In this issue we hear from

good vibrations
NEWS FOR THE VIBRA HEALTHCARE FAMILY
Issue 3 • 2014
In this issue we hear from
Vibra’s executive team on
its 10-year path to success
and the challenges ahead.
A message from our CEO
Brad Hollinger
T
en years ago a significant shift in the post acute healthcare arena was
underway. Hospitals were encouraged to discharge patients sooner and
sicker than ever before. The first of the baby boomers were hitting 60 and
beyond. And, several major players were struggling to successfully operate their
long term acute care (LTAC) and acute medical rehabilitation hospitals.
Seeing an opportunity for a new company to make the most of this evolving
environment, I founded Vibra Healthcare in the spring of 2004 with the acquisition of six specialty hospitals. Since that time, our experienced management team
has continued to grow the company through the acquisition of underperforming
critical care and medical rehabilitation hospitals. This growth strategy has served
us well and established Vibra as true “turnaround specialists,” intensely focused on
optimizing key operating metrics and developing strong referral relationships.
While typically acquiring two to three hospitals a year, last year the acquisition of 16 Kindred hospitals was a unique exception. While Kindred was looking
to divest hospitals that did not fit their strategic plan, this acquisition expanded
our geographic footprint, generated greater economics of scale and advanced our
strategy of expanding our post acute continuum model.
Additionally the latest changes in the healthcare industry seek to integrate
delivery from hospital to home, providing Vibra the opportunity to further establish
itself as a leader in the post acute arena by effectively owning and/or managing the
post acute continuum. The Kindred assets are integral to this strategy. We intend to
lead the development of the continuum evolution in each of our markets, through
efforts such as the Vibra Virtual Post Acute Continuum of Care (VPACC). Focused
on ensuring patients are placed in the appropriate care setting, the VPACC creates
savings through innovative treatments, protocols, continuous care coordination,
and optimal patient outcomes. Our strategy is to establish Vibra not only as a postacute hospital company, but also as a post-acute continuum operator: delivering
a comprehensive “episode of care” model that optimizes patient outcomes while
delivering a value added service to its payers.
This major initiative is an evolutionary process moving from a siloed, standalone provider mindset to one of coordinated care and collaboration. A model
that requires Vibra to be flexible, visionary, and creative in
our approach to healthcare delivery. I am confident we are
poised to prosper in this evolving healthcare arena.
Hospital NEWS
Vibra Hospital Of Mahoning Valley Earns
Quality Respiratory Recognition
Good Vibrations is published
quarterly for the staff and
friends of Vibra Healthcare.
Executive Editor
Roger Breed, Vice President
Corporate Communications
Editorial
Jean Waverka, APR
waverkacommunications@
comcast.net
Design
Thom Aubrey
The River Studio
[email protected]
Pictured on the cover are (front
row, left to right) Brad Hollinger,
founder and chief executive
officer; and Donald Yoder, chief
development officer and chief
compliance officer; (back row,
left to right) Mike Thomas, executive vice president, strategy &
organization development;
Clint Fegan, chief financial officer; and Stephen Marcus, chief
operating officer.
Scan this code to learn more
about Vibra Healthcare.
Published by:
Vibra Healthcare, LLC
4550 Lena Drive
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
717.591.5700
Fax 717.591.5710
Vibra Hospital of Amarillo
University recognizes doctor’s research efforts
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC)
School of Medicine recently presented Faisal Khasawneh, MD,
with a Dean’s Scholarship/Research Award.
Dr. Khasawneh, who works with Vibra Hospital of Amarillo as
a critical care specialist in the ICU, also serves as an assistant
professor of internal medicine for the university.
Dean Steven L. Berk,
MD, presented the
award to Dr. Khasawneh
saying, “Despite his
busy clinical responsibilities as an infectious
disease-critical care
physician and administrative duties on hospital committees,
Dr. Faisal Khasawneh
has found the time to
work on numerous
research projects. Since
2009, when he joined
the School of Medicine,
he has authored or
co-authored 25
manuscripts.
