The Mission of the Strategic Growth Committee is to grow the Therapist Category by number, responsibilities, provisions of care, geographical locations and Agencies served, to increase the promotion and protection of community health. 

Chair: CDR Alice Hopper aahopper@bop.gov

Deputy: CAPT Joe Otto josef.Otto@cms.hhs.gov

Subcommittees under this committee include:

• Outreach and Development Subcommittee
• Recruitment Subcommittee
• Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Subcommittee

Outreach and Development Subcommittee

Chair: LCDR William Church (wchurch@bop.gov) The primary
responsibilities of the Outreach and Development Subcommittee are:

• Maintain contact lists identifying non-traditional and clinical positions in the
  Department of Health and Human Services that may be occupied by
  Therapists to facilitate category growth. Monthly updates to this list will be
  provided to the Committee chair.
•  Share any known multidisciplinary billet vacancies in HHS and non-HHS
  Departments that employ PHS Officers.
• Provide broad range of discipline specific equipment necessities, insight
  for clinic priorities, and space utilization for development of new or
  renovated clinical settings.
• Provide information and guidance for development of clinical and outreach
  programs (i.e. telehealth, primary care, urgent care)
• Research and disseminate current and resourceful national information
  pertaining to the disciplines of the Therapist Category.
• Standards Lead:
  ▪ Monitors discipline standards and recommends changes for the
  category as professional requirements evolve.

Recruitment Subcommittee

Chair: LT Joshua Caulder (jCaulder@bop.gov) The primary responsibilities of the
Recruitment Subcommittee are:

• Communicate with the Chair of the Strategic Growth Committee regarding
  any significant changes with availability of positions and various policies
  that could affect the category recruiting.
• Work with agency liaisons discipline representatives, to maintain
  communication with national groups that affect the recruitment of potential
  therapists for the Therapist Category. 

Ready Reserve Lead: LT Courtney Jones (mailto:courtney.v.jones8.mil@mail.mil) The Ready Reserve Lead serves as the point of contact for Ready Reserve Recruitment within the Therapist Category

The Applicant List Lead:LT Courtney Jones (mailto:courtney.v.jones8.mil@mail.mil)

• Tracks known applicants and communicates with the Chief
  Professional Officer via the Strategic Growth Committee Chair.
• Monitors the OBC graduation list for new therapist officers being
  called to active duty and updates the applicant list accordingly.
• Forwards the updated applicant list to the Strategic Growth
  Committee and Recruitment Subcommittee Chairs and to other
  Committee members prior to committee meetings.
• Maintains a list of current therapist applicant mentors. Applicant
  mentors will provide support and answer questions regarding the 
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  Commissioned Corps, and share current vacancy lists with
  applicants.
• Ensures that every applicant is contacted by a mentor with the
  opportunity to participate in the applicant assistance program, with
  the applicant/mentor relationship remaining in effect until the
  applicant is called to active duty.
• Maintains an updated applicant list utilizing feedback from the
  mentors. This may include input such as applicant’s specialty,
  geographic and agency preference, and application and
  commissioning status. The mentor may assist coordinating contact
  between applicants and hiring managers to learn more about
  potential duty stations. 

Vacancy List Lead: LT Shantel Blume (Shantel.Blume@ihs.gov) Responsible for contacting the PHS agencies and regions regarding current availability of therapist positions throught the Corps. This information is updated at least bimonthly and published on the TPAC All Partners Access Network (https://community.apan.org/wg/tpac/.)

Academic Lead(s): LT Joseph Douglass and LT Sarah Lyrata (slyrata@bop.gov) Responsible for oversight of the Therapist Category University Points of Contact (UPOC) program

• The Academic Lead(s):
  • Oversees the University Points of Contact (UPOC) program.
    ▪ Strives to increase awareness of the TPAC and career
    opportunities to any accredited program in the disciplines of
    audiology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, respiratory, or
    speech language pathology through (1) University website links, (2)
    Career expos, (3) Roundtable and panel discussions, and (4) Other
    college and USPHS activities to educate faculty and students
    regarding public health, therapy and professional practices as it
    relates to public health and the USPHS, for future USPHS
    assignments and maintain a working relationship within each
    university.
    ▪ Works to increase accessibility of the UPOC to occupational
    therapy, physical therapy, respiratory, speech, and audiology
    students and faculty through (1) UPOC contact information posted
    on the TPAC website, (2) Conference calls with interested students
    and faculty, (3) Guidance to students in regard to career path
    options, (4) Preceptorship, (5) Attendance at university activities,
    (6) Provision of speakers to aid the universities professional
    activities, (7) Presentation of USPHS student honor awards, and (8)
    Availability to serve university’s professional advisory committees.
    ▪ Is tasked with establishing a relationship between the UPOC
    initiative and the Commissioned Corps Headquarters (CCHQ)
    including (1) Junior and Senior COSTEP program, (2)
    Commissioning of students upon graduation, and (3) Availability of
    student internship and residency programs.

Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Subcommittee

Chair: LCDR Kayla Dewitt kayla.m@okcic.com  The primary responsibilities of the Health Promotion and Disease PreventionSubcommittee are to develop the USPHS Therapist Category Strategy to address National,
Local, Tribal, Agency, and Corps prevention projects, for example PACE
(Prevention through Active Community Engagement) that are relevant to
each Therapy Discipline.

• Support the current Surgeon General Priorities as publishing an updated
  version on APAN or as directed by the Office of the Surgeon General.
• Pursue Surgeon General (SG) initiatives by clearly identifying therapists’
  objectives to improve our nation’s health in collaboration with the Office of
  the Surgeon General.
•  Identify national professional associations for collaboration and creation of
  action items to achieve SG goals and plans for professional association
  support. Request discipline liaisons to convene discussion panels to
  determine feasibility and extent of collaboration available from each
  professional association such as PACE or the Surgeon General’s Team
  (SGT).
• Identify current USPHS therapist prevention, health promotion, and public
  health initiatives. Create plans to support, improve visibility, and establish
  best practice initiatives to adopt at multiple other officer sites.