.  Training of the Residents in a 13-month hybrid residency model capitalizes on highly trained clinicians, faculty, and staff.  

Residents will be educated and mentored in Acute Care Physical Therapy, scholarly activity, and participate in the classroom/lab instruction of entry-level DPT students at The University of Hartford.  The program is heavily focused on experiential learning and mentoring and supplemented with didactic education.  Mentoring is provided by highly experienced, passionate acute care colleagues within the hospital and classroom settings.  

Program Mission

The mission of the Hartford Healthcare Rehabilitation Network Acute Care Physical Therapy Residency program is to provide clinical and academic opportunities necessary to develop advanced practitioners in the field of acute care physical therapy.  To prepare clinicians to contribute to the profession and to improve the health and healing of the communities we serve through advanced and evidence-enhanced clinical practice, professional development, teaching, life-long learning, scholarship, and community involvement. 

Program Goals

• Support the mission, vision, values, and goals of Hartford Healthcare and the University of Hartford. 
• Advance the profession of physical therapy, specifically the practice of acute care physical therapy, by facilitating the development of clinicians promoting a commitment to lifelong learning, teaching, and scholarship. 
• Recruit and retain motivated physical therapists who possess a commitment to advancing their acute care clinical skills, clinical reasoning skills, and leadership skills. 
• Provide mentorship and instruction in the areas of clinical care, clinical education, and scholarship. 
• Provide didactic and clinical learning environments that integrate evidenced based clinical practice.  
• Improve access for patients to highly qualified acute care physical therapists in the state of Connecticut 

Program Specifics

Curriculum

A typical week for the resident consists of approximately 40-50 hours of dedicated time, of which ~65% will be devoted to clinical practice, ~20% to learning activities (in person + self-study), ~10% to teaching, and ~5% to scholarship.  

Clinical Practice

• ~32-37 clinical hours per week 
• Opportunities to develop advanced clinical skills via mentored and independent clinical practice occur throughout the program at Hartford Hospital. 
• The immensely diverse patient population, in addition to extensive PT staff clinical experience/knowledge, allow for sufficient experience and exposure to a vast variety of body systems and clinical diagnoses.  
• The resident will participate in rotations amongst 6 acute care specialty teams during the program: 

• On each team, residents will treat and be exposed to patients throughout each level of the acute care continuum: floors, step-down, and ICU levels of care.  
• Residents will have the opportunity to observe specialists in acute care including but not limited to: Certified Lymphedema Therapists, Certified Brain Injury Specialists, Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialists, MCS trained therapists, and more.  
• Additionally, residents will have the opportunity to experience multi-disciplinary observations in the acute care setting, including but not limited to: OT, SLP, respiratory therapy, advanced practice providers, physicians and surgeons, social work, prosthetists, and more.  

Learning Activities

• Learning activities will occur both within and across the realms of clinical practice, teaching, and scholarship. 
• Didactic:
  • ~4-8 hours of weekly Didactic Learning via in-person lectures and/or self-study modules via learning management platform (MedBridge).  
• Journal Clubs, Case Reports
• Skills Labs
• Chart Review Assessments
• Observations with multi-disciplinary acute care specialists, surgical observations

Mentorship

• The resident will be provided 3-4 hours per week of dedicated, 1:1 mentoring per week from experienced acute care clinicians  
• In addition, the resident will have mentored teaching through the University of Hartford’s entry level DPT program as an adjunct faculty member.  

Teaching

• Various opportunities to teach at the University of Hartford and Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network will occur.  The resident will develop foundational teaching skills and be provided consistent constructive feedback on overall performance.  
• The residency role will include being an adjunct faculty member/teaching assistant in the University of Hartford entry-level DPT curriculum, presentations to fellow acute care physical therapist’s during team meetings or staff meetings, journal clubs, and within continuing education lectures within Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network.   

Scholarship

• Fundamental skills in basic laboratory and clinical scholarship may be developed at Hartford Hospital, within Hartford Healthcare’s Rehabilitation Network, as well as through classroom and other specialized learning activities.   

Admission Criteria

• Completion of an admission application, which will include:
  • Resume/CV
  • PT School Transcript
  • Essay describing the reasons for applying to the Residency Program
  • Three letters of recommendation + Reference Rating Forms
• Must be a graduate of a CAPTE-accredited professional physical therapy program
• Must hold a valid Connecticut Physical Therapy License to start the program
• Candidates will be invited for an interview with the Program Director, Program Coordinator, and selected leadership of HHCRN
• Applications for the 2027-2028 Cohort will be housed on RF-PTCAS and will likely open in December 2026- more details to come!  

 Apply to our Residency Program

Download Reference Rating Form Document

MEET OUR FIRST RESIDENT – Noah Ackerman, PT, DPT! 

• Hometown:  Northford, CT 

• Education: I received my Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees from the University of Hartford. 

• Clinical Areas of Interest: Cardiopulmonary and emergency department physical therapy  

• Hobbies: Skiing, fishing, and running 

• Why did you choose HHCRN's Acute Care Residency Program? 
  • I chose HHCRN's Acute Care Residency Program to continue developing my skills while gaining experience across the program's various service lines. Having dedicated mentorship time with experienced clinicians as a new graduate is highly beneficial and will help shape me into a well-rounded acute care physical therapist.  
• What aspect of the program are you most excited about? 
  • The aspect of the program that I am most excited about is my cardiac and emergency department rotations. These service lines align closely with my clinical interests and will provide me with opportunities to work with medically complex patients in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment. 

Residency Program Leadership

Emily Artzer, PT, DPT
|irector – Acute Care Residency Program
Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network
Emily.Artzer@hhchealth.org

Chelsea Gemme, PT, DPT
Coordinator – Acute Care Residency Program
Hartford HealthCare Rehabilitation Network
Chelsea.Gemme@hhchealth.org

Program Faculty/Mentors

• Kinsey Dowse, PT, DPT
• Tim Dzialo, PT, DPT
• Sherri Feenstra, PT, CBIS, CSRS, CEEAA
• Kathryn Geiss, PT, DPT
• Allie Grinaski, PT, DPT
• Katie Hancock, PT, DPT, CBIS
• Julie Hirn, PT, DPT, CLT
• Kristen Luthy, PT, DPT
• Joe Mickelson, PT, DPT
• Aarthy Rajadurai, PT, CLT

Several of the HH Acute Care PT/OT/SLPs at the HHCRN 30^th Anniversary Celebrations! 

Noah Ackerman (Acute Care PT Resident) and Riley Houde (Neuro PT resident) as they begin their residency journeys!  

HHCRN’s Acute Care Residency Program is a Developing Program!

We are currently in the process of submitting our ABPTRFE Candidacy application through accreditation track 2.

Questions?

Please email us at: AcutePTResidency@hhchealth.org

We look forward to hearing from you!