“Many medical
Faisal Khasawneh, MD
students and residents
seek him out for assistance with projects they are interested in. During his time with
TTUHSC, Dr. Khasawneh has coauthored papers with six medical students and 12 residents, giving them their first experience
with clinical research.”
The award is well deserved, according to Kay Peck, chief executive officer, Vibra Hospital of Amarillo.
“Dr. Khasawneh’s intensivist expertise and service on the
Patient Care and Safety Committee have made him a valuable
asset to the Vibra Hospital of Amarillo’s Critical Care Program,”
she says.
Chief Clinical Officer Melany McCarty, RN, agrees.
“We can always count on Dr. Khasawneh,” she says. “He is
attentive to his patients and is an excellent physician who treats
complex medical conditions and infectious diseases.”
Vibra Hospital of Mahoning Valley has earned Quality Respiratory Care Recognition (QRCR) under a national program aimed
at helping patients and families make informed decisions about
the quality of respiratory care services available in hospitals.
The American Association for Respiratory Care started the
QRCR program in 2003 to help consumers identify those facilities using qualified respiratory therapists to provide respiratory
care. It grew out of growing concerns among healthcare leaders
and the general public regarding the safety and quality of health
care services provided to patients.
Hospitals earning the QRCR designation ensure patient safety by agreeing to adhere to a strict set of criteria governing their
respiratory care services. About 700 hospitals, or approximately
15 percent of hospitals in the United States, have applied for and
received this award.
The association maintains a list of QRCR hospitals on its
website, www.YourLungHealth.org.
Vibra Hospital of Northern California wins
public health award
The Shasta County Public Health Advisory Board presented
Vibra Hospital of Northern California with an Excellence in
Public Health Award 2014 for its efforts in protecting patients,
staff and the community from infectious disease.
Presented during an awards luncheon in May, the award recognizes and honors those who go above and beyond to improve
the public’s health and quality of life.
Specifically, the award recognized Vibra Hospital’s success
with the influenza vaccination process, according to Debbie
Wiechman, RN, CIC, infection preventionist.
“Our public health officer made the vaccine mandatory for all
healthcare workers in the county, but it was up to us to come up
with a plan for how to implement the mandate,” Wiechman says.
Knowing that many staff and physicians worked in three area
hospitals, including Vibra Hospital, it was important that they
develop a consistent record of vaccination.
“We all ordered the same sticker so that by sight, we all knew
that someone had their shot,” she says, adding that the hospital’s
vaccination rate improved by 45 percent. “The whole premise
was to protect the patients from ourselves.”
In addition to the hospital’s impressive gains, Wiechman was
thrilled with the public recognition of achievements in the local
healthcare community that came out of the award presentation.
“You don’t realize all the unsung heroes in your community
until you [attend the award luncheon] and see what they are
doing to elevate the public health in Shasta County,” she says.
“It was a great honor to be a part of that.” n
www.VibraHealthcare.com
© Vibra Healthcare, LLC
2 www.vibrahealthcare.com
Issue 3
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good vibrations
3
Health&Wellness
A CLOSER LOOK
From Springfield to Spain
One (extra)ordinary woman’s
Team USA journey
Telehealth takes several forms at Vibra hospitals
A
s part of its
explains. “For example,
commitment
a gastroenterologist
to providing
could evaluate a patient
the same high quality
prior to undergoing
patient care in each of
endoscopy, answer their
its hospitals, including
questions, and obtain
those that may lack easy
their consent for the
access to certain speprocedure.”
cialists, Vibra HealthBefore telehealth,
care is actively pursuing
it was necessary to
opportunities to use
transport a patient to
electronic information
and from the LTAC
and telecommunicahospital to a short-term
tions technologies to
acute care (STAC) hossupport long-distance
pital by ambulance for
clinical healthcare.
