How do you balance your roles as administrator of Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center and as vice president of Acute Rehabilitation Services at Community Healthcare System?
I focus and concentrate on my top priorities and follow them through. It is difficult to achieve the balance I have without surrounding myself with an excellent staff. I delegate tasks and projects to the team and let them roll. This gives them a chance to be creative and come up with other ideas or suggestions of their own. Keeping your eye on what matters most, working with a great team and delegating tasks are keys to obtaining this balance.
How did you get into the field of healthcare?
It all started with a baseball injury when I was 12 years old playing Little League Baseball. I had an elbow injury that required me to have outpatient physical therapy three times a week for four to six weeks. At that age, I had a keen interest in the sciences. As I was going through treatments, I thought about the physical therapists and the amount of knowledge and understanding you have to acquire about human anatomy and physiology. Besides the clinical knowledge, you are communicating with patients, their family members and members of the healthcare team including physicians and nurses. I thought, “This profession is for me.” I wanted to pursue a career as a physical therapist.
Because I had a strong desire to learn more about the business aspects of healthcare as well as leadership, I decided to go back to school and earn an MBA degree. This degree has helped me to advance to my current role as Administrator of Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center.
Why did you choose to work at Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center?
I have been with Community Healthcare System for 34 years. I have not worked anywhere else. Community Healthcare System has held a positive reputation in the community for health care services for many years. I wanted to be part of that workforce and strong leadership team – for not only the reputation, but also the vision set forth by the board of directors and leadership team. That vision aligned with my own values and who I was as a person. I wanted to work for an organization that put myself and other employees in a position to be the best.
What specialty services does Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center offer?
Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center offers 40 inpatient rehab beds that are all private. In addition, we provide therapy to patients who have suffered from stroke, spinal cord injuries, closed head injuries or multiple traumas.
We have specialty equipment to aid in recovery that's pretty unique. We now have a piece of equipment not only on our outpatient side but also on the inpatient side called the ZeroG Gait and Balance System. This system uses a robotic body-weight support to provide patients a “reduced gravity” environment, preventing falls as they work to improve their walking ability. That's a game-changer for improving the quality of life for these patients.
On the outpatient side, we have outpatient physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. When you're talking about specialties, we offer pediatric and pelvic health outpatient services that fall underneath the therapy services umbrella. It can be challenging to find therapy services for these specialty needs, and we are proud to offer a strong team dedicated to meeting the unique needs of these patients.
In addition to our wide variety of therapy and rehabilitation services, we house a number of physicians, with specialties ranging from family medicine to focused areas such as cardiology, neurology, OB/GYN, gastroenterology, and orthopedics. The facility is also a one-stop shop with the myriad of ancillary services available, from imaging and diagnostics to lab. We provide CTs, MRIs, X-rays, echocardiograms, electroencephalograms (EEG), electromyography (EMG), and nuclear medicine. We offer a dedicated women's diagnostic center that provides same-day results 3D mammography, bone densitometry and ultrasound.
What is your favorite part of your job?
I enjoy meeting and greeting our patients in both the inpatient and the outpatient areas and talking with our employees. I try to make a personal connection with our patients and their family members. We have our mission and vision statements that say that we're here to provide the best patient experience by listening, connecting and treating all like family. It starts at the top. I'm a people person at heart, and that's exactly what I love doing daily.
How does Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center plug into the community?
Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center is participating in the healthcare system’s action plan to address the prioritized needs of our community. That plan is guided by the Community Health Needs Assessment performed in Fall 2022. In response to that plan, we offer a system-wide stroke and diabetes fair, an annual stroke symposium and numerous educational programs on diabetes management, cardiovascular health and stroke prevention and treatment. We also participate in a lot of community-based events offering free screenings for both men and women.
What goals do you believe will jumpstart Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center’s future?
Overall, the goals of the facility match that of the entire healthcare system, in delivering compassionate, quality care and advancing our technologies and services in order to meet the needs of the community we serve. We work hard to deliver consistent care across all of our entities, providing our patients peace of mind when they entrust us with their health and wellbeing. The investments made, not only in our infrastructure but also in our people, support this mission, keeping our patients the main focus.
The goals within the service lines are improving cardiovascular health and reducing effects caused by stroke through offering symposiums and screenings. We want to reduce the burden of diabetes throughout the community, and we want to be able to improve the quality of life for the people around us.
Is there anything else people should know about Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center or Community Healthcare System?
Along that mindset of delivering the ultimate care, we are ranked the No. 2 rehabilitation center in the state of Indiana for the second consecutive year, according to Newsweek. Our goal is to be the best rehabilitation center in the state. Our quality of care, outcomes and patient experience are going to continue rising as we strive to become the best rehabilitation center in Indiana.
For more information about Community Stroke & Rehabilitation Center and Community Healthcare System, visit COMHS.org.
