University Times

A memorial service is set for 10 a.m. tomorrow, Oct. 16, in Heinz Chapel for former School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences faculty member Richard E. Erhard.

Erhard, of Lottsburg, Va., died Oct. 4, 2009, following a long battle with multiple myeloma. He was 67.

An assistant professor in the Department of Physical Therapy until his retirement, Erhard had clinical practice and research interests in musculoskeletal conditions, in particular, painful spinal conditions.

Described by colleagues as a master clinician, Erhard was internationally recognized as a leader in manual therapy. He was the first president of the International Federation of Manipulative Physical Therapists and served in numerous other professional capacities both nationally and internationally.

In recognition of Erhard’s contributions to his profession, in 2005 the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists established a Richard Erhard Research Award for excellence in manual therapy. In 2007, the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association established the Richard W. Bowling-Richard E. Erhard Orthopaedic Clinical Practice Award to honor individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the clinical practice of orthopaedic physical therapy. The group named Erhard and Bowling the first recipients of the award.

Erhard earned a bachelor’s degree in biology at Thiel College and a certificate in physical therapy from the D.T. Watson School of Physiatrics (a predecessor of SHRS), both in 1964.

Following more than a decade of clinical physical therapy practice, Erhard became an adjunct professor in Pitt’s Department of Physical Therapy, 1975-80.

In order to gain more autonomy in directing the care of his patients, he returned to school and in 1983 earned a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from the Logan School of Chiropractics. He then returned to Pitt’s physical therapy department as an assistant professor, a position he held until 2005. He was named a distinguished alumnus by SHRS in 1989.

From 1993 to 2004, Erhard was head of physical therapy and chiropractic services for the UPMC Spine Specialty Center and served as medical director of ancillary network diversified services at UPMC, 1998-2003.

Erhard remained active in the SHRS physical therapy department’s continuing education programs, and had been scheduled to conduct testing at Pitt this month.

In spite of Erhard’s illness, department chair Anthony Delitto said, “I fully expected he would be here,” noting that Erhard was always highly sought after to conduct continuing education programs.

“People liked him because of his applied approach,” Delitto said, adding that Erhard enjoyed seeing patients as part of his continuing education events, which some clinicians would consider a scary prospect. Erhard, however, was not afraid to expose his practice, Delitto said. “He allowed us to look into his work and see his results.”

In addition to being an expert practitioner, Delitto said Erhard was a great mentor to countless future practitioners in physical therapy and other rehabilitation fields.

Among them is SHRS faculty member Michael Timko. In 1990, as a new West Virginia University graduate, Timko began working in Erhard’s Uniontown-area clinic. “He became my first and most significant mentor,” Timko said, adding that their relationship progressed to that of colleague and friend. Timko credits Erhard with raising him from a brand-new clinician to full-fledged Pitt faculty member, placing Erhard as “second only to my father in influence in my life.”

He recalled Erhard’s accessible way of mentoring, recounting how, when Timko would bring questions or describe difficulties with a patient, Erhard would not simply tell him what to do. Instead, he would listen, ask questions, and then offer several options for Timko to consider. “He guided you in such a way that you never felt uncomfortable approaching him,” Timko said. “In the process, he had the ability to help you to learn to reason and learn to think. You ended up solving your own problem.”

Timko said Erhard “always had students shadowing him in the clinics,” and directed graduate students in collecting clinical data and case studies for use in research.

Erhard turned his attention toward research at a time when the physical therapy profession was developing its own body of knowledge. His early research laid groundwork for increasing the quality of the available physical therapy literature through the 1990s and into the new century, Timko said.

Delitto credited Erhard with “doing translational research before it was in vogue,” noting his dedication to discovering “what works with patients,” and training researchers to design relevant clinical trials.

Timko noted that Erhard always was willing to adapt his treatment approaches as new evidence became available. Moreover, “he had no qualms about putting an idea out there to be investigated and scrutinized, only so we could make it better,” he said.

Beyond his professional work, Erhard was a “typical western Pennsylvania outdoorsman” who enjoyed fishing, hunting and hiking, Delitto said. Although childhood polio had left Erhard with a limp, it didn’t prevent him from fully pursuing his love of the outdoors, Delitto noted.

Erhard also enjoyed provocative discussions. “He was a staunch conservative and he proselytized,” Delitto said, recalling Erhard’s propensity for emailing colleagues about issues that concerned him. “‘Missives,’ we called them,” Delitto said with a laugh, adding that the messages were intended to foment discussion.

“It was always that way with him, whether talking about politics or talking about our research,” Delitto said.

Erhard is survived by his wife, Natalie; sons Richard, Craig and Daniel, and a daughter, Keira.

Memorial gifts may be made to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, www.leukemia-lymphoma.org.

—Kimberly K. Barlow