evaluation. The patient
Known as “telehealth”
then had to return to
or “telemedicine,” this
the STAC hospital at a
Photo of an eICU monitoring station provided by Phillips Hospital to Home.
technology provides
later date for the actual
new approaches for working through
as a video camera, monitor and telemeprocedure.
challenges at the bedside, according to
try feed of vital signs, heart rates, etc., to
“Telehealth eliminates the interruption,
Dana Kellis, MD, MBA, PhD, chief mediobserve patients’ conditions, communirisk and inconvenience of transferring
cal officer.
cate with them and their care providers,
a patient across town for evaluation,” he
“Telehealth could play a significant
and to make treatment decisions. Vibra
says. “Although the endoscopy may still
role in meeting patient care needs in
Hospital of Boise is currently developing
need to be done at the STAC hospital,
every Vibra facility,” says Dr. Kellis. “It
an eICU partnership with the nearby St.
the number of trips is cut in half.”
allows us to increase availability of qualiLuke’s Health System.
Adding to the attraction of telehealth
fied specialists that may not otherwise be
“The idea is to enable physicians in
is the fact that the cost has been draavailable to help our patients.”
the intensive care unit at St. Luke’s to
matically reduced thanks to advancing
Currently, Vibra has three levels of
provide coverage for critically ill patients
technology, according to Dr. Kellis.
telehealth programs in development.
in our LTAC hospital, and allows them to
“The communication links already
The easiest and most common is basic
give orders and review medicines in real
exist through T1 lines or Internet cables,”
telephone and Internet technology that
time,” Dr. Kellis adds. “Telemedicine has
he says. “Additionally, the sponsoring
allow specialists to confidentially discuss
become a valuable adjunct to the physiinstitution, like St. Luke’s in Boise or the
patient care issues, even when they’re in
cians at the bedside.”
STAC hospitals in Massachusetts, have
several different locations.
Another example of Vibra’s use of telestaffed their physician departments with
“While this may seem simplistic,”
medicine is underway at Vibra Hospital
an eye toward providing this service.”
Dr. Kellis says, “a telephone or Internet
of Western Massachusetts, where Vibra
Several studies have shown that
communication between physicians
is close to completing an agreement to
patients also are happy using the new
and patients about medical issues often
have a telemedicine cart—complete with
technology.
fulfills the telehealth needs of clinicians,
a computer server, display screen and
“They express satisfaction with the
is readily available, and requires no addiinstruments, such as a stethoscope and
high definition video,” Dr. Kellis says.
tional resources.”
examining scope—available for a nurse to
“They feel like they are actually speaking
On the other hand, one of the most
roll into a patient’s room.
to a physician and not doing some type
advanced forms of telehealth is the eICU,
“Through a video hook up, a physician
of electronic robotic interaction.” n
In the next issue of Good Vibrations,
which includes an upgraded video and
interacts with a patient and his or her
we will take a look at the role of IT in the
telemetry monitoring system. The central
family, and gives them an informed conimplementation of telemedicine at one of
eICU station uses information from
sultative opinion as to what he or she recVibra’s hospitals.
equipment in ICU patients’ rooms, such
ommends for a patient’s care,” Dr. Kellis
Twelve years ago, Ann Stahel was 50 years old, overweight
and slightly depressed. An office worker, she had never
run before but decided to give it a try when the hospital
she worked for sponsored a 5k.
“To prepare, I got out in the morning and did some
walk/run things. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I
was not prepared,” remembers Stahel, now an executive
assistant at Vibra Hospital of Springfield. “I thought I was
going to die.”
Well she didn’t die, but she did continue to run. For the
next 10 years she performed in the middle of the field,
plagued by pain in her knees and back. At one point she
threw out her back and was unable to run for a year. After
going to physical therapy and learning to focus on her
form, things began to change.
“I also started reading and figured out how to eat better.
That was a big deal,” she says. “I started sleeping more,
and I got faster.”
