At the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) Combined Sessions Meeting (CSM) in Houston early this year, Barbara Billek-Sawhney (BS ’82, MS ’90), PT, EdD, DPT and Board Certified Geriatric Specialist, received the Joan Mills Award which recognizes outstanding service to the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy.
“I really am humbled and honored by the award,” said Billek-Sawhney. “I am so very thankful and love being a PT; it has been the right profession for me. Physical therapy has given me a more complete and rewarding life. I am blessed!”
Billek-Sawhney’s professional excellence has been widely recognized. She is a Fulbright Scholar and recipient of numerous honors in addition to the recent Joan Mills Award, including the APTA Humanitarian Award, the Pennsylvania Chapter Humanitarian Award, and the APTA Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy Academic Impact in Geriatrics Award.
All this from the woman who was not admitted to Pitt Physical Therapy (PT) her first time—and look at her now! She has been making a difference in people’s lives her entire career and exemplifies that hard work and dedication get results.
If Pennsylvania Hall Walls Could Talk
When Billek-Sawhney walked into Pennsylvania Hall, home of the Pitt Physical Therapy program in the early 1980s, few would have predicted just how far she would go, especially considering she helped co-found the infamous “BTM Club” (Below the Mean Club) with Mary Lou Galintino (BS ‘82), reminding everyone that someone had to keep the grading curve honest.
Billek-Sawhney said that despite giving her faculty (and herself) a few gray hairs along the way, she graduated in 1982, all while navigating memorable experiences: marrying her tall, dark and handsome classmate, Rajiv Sawhney, (BS ’82), sharing laughs and late nights with her roommate Galantino, and perfecting her manual skills with the help of Rick Bowling.
Bowling’s orthopedic skills were known throughout the United States, with his skillful hands, thoughtful comments and the memorable look of joy on his face when he thought that you did the mobilization correctly. Bowling and Richard Erhardt shared their expertise with Pitt grads in the 1980s and early 90s. Bowling and “Dr. E” were instrumental in developing the Federation of Orthopaedic Manual Therapy. The Pitt PT classes in the 80s received some of the best manual therapy skills in the nation from both Bowling and “Dr. E.”
Billek-Sawhney ran Division I track at the University of Pittsburgh and has had foot pain for most of her running life. She recalls, “Even painful orthotics from Professor James Irrgang couldn’t keep me off the track at Pitt—though maybe not entirely pain-free.” Professor Irrgang was teaching part time and working in the clinic at what would eventually become the Sports Medicine Institute at Pitt with Dr. Freddie Fu. Billek-Sawhney needed those orthopedic skills taught by Bowling and Erhardt to be able to maintain her running abilities and she continues to run today in “retirement” from her professorial faculty position at Slippery Rock University.
A Pioneering Spirit
Billek-Sawhney’s claim to fame started early when she boldly borrowed pulse oximeters from anesthesiology to introduce pulse oximetry to physical therapy—a tool so common now it’s hard to imagine PT practice without it. Billek-Sawhney first presented using the pulse oximeter that she borrowed from anesthesiology at a CSM in 1990, and was the first physical therapist to present about their use at a national meeting.
She has always reached out to learn new things and broaden her knowledge base. That pioneering spirit carried her into a distinguished career in clinical practice, education and service. Over the years she was the director of physical therapy at the D.T. Watson Rehabilitation Hospital, and the director of physical therapy overseeing Montefiore Hospital, Presbyterian University Hospital, Eye and Ear Hospital, Canterbury Place and UPMC Rehabilitation.
Humanitarian Work
Her humanitarian work has been exceptional. For the past eight years, she has been the project director for Peru for Health Volunteers and has been a volunteer with the Jackson Foundation since 2022 teaching the adult rehabilitation program in Kenya. As an invited professor, she has served as a visiting faculty member in Sri Lanka for the past two years and most recently taught in Ghana, Rwanda, Ethiopia, St Lucia, India, China and Vietnam.
Associate Professor Victoria Hornyak said, “Barb’s career reflects the highest ideals of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. The SHRS website describes our community as ‘providers, practitioners and scientists driven by a singular mission: to serve everyone, everywhere—not just the privileged few.’ I believe Dr. Billek-Sawhney embodies this description to the highest degree.”
Dr. Gatti (DPT ’06) reflected, “Over the course of time you meet people who have tremendous passion. Barb is one of the rare few who can truly take that infinitely further by cultivating enormous passion in others. She has a humble but magical way of inspiring others to step out of their comfort zone to share experience, opportunity and growth that is reciprocal in nature, whether for a novice or an expert. She makes you truly believe that you can do good things.”
Hornyak continued by saying, “Barb is a role model for future generations of rehabilitation professionals and a steward of global health responsibility. She is making a difference in the world.”
Active in Retirement
Billek-Sawhney ended her physical therapy academic career at Slippery Rock University where she inspired countless students while also publishing and teaching extensively on topics such as prevention and wellness, falls, neuromuscular rehabilitation, geriatrics and exercise for older adults. She published 29 refereed papers, was an author on 23 home study courses for the Academy of Geriatrics and has well over 100 presentations.
Even in retirement, her passion for service continues through her clinical work at Independence Health – Butler Hospital in Butler, Pennsylvania, and her international humanitarian efforts where she provides care, mentorship and education in developing nations.
Barbara Billek-Sawhney’s career reflects a true commitment to making a difference—for her patients, her students and the global community. We are proud to call her a Pitt PT alumna.