Fear of falling is foremost on the mind of Roberta Newton ’69.
She’s not worried so much about losing her own footing; this 57-year-old
Philadelphian is concerned about the falls of other people – specifically
senior citizens.
She assesses their mobility and advises them regarding risk factors. She conducts
balance and vision tests on elderly residents and talks to them about being
cautious and remaining active.
A physical therapy professor at Temple University and a renowned researcher
on geriatric issues, Newton views her calling as “helping people age
successfully.”
During her younger days when she was attending Fredericksburg schools, Newton
wasn’t thinking about the aging process. Even at that time, though,
she was interested in the brain – about how it works and how it controls
movement. A seventh-grade science teacher inspired her, she said.
Because she grew up in town, Newton added, going to Mary Washington was a
no-brainer. “I was the first in my family to go to college…it
was a given I would go close to home.”
For her, Mary Washington offered a rich academic environment that served as
launching pad for a career in the sciences. “Mary Washington provided
me with strong women role models,” Newton said, singling out the late
Dr. Anna “Scotty” Hoye, a biology professor. “At MWC, I
was able to become a leader.”
A leader Newton has remained. She recently earned a distinction awarded to
only a handful of women and an even smaller number of non-physicians: induction
into the prestigious Philadelphia College of Physicians. She also has been
named a fellow in the Gerontology Society of America.
From Mary Washington, Newton went on to Virginia Commonwealth University’s
Medical College of Virginia, where she earned a doctorate in neurophysiology,
followed by a degree in physical therapy. She taught physical therapy and
conducted research at MCV until 1989. From there, she went to Temple, where
she helped start a Ph.D. program in physical therapy. She is now in her 31st
year of teaching.
In addition to teaching in both the School of Medicine and the College of
Health Professions at Temple, Newton serves as associate director of the Temple
University Institute on Aging and as regional coordinator of Pennsylvania’s
Gerontology Education Center.
Her résumé includes 17 pages of publications she has authored
or co-authored and national and international presentations she has given.
It also includes three and a half pages of funded grants with which she has
been involved. The vast majority concern preventing falls among the elderly.
Why all the attention to keeping senior citizens on their feet? It’s
not only a quality of life issue, Newton said; it’s a life-or-death
issue. One-third of all elderly patients hospitalized with hip fractures die
within a year, she said. Cost is a factor, too. Within 15 years, she added,
the nationwide tab for health care associated with falls will top $27 billion.
More than anything else, though, one question drives Newton. “How can
we maintain a high quality of life for seniors?”
– Anna Barron Billingsley