By the time she turned 60, Stahel was ready for a new
challenge, so she bought a bike. But, having never learned
to ride one, she left it in her garage for an entire year, terrified to give it a try. On her 61st birthday, her son convinced
her to take a long bike ride together and just one month
later, she successfully completed her first biathlon.
“I did the running and biking,” Stahel says. “I was so
happy.”
Around the same time, she started to receive email from
Team USA. Her running times had caught the team’s
attention. Unaware she ranked among the top runners in
her state, Stahel was elated when Team USA invited her to
compete in the National Championships in Tucson, Ariz.
The top six finishers would represent Team USA in the
World Championships in Spain the following year.
“What did I have to lose?” Stahel remembers thinking. “I
wanted to go out there and see if I could make Team USA.”
Stahel would run a 5k, bike a 20k and then run another
5k, beating her best time and running a seven-minute
mile to ensure that she not only made the team, but also
finished fourth in the nation.
“I just wanted to pass the person in front of me,” she
says of her motivation. “The books will tell you that as you
get older, you will be slower. It hasn’t happened yet. I just
get faster and faster.”
Elated by her win, Stahel decided it was time to up her
training regimen, adding spinning as a way to prepare for
running through Spain’s hilly terrain.
“I don’t have a lot of time to train,” she says, stressing
that she is just a “regular” person. “I do get up and run
every morning and bike every evening I can. I don’t train
for six hours a day.”
4 www.vibrahealthcare.com
Issue 3
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Stahel headed to Spain in May of this year to compete
alongside athletes from all over the world. Despite uneven
ground and the steepest, most winding bike route she had
ever ridden, she held on where others faltered and finished
14th in the Women’s event.
“I am so proud! I couldn’t be happier,” she says. “Without a coach or special gear, I did it as a regular American
allowed to compete alongside truly amazing athletes from
all over the world.”
What was important to her was showing people that it is
possible to get up every day for work and still make time
for health and fitness and dreaming big dreams.
“This has all happened in such a short amount of time,”
she says. “I was never chosen for any team when I was in
high school, but I’m having the time of my life now and,
hopefully, encouraging those around me.” n
good vibrations
5
Vibra Healthcare:
uniquely positioned
for success
10
Ten years ago, Brad Hollinger recognized that a
significant shift was underway in the post acute
healthcare arena. Hospitals were encouraged
to discharge patients sooner and sicker than
ever before. The first of the baby boomers were
hitting 60 and beyond. And, several major players were
struggling to successfully operate their long term acute
care (LTAC) and acute medical rehabilitation hospitals.
Sensing the timing was right, Hollinger founded Vibra
Healthcare with the initial acquisition of six specialty hospitals and set the company on a course to lead the field of
LTAC and acute medical rehabilitation hospital providers.
“We did our due diligence to determine whether we
wanted to start the company with those hospitals or not,
evaluating their existing operations and how we could
impact each facility in a positive way,” explains Stephen
Marcus, chief operating officer. “There were a number of
different items we could improve, but it wasn’t the same
thing at every location.”
During the next 10 years, Vibra would selectively acquire
two to three underperforming specialty hospitals each year
and turn them around to create added value. The company
was successful at operating in this manner because management recognized from the beginning that each hospital
was situated in a different market, had different practice
patterns, and different expectations, according to Marcus.
“We decided we needed to be flexible; that we needed to
modify our operating model to each community’s needs
and demographics,” he says. “One of our strong suits is that
we are not a cookie-cutter company. We have really tried as
we have gotten larger to not ignore that fact, as it has helped
us to be successful from the beginning.”
At the same time that Vibra was expanding, the healthcare industry was changing in response to the Affordable
Care Act and the government’s attempt to reduce costs
within the overall healthcare system, according to Mike
Thomas, executive vice president, strategy & organization
development.
“Our key to success as a healthcare provider is our ability
to be flexible,” Thomas says. “Given our structure and how
the company has developed, we have
the ability to move quickly in whatever
direction this changing healthcare
world goes.”
