Centers Serving the Community

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, the Department of Occupational Therapy, and the Department of Physical Therapy – all of which are part of the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences – have established clinical centers and labs on the Institute's Charlestown Navy Yard campus to provide pro bono services to our local communities.

Clients at all the centers are seen by graduate students who are mentored by certified and licensed faculty members.

Each year, more than $1 million in free services are provided to clients who either lack health insurance or whose insurance has expired.

Aphasia Center

The Aphasia Center assists adults who have partial or total inability to produce or understand speech due to brain damage caused by injury or disease, such as people who have had a stroke.

It is part of the Speech, Language, and Literacy Center in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

For Inquiries:

  • Marjorie Nicholas, PhD, CCC-SLP

    Associate Chair and Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

  • Aphasia Center: (617) 724-6314, aphasiacenter@mghihp.edu

Physical Therapy Center for Clinical Education and Health Promotion

The Physical Therapy Center for Clinical Education and Health Promotion, part of the Department of Physical Therapy, is where graduate students enrolled in our Doctor of Physical Therapy program provide pro bono services to individuals in the local community who may not otherwise have access to such care.

These student clinicians, who are mentored by certified and licensed faculty members of the Department of Physical Therapy, assist clients with a range of orthopedic, neurological and multi-system impairments.

For Inquiries:

Assistant Professor Jane Baldwin, DPT, NCS

Associate Director of Clinical Education

Coordinator, Physical Therapy Center for Clinical Education and Health Promotion
ptcenter@mghihp.edu

Functional Living Lab

The Occupational Therapy Center for Learning, Intervention, Participation, and Rehabilitation (OT CLIPR) opened in spring 2017. Graduate students enrolled in our Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) program work in the Center under the supervision of licensed occupational therapists who are clinical faculty in the OTD program.

The Center offers comprehensive occupational therapy assessment and specialty services for people living with neurological, cognitive, low vision, developmental, upper extremity, and mental health diagnoses. The Center provides pro- bono services to individuals in the local community who may not otherwise have access to occupational therapy care or for those whose insurance benefits have expired but still need continued therapy. 

The Center is located on the second floor of 2 Constitution Center (2CC) in our accessible Functional Living Lab, a state-of-the-art simulated home environment to facilitate improvement for daily living skills.

For Inquiries:
Associate Professor Mary Hildebrand, OTD, OTR/L
Center Director
(617) 643-2764 

See our virtual tour of the OT CLIPR.

Speech, Language and Literacy Center

The Speech, Language and Literacy Center, part of the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, strengthens the Institute's commitment to the convergence of science and practice by involving faculty and students in providing free or low-cost speech, language, and reading services to children and adults from the Greater Boston area.

The Center offers specialty services in the areas of aphasia, autism, preschool speech and language disorders, and dyslexia. The Center provides an average of 200 patient visits each week. Families from the Charlestown community are given preference for available openings.

For Inquiries:

Associate Professor Lesley Maxwell, MS, CCC-SLP

Coordinator, Speech, Language and Literacy Center

(617) 643-5195 (please leave a message)