Barbara Cleary

Instructor

Barbara Cleary began her community health career as a physical therapist in a university- affiliated county hospital and outpatient clinic in downtown San Antonio, Texas. In addition to her clinic duties, she was also a clinical instructor for physical therapy students and physical therapy assistant students. She then worked for Washington and Montana state public health departments, where she taught parenting classes, and in Washington, completed home visits with pregnant and parenting mothers, counseled individuals undergoing HIV testing and worked with families with handicapped children. After obtaining a nursing degree, she worked in two Montana schools as a nurse, where she taught health classes, set up health screenings, coordinated health education opportunities with local providers, and worked closely with school speech therapy and special education departments. She currently works for St. Mary's Health as a Community Worker, where she completes home visits, health screenings, and connects patients with needed resources based upon clinic health risk assessments. She believes that Community Health Workers are a valuable resource for patients.