Part of what is happening in healthcare reform is the need to have a much
larger scope of operations making it
possible for a provider to operate more
efficiently and have less administrative
cost, Thomas believes. Vibra moved in
that direction last year when it added
significant assets with the acquisition of
16 hospitals formerly operated by Kindred Healthcare. Unlike earlier acquisitions, it almost doubled the size of the
company from a hospital standpoint.
“We’re very opportunistic,” says
Thomas. “If we can find assets that are
underperforming and make sense for us,
we will do that.”
With the Kindred acquisition,
Vibra’s portfolio became heavily
weighted toward LTAC hospitals. As a
result, Vibra intends to focus on the strategic acquisition or
ground up development of rehabilitation hospitals in the
immediate future.
“Another focus will be our virtual post acute care contin-
uum, which allows us to really be flexible in certain markets
and work with other providers to help coordinate or manage
the overall delivery of post acute care in that market,” Thomas says. “Our approach is that we don’t necessarily want to
own everything, but we can help create referral patterns with
other providers in that market to create a network of care.”
Despite the changes that have taken place in the healthcare industry since Vibra got its start a decade ago, tre-
“We embrace a culture that promotes
creativity while rewarding for results.
Management is encouraged to foster these
attributes thus ensuring the flexibility and
resourcefulness needed to navigate the
evolving healthcare landscape.”
—Brad Hollinger, Founder and CEO
mendous need exists and continues to grow for post acute
services thanks to the graying of America and the development of chronic disease epidemics, according to Don Yoder,
chief development officer and chief compliance officer.
continued on page 10
6 www.vibrahealthcare.com
Issue 3
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7
nationwide hospital operations
reach coast to coast
Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF)
Long Term Acute Care (LTAC)
MICHIGAN
● Vibra Hospital of Southeastern Michigan (LTAC) - Lincoln
Park
● Vibra Hospital of Southeastern Michigan-Taylor Campus
(LTAC/HIH) - Taylor
NEW JERSEY
n Marlton Rehabilitation Hospital (IRF) - Marlton
NORTH DAKOTA
● Vibra Hospital of Central Dakotas (LTAC) - Mandan
● Vibra Hospital of Fargo (LTAC) - Fargo
OHIO
n Summa Rehab Hospital (IRF) - Akron
● Vibra Hospital of Mahoning Valley (LTAC) - Boardman
CALIFORNIA
● Vibra Hospital of Mahoning Valley-Trumbull Campus
(LTAC/HIH) - Warren
n Ballard
Rehabilitation
Hospital (IRF) - San
Bernardino
OREGON
● Vibra Specialty Hospital of Portland (LTAC) - Portland
● Kentfield Rehabilitation & Specialty
Hospital (LTAC) - Kentfield
PENNSYLVANIA
★ Vibra Healthcare, LLC - Mechanicsburg
n San Joaquin Valley Rehabilitation Hospital (IRF) - Fresno
SOUTH CAROLINA
● Vibra Hospital of Northern California (LTAC/TCU) - Redding
● Vibra Hospital of Sacramento (LTAC) - Folsom
INDIANA
● Vibra Hospital of San Diego (LTAC) - San Diego
● Vibra Hospital of Fort
Wayne (LTAC/HIH) - Fort
Wayne
COLORADO
● Vibra Hospital of Denver (LTAC/TCU) - Thornton
● Vibra Hospital of Charleston (LTAC/TCU) - Mt. Pleasant
TEXAS
MASSACHUSETTS
IDAHO
● Vibra Hospital of Northwestern Indiana (LTAC) - Crown
Point
● Vibra Hospital of Boise (LTAC) - Meridian
KENTUCKY
ILLINOIS
n Gateway Rehabilitation Hospital at Florence (IRF) Florence
● Vibra Hospital of Springfield (LTAC) - Springfield
8 www.vibrahealthcare.com
● New Bedford Rehabilitation Hospital (LTAC) - New Bedford
♦ The Meadows of Central Massachusetts (Freestanding
SNF) - Rochdale
● Vibra Hospital of Western Massachusetts (LTAC) Springfield
n Southern Kentucky Rehabilitation Hospital (IRF) - Bowling
Green
Issue 3
● Vibra Hospital of Western Massachusetts-Central Campus
(LTAC) - Rochdale
Issue 3
● Atrium Medical Center (LTAC) - Corinth
n Highlands Regional Rehabilitation Hospital (IRF) - El Paso
● Vibra Hospital of Amarillo (LTAC) - Amarillo
n Vibra Rehabilitation Hospital of Amarillo (IRF) - Amarillo
● Vibra Specialty Hospital at DeSoto (LTAC) - DeSoto
VIRGINIA
● Vibra Hospital of Richmond (LTAC) - Richmond
good vibrations
9
REIT financing was key
to early growth
It
is often said that timing is everything. In 2004
when Brad Hollinger was looking to purchase
the six hospitals that would become Vibra
Healthcare, a colleague with a brand new real estate
investment trust (REIT) was looking for hospitals to
finance for his company’s jump start.
