Dr. Bruce Gans serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and National Medical Director for Rehabilitation for Select Medical, the parent company for Kessler. He also currently is the Chairman of the Board of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association. His distinguished career in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation spans five decades as a leading clinician, educator, researcher, administrator, and advocate. A prolific writer and researcher, he has served on the editorial boards and as a reviewer for numerous medical journals and just concluded many years of service as an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Gans also has presented hundreds of lectures throughout the world on various topics in PM&R. He is past president of both the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Association of Academic Physiatrists. His medical degree is from the University of Pennsylvania and he also holds Master of Science degrees from both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington. Among his many honors, he is the 2016 recipient of the Rusk Award for Leadership and Innovation in PM&R. In this special three-part edition, Dr. Gans provides incredible insight on a multitude of topics including managed care and Continuing Care Hospitals, pediatric transition to adult care services, and the importance of patient-reported outcomes.
Dr. Bruce Gans serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and National Medical Director for Rehabilitation for Select Medical, the parent company for Kessler. He also currently is the Chairman of the Board of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association. His distinguished career in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation spans five decades as a leading clinician, educator, researcher, administrator, and advocate. A prolific writer and researcher, he has served on the editorial boards and as a reviewer for numerous medical journals and just concluded many years of service as an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Gans also has presented hundreds of lectures throughout the world on various topics in PM&R. He is past president of both the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Association of Academic Physiatrists. His medical degree is from the University of Pennsylvania and he also holds Master of Science degrees from both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington. Among his many honors, he is the 2016 recipient of the Rusk Award for Leadership and Innovation in PM&R. In this special three-part edition, Dr. Gans provides incredible insