Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – The Valley View School District (VVSD) and St. Bernards have partnered to bring physical therapy and rehab services directly to campus, aiming to cut down on missed class time and cross-town travel for students and staff.
On Jan. 15, the school district posted photos on its Facebook page of the St. Bernards Sports Medicine Satellite Clinic on its campus.
According to Ron Teat, VVSD athletics director, the clinic offers physical therapy to any student, athlete or not, and staff member to enable them to stay on campus and avoid missing days. He said they expect the clinic to have nearly the same amount of equipment as a traditional clinic, making services smoother.
“They don’t have to choose to do it on a prep, or players are able to go do their physical therapy after their surgery or injury. They can do it on campus and not have to miss as much class,” he said.
Carly Swain, the St. Bernards Sports Medicine program manager, said the clinic already had a soft opening on Jan. 12, operating from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The clinic is staffed by one of St. Bernards’ veteran physical therapists, Ashley Spencer, along with an athletic trainer.
Currently, the clinic only deals with orthopedic and sports medicine matters, meaning any neurological issues would have to be addressed at another location. Swain said the reason is that they do not have all of the equipment necessary to perform all the necessary tasks required, but that is expected to arrive before the end of the month.
Swain said the clinic’s concept was inspired by several successful sports medicine programs across the country that placed small satellite clinics within their larger high schools. She said after discussing the idea with St. Bernards’ contracted schools, they decided Valley View would be their first choice.
“They’ve been so accommodating and just willing to provide any needs that we have, and we’re trying to work with them as well, trying to provide a service for them,” she said.
Time is one of the biggest reasons for the clinic’s creation, as Teat explained that it can take a while to get across Jonesboro to get physical therapy done.
“I mean, Jonesboro’s not a huge place, but if you’re trying to get across town somewhere, it still might take you 20 minutes depending on traffic, then you have a 30, 40-minute session, and it takes you 15, 20 minutes to get back. All of a sudden, it’s a two-hour trip just to do your physical therapy,” he said.
Having the clinic on campus, Teat explained, makes a big difference. Now, athletes can complete their physical therapy during practice, class, or even after school if they wish. The benefit also extends to students’ parents.
“Maybe they [the parents] don’t have to leave work to get this done. Convenience is a key in 2026. Everybody likes the convenience of having that option, then you know the care is just going to be as good as if you’re taking that 20-minute drive across town and waiting,” he said.
Having immediate medical access on campus also helps with speeding up the recovery process for athletes. Teat and Swain said this starts with the communication between coaches and the physical therapists, making sure they are able to get the students back in action as soon as they can.
“What can we do to help speed up this process? What can we do to make sure that these student athletes are not skipping their appointments? Because it is tough sometimes when you’re trying to get a parent to get you across town, and they might not be able to make it today. Now, we have the convenience of that,” Teat said.
“Since we’re on location, we are talking to the coaches a lot more and hearing about injuries firsthand, and so we’ve already just this week been able to get a couple of their athletes in with our doctors faster and get them a physical therapy referral quicker than what we would normally,” Swain said.
Adding the clinic could also change how the coaching staff approaches injury prevention during a season. Teat said the new equipment and services will allow them to catch certain issues early on and determine the right plan for the student.
Overall, Teat is excited about what the clinic will bring for the school district’s future.
“It’ll be interesting. There’s going to be some ups and downs, so we got to learn there’s something new, but I do think there are a lot of positives to it,” he said.
Swain said they are hoping to expand the concept to other schools in the area, adding that they would expect to do a full year with Valley View before moving forward.
The grand opening for the clinic is scheduled to be held Feb. 1.