“They needed a big deal, and Brad had this big
opportunity,” remembers Clint Fegan, chief financial
officer. “A purchase was negotiated for the six hospitals, with Medical Properties Trust (MPT) providing
the funds. It was a transaction that launched
both companies.”
It was also a relationship that would serve both
companies well as they continued to work together
in subsequent years—Vibra strategically purchasing
underperforming hospitals and MPT financing
the acquisitions.
“It worked out great for both companies,” Fegan
says, explaining that MPT provided financing for
Vibra’s first 10 hospitals. “We’ve since refinanced all
but four of those hospitals.”
The REIT structure allowed Vibra to finance the purchase of the hospitals and provided enough working
capital to fund its start-up losses from 2004 to 2009.
It also allowed senior management to own 100 percent of the company, which is unusual for companies
HEALTHCARE HERO
Vibra Healthcare: uniquely positioned for
success . . . continued from page 7
Clinical lab manager earns
national recognition
“We’re in a good space to provide a very valuable
service,” Yoder says. “At the same time, we’re right at the
tip of the spear in relationship to change and how we get
more value out of healthcare.”
Historically, post acute providers have acted individually with little coordination of care along the continuum.
That is beginning to change as government and payers
look for ways to expand the number of people receiving
healthcare while minimizing the cost to deliver that care.
“In addition to a growing need for services, there also
is tremendous need for leadership on our part to make
change related to expanding regulations, as well as moving toward an organized, integrated post acute continuum,” he says. “Our strategy is to affiliate with other providers and be the post acute solution in our existing markets
rather than getting into additional markets.”
Vibra will integrate services with the short term acute
care (STAC) hospitals and Accountable Care Organizations and move with them as change occurs on a community level, Yoder believes.
“The opportunity we have as a company comes from
the fact that we are private, very hands on, experienced
and have done some of this before,” he says. “We are able
to go in, move fast to make changes, and integrate us
with the STAC systems and begin to show them we can
reinvent care in such a fashion that there can be savings.”
The challenge will be in finding ways to treat more
patients in a more cost effective approach.
“We have a road map to do that through our strategy
of joint ventures and the virtual post acute continuum
of care,” Yoder says, “but, we have to do it within the rational framework of what we control and what influence we
can create.” n
Citing her achievement in the medical laboratory field, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) named Michelle Spinosa,
CLS, MLS, clinical laboratory manager, Kentfield Rehabilitation
and Specialty Hospital, to its inaugural “40 Under 40” Program.
The program recognizes 40 pathologists, pathology residents
and laboratory professionals under age 40 who have made
significant contributions to the profession and stand out as
the future of laboratory leadership.
“We are inspired by these young professionals who
are passionate about the profession, driven to improve
healthcare delivery and doing amazing work for their
institutions and beyond,” said Dr. E. Blair Holladay,
executive vice president of ASCP.
