APTA Remembers Former Board of Directors Member Stephen M. Levine

On the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) website, the association announced the passing of Stephen M. Levine, PT, DPT, MSHA, FAPTA, a former APTA Board of Directors member and a respected voice in the industry.

The site states Levine was at the center of many key developments in physical therapy practice and payment during the past 30 years. It says he was also considered a leader in efforts geared toward elevating the standards of physical therapist and physical therapist assistant practice. Levine was also a frequent advisor to the Medicare program, and one of the nation’s experts on the Resource Based Value Scale (RBRVS), ultimately providing congressional testimony regarding the RBRVS.

According to the site, Levine’s involvement with APTA goes back to 1985, and features 11 years of service to the APTA Board of Directors, where he began as vice speaker of the House of Delegates before moving on to speaker. His time on the board paved the way to his involvement in a variety of the association’s high-priority projects and initiatives, including the Guide to Physical Therapist Practice and the alternative payment task force, which he chaired. The site says Levine was honored with a Lucy Blair Service award in 2011 and was named a Catherine Worthingham Fellow in 2014.

Levine was also executive vice president of compliance and consulting services for OptimisCorp and a founding partner of the Fearon & Levine consulting firm. In these positions, the site notes that Levine focused on practice management and payment policy in the outpatient rehabilitation setting. Levine received his degree in physical therapy from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, a master’s degree in health administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, and his DPT degree from A.T. Still University of the Health Sciences.

The site reports that in a recent statement, Paul A. Rockar Jr, PT, DPT, MS, APTA president, emphasizes that Levine was “so much to so many: a tireless champion of the profession, a friend, a gentleman, and a passionate leader.”

The site also notes that APTA has created a tribute page to allow visitors to share their thoughts and memories of Levine.

Source: APTA