Marsha Lawrence, PT, DPT, CHT

Marsha Lawrence has been a physical therapist for over 40 years and a certified hand therapist for 30 years. She has practiced at university medical centers on the east coast and midwest and was a private practice owner in a Kansas City suburb. She served on the ASHT Legislation and Reimbursement Division, eventually becoming the Director from 2014-2015 and continuing as the Practice Division Director from 2015-2017. She became the Practice Affairs Coordinator of the APTA Academy of Hand and Upper Extremity in 2018, and serves as the Academy's Federal Affairs Liaison and Chief Delegate to the APTA House of Delegates. She co-authored a “Therapists’ management of nerve compressions at the wrist” in the Seventh edition of Rehabilitation of the Hand and Upper Extremity and “Radiologic Imaging and Electrodiagnostics” in the 4th Edition of the ASHT CHT Test Prep Manual, and authored “Orthopedic Management of the Wrist and Hand” in Fundamental Orthopedic Management for the Physical Therapist Assistant, in 2011 and 2016, and 2021. Her work has been published in the Journal of Hand Therapy and the The Journal of Orthopedic and Sports Physical Therapy. Marsha has presented at regional and national meetings on a variety of topics ranging from clinical care to advocacy and policy regulation and is working to improve direct access to Hand Therapists’ services, removal of Medicare's Reasonable Useful Lifetime statute for upper extremity orthoses and improved reimbursement for Hand Therapy services.