The 34-year-old Spinosa earned the recognition for
building Kentfield’s new clinical laboratory in just two
months after she was hired in 2010.
“At the time, there was no other lab within Vibra.
Everything had to be made from scratch,” Spinosa
remembers. “There wasn’t a Quality Assurance
manual, there were no policies or standard
operating procedures. It was a lot of work.”
Previously, the hospital had contracted with a
nearby hospital for all its services, but the cost and
delays caused by transporting specimens were major
barriers to efficient patient care, according to Ann
Gors, Kentfield’s chief executive officer.
“Because we wanted to reduce costs and improve
our quality of services, we embarked on the new lab
project and hired Michelle to start the lab,” Gors says.
“She got it up and running, initiated all the policies,
received the equipment, did the initial testing and successfully passed the COLA accreditation survey.”
In fact, COLA presented its highest commendation to
Spinosa, The Laboratory Excellence Award, due to the outstanding survey results. Although the timeline was aggressive, Spinosa believes her professional network contributed
to her success.
“It was helpful to be young and able to work a lot,”
she says. “I also made a lot of technical calls to colleagues
I could ask what needs to be done, and I read and reread all
the regulations.”
Today the lab is staffed by a solid team and runs smoothly
and efficiently, according to Spinosa.
“It took a while to get there, but everybody loves working
here,” she says. “It is a great lab.” n
of Vibra’s size.
“By buying underperforming hospitals and then
paying attention to every operating detail, we’ve been
able to generate financial improvements in the operations of our hospitals and create our own working
capital,” Fegan says. “We’re certainly a much different
company than we were 10 years ago.” n
Photo by Capturing Grace Photography.
10 www.vibrahealthcare.com
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good vibrations 11
Hospital/Community IN ACTION
Marlton Rehabilitation Hospital hosts amputee golf clinic
E
very year the Marlton Rehab Annual National
Amputee Golf Association First Swing/Learn to
Golf Clinic welcomes new participants looking
to reclaim their golf swing or just interact with
peers who share similar disabilities.
“Some of the attendees are current patients, some are
past patients and some have never been to [Marlton Rehabilitation Hospital],” says Ken Turley, manager, outpatient
rehabilitation. “The clinic’s main goal is education and
community support.”
Working along side the hospital’s therapists at the
clinic is Lou Namm, a double amputee who has served
as a clinic instructor for 20 years. In the morning session,
Namm educates therapists on the proper techniques
for using adaptive equipment to help someone golf.
“The afternoon session is when it opens to the
community for participants to come out and work with
the therapists and Lou,” explains Turley. “Basically Lou
is educating them and the therapists at the same time.”
Andrea Varone, a physical therapist who works with the
majority of amputees who come through Marlton Rehabil-
itation Hospital, says the event is an excellent activity for anyone with limitations in balance or walking.
“They take turns on the equipment or get up and try swinging. If someone needs assistance, one of the
therapists is there to assist,” Varone says. “One of the big benefits is that people realize they can do more
than they could do before. Improved self confidence is a huge advantage.”
The clinic is just one way that Marlton Rehabilitation Hospital is helping amputees. With one of the
longest running amputee support groups in New Jersey, the hospital also does its part to show amputees
that life does not end when they lose a limb, according to Dennis O’Donnell, an amputee since 2004.
“Beside the golf outing, we’ve gotten people to go rock climbing, play tennis and other crazy things,”
says O’Donnell, who co-facilitates the amputee support group with Varone. “Lately we have been trying
to get people into kayaks.”
O’Donnell, who believes everything happens for a reason, firmly believes the reason he is an amputee
is so he can provide support to the amputee community.
“That is part of what we share with the group: You have two choices. You can accept it and go with it or
sit at home and feel sorry for yourself,” he says, adding that the people who are in the middle eventually
fall their way after they attend a few meetings. “They realize it is a lot of fun.” n

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