Inside the ’s Ann Wilson On-site Teaching Clinic, patients work side by side with doctoral students who are learning to master their knowledge and skills of the profession while offering care to the community. Here, movement is restored step by step — through careful manipulation on mat treatment tables and with the help of parallel bars and exercise machines. For many patients, the clinic is more than a teaching space; it is a lifeline.
It was in this setting that Barbara McLain, a former state government policy analyst, spent her final years making progress after a traumatic brain injury. The care she received, and the relationships she built with students, inspired her husband, David Snow, and her father, Dr. Paul McLain, to establish the Barbara H. McLain Endowed Scholarship with an initial $100,000 pledge — to be expanded by David with a major estate gift commitment. The scholarship will support future Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) students, ensuring the clinic continues to serve patients while training the next generation of providers.
Barbara’s story is central to this legacy. A Whitman College and University of Washington graduate, she spent nearly three decades in Olympia, mostly shaping higher education and then K-12 education policy. In 2014, a devastating fall left her with a traumatic brain injury. Though she passed away in 2023, the therapy she received at Puget Sound’s School of Physical Therapy brought new milestones to her life — from improved strength to better flexibility and coordination.
She enjoyed the rides to and from UPS from her adult family home and looked forward to her sessions. Barbara thought both the hard work and her interactions with instructors and students were fun. Her presence also deeply shaped the students who worked with her. Professor Holly Roberts, who oversees the physical therapy program, recalls how she became both a patient and a teacher.
“She taught them how to communicate differently and how to do safe patient handling that was more complex than you see in many outpatient facilities,” Holly said. “Our patients are our teachers too.”
For Holly, the endowed scholarship represents more than financial support for students. It underscores the clinic’s role as a bridge between campus and community — providing free care to patients, many underinsured, while giving students unmatched hands-on experience.
“This gift is just really amazing,” Holly said. “It almost felt overwhelming to think of that kind of impact. It will make a big difference in those students’ lives.”
It’s a difference that will resonate for generations. To learn more about how the clinic is shaping the next generation of physical therapists, visit .
