Compiled by Beth Puliti

The Rehabilitation Institute Welcomes PTs

The Rehabilitation Institute of Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) is proud to welcome four new physical therapists. The new employees join The Rehab Institute from various states across the East and bring with them more than 40 years of combined experience in physical therapy.

Sandy Dufty, PT, is a new physical therapist at The Rehab Institute in Braselton. She comes to the clinic from Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where she worked for 13 years, nine in an outpatient setting.

Jim Hlavacek, PT, has joined The Rehabilitation Institute in Buford. Hlavacek has more than 10 years of experience in treating general orthopedic injuries and providing sports medicine and manual therapy care. He received his athletic training degree from the University of South Carolina and his physical therapy degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. Hlavacek recently completed a fellowship in sports medicine with Bob Donatelli, PhD, PT, and is in the process of completing his doctoral degree in physical therapy from the University of St. Augustine.

Laura Witt, PT, has joined The Rehabilitation Institute in Dawsonville. Witt comes to Dawsonville from a satellite clinic outside of Cleveland, OH. She worked as a physical therapist assistant for 10 years before returning to school to complete her physical therapy degree and now carries more than 20 years of experience in the field. Witt has worked in subacute, outpatient, pediatric and satellite settings treating a broad spectrum of medical conditions.

Misty Ramirez, PT, ATC, is the newest physical therapist to join the outpatient clinics of The Rehab Institute. She earned a dual masters degree in physical therapy and athletic training from the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in 2004 and 2005. In 2006 and 2007, she was the head athletic trainer at Nashville Christian School, as well as the head coach for girls' middle school basketball. Ramirez has been working in an outpatient orthopedic clinic for the last two years, with special interests in athletics and return-to-play functional therapy.

New Management Appointments at Stott Pilates

Stott Pilates has announced the appointment of two new members to the management team in the areas of marketing and communications.

Stott Pilates President and CEO, Lindsay G. Merrithew stated, "We are delighted to welcome both Holly Henderson as senior vice president of marketing and Kerrie Lee Brown, in the role of vice president of communications. Both bring a remarkably diverse and professional expertise that will enrich our management group and the strategic direction of our business."

Henderson joined the Stott Pilates management team as a consultant in May 2007. Henderson's career began in product management with Colgate Palmolive and Schering Plough Canada. She was director of Gold Card Marketing at American Express. As executive director of the Kids Help Foundation, she spearheaded the creation of the Kids Help Phone. Henderson was also vice president with Product Initiatives and general manager of SkyDome Fitness, a partner at TouchLogic Corporation and senior vice president of marketing at Portus Asset Management.

"Holly will leverage more than 25 years of experience, including many years of consulting with clients in a broad range of industries from wellness to financial services to create synergistic and strategic marketing solutions for Stott Pilates," said Merrithew.

Brown boasts a ten-year career in the health and fitness industry as a journalist, magazine consultant, motivational speaker, writer and editor. Prior to joining Stott Pilates, Brown was vice president of publishing and communications for FAME Media Group and the World Natural Sports Organization–and most notably, editor-in-chief of Oxygen Women's Fitness magazine. She is also the author of the acclaimed A Woman's Guide to Rapid Weight Loss (2006).

"Kerrie's vast industry experience will serve us well as she works with Holly to build a comprehensive team to fulfill all internal and external communications plans," said Merrithew. "With the addition of these two high-caliber appointments, our company is now well-positioned to embrace aggressive communications planning and marketing initiatives in the future."

Stott Pilates is also pleased to announce the promotion of Carol Tricoche to global sales director of Full Solutions and the recent hire of Tracey Harvey who joins Tricoche's team as national sales director of Full Solutions.

PTW Promotes Sports Injury Rehab Program

To promote their sports injury prevention and rehabilitation programs, The Physical Therapy & Wellness Institute (PTW), Lansdale, PA, sponsored the North Penn Chamber of Commerce's third annual Chamber Challenge 5K Family Fun Run.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to the North Penn Chamber of Commerce's Foundation which awards scholarships to area students. Approximately 140 runners braved the chilly 30 degree weather to participate in the race.

As the presenting sponsor for the Chamber Challenge run, PTW was provided with a host of sponsor benefits, including exhibit space at the event where PTW licensed physical therapists assisted runners with stretching both pre- and post-race.

Having a presence at the race was an effective marketing vehicle for PTW, providing an opportunity to meet one-on-one with prospective clients and share information about their therapy practice, programs and facilities, as well as schedule people for complimentary physical evaluations.

According to Robert Babb, owner of PTW, the event was successful on numerous levels.

"This is our third year sponsoring this event and it has grown each year. We enjoy reaching out to the community in this manner. It's important to educate people—especially runners—on the benefits of stretching as a method of injury prevention. In this way, we are providing a valuable service for those currently in good physical health—and also planting a seed that will hopefully germinate into their selecting PTW as their recuperative care provider should they suffer an injury at some future date," he said.

Good Shepherd Honored in New York

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network of Allentown, PA, and its founders, the Raker family, were honored this weekend by The Pennsylvania Society, a non-profit, charitable organization with thousands of members from throughout the commonwealth. The honor was presented to Sally Gammon, FACHE, president and CEO of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, at The Pennsylvania Society's annual Holiday Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

In addition to honoring Good Shepherd and the Rakers, The Pennsylvania Society presented its 2007 Gold Medal to Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA). Governor Edward G. Rendell (D-PA) addressed the gathering.

The Pennsylvania Society's purpose is to honor achievement, to reward excellence and to promote good will and understanding and to celebrate service to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and to humanity in general.

Good Shepherd will celebrate its 100th birthday on Feb. 21, 2008. Good Shepherd was founded in 1908 by the Rev. John Raker and his wife, D. Estella Raker, when they invited a disabled orphan into their Allentown home.

McGovern Congratulates One of Their Own

McGovern Physical Therapy Associates, located in Malden, Beverly and Revere, MA, congratulates one of their own. Courtney Mattos, DPT, a staff physical therapist at McGovern Physical Therapy Associates–Malden, is also the head coach of the Burlington High School football cheerleaders.

Dr. Mattos led her team to the national title along with a team from Putman City North, Oklahoma, with a final winning score of 9.06. They competed in the Large Varsity Division of the National Cheerleading Association Nationals. Dr. Mattos' team was also honored for Best Stunts and Best Tumbling at the competition.

National Cheerleaders Association (NCA) Nationals are the most prestigious Cheerleading Championships in the country. Each year, teams from across the globe come together to compete for national titles in a variety of levels and divisions. The teams compete to be able to walk away with the most sought after and coveted national championship black jackets. The NCA Nationals will be televised on FSN, Fox Sports on April 8, 2008.

Patterson Companies Acquires PTOS Software

Patterson Companies, Inc., the owner of the leading rehab product distributor Sammons Preston, announced the acquisition of PTOS Software, the developer and marketer of practice management software for physical therapists. PTOS will become part of Patterson Medical, Patterson's rehabilitation supply and equipment unit.

PTOS practice management software provides physical therapists with billing, scheduling, documentation and business management capabilities. PTOS has established a leading share in the highly fragmented physical therapy software market and is endorsed by leading associations in the rehabilitation market.

PTOS users extend from sole practitioners to large health care organizations operating multiple physical therapy clinics. The software also has customers and applications in the hospital, occupational therapy, chiropractic, speech therapy and home health care markets.