Honoring Physician Assistants: From the Clinic to the Community
Before founding Less Leg More Heart, our founder Tina Hurley served as a Physician Assistant (PA), saving lives daily through compassionate and skilled clinical care. Today, she saves lives in a different way—by championing amputees through advocacy, mentorship, and holistic support. This National PA Week (Oct 6–12), we celebrate all PAs, and especially Tina, whose journey proves that healthcare and advocacy go hand-in-hand.
Why Physician Assistants Matter
PAs are often the unsung heroes of healthcare. They diagnose, treat, prescribe, and provide essential continuity of care across nearly every specialty. For patients with limb loss, a PA may be the one guiding them through:
Initial trauma or illness care that leads to amputation.
Complex medical management like infection control, vascular monitoring, or pain management.
Coordination of care between surgeons, rehabilitation teams, and prosthetists.
Emotional and educational support, helping patients understand what’s ahead and what resources exist.
PAs are uniquely positioned to treat the whole patient—not just the limb—and to listen, educate, and empower.
The PA Perspective in Limb Loss Care
For someone facing amputation, the journey is rarely linear. Medical complications, insurance obstacles, and emotional hurdles can feel overwhelming. PAs often serve as the steady presence who:
Explains medical options in plain language
Advocates for patient-centered choices
Recognizes the mental health toll of limb loss
Encourages peer support and long-term adaptation
This “whole-person” perspective mirrors the mission of Less Leg More Heart—caring not only for bodies but also for hearts, minds, and futures.
From Saving Lives to Changing Lives
Tina’s experience as a PA shaped her vision for Less Leg More Heart. She saw firsthand the gaps patients face after leaving the hospital—gaps in emotional support, accessibility, and community connection. Founding LLMH was her way of extending the care she once provided in exam rooms into the real world where amputees live, work, and thrive.
Today, the nonprofit provides:
Peer mentorship to reduce isolation.
Medical advocacy to help beneficiaries navigate care systems.
Holistic care funding for wellness beyond prescriptions.
Home modifications that create true independence.
Honoring PAs, Honoring Our Founder
This PA Week, we honor the thousands of Physician Assistants who are changing lives every day—and we shine a light on our founder, Tina, who took her calling beyond the clinic. Her story shows us that while PAs save lives in hospitals, their compassion can also ignite movements that change healthcare and community support forever.
How You Can Join Us
Thank a PA this week for their dedication and care.
Support Less Leg More Heart’s mission to extend the compassion of healthcare into lifelong advocacy for amputees.
Share this blog to raise awareness of the vital role PAs play in limb loss care.
✨ Because saving lives doesn’t stop when the hospital doors close—it continues when we stand together for dignity, access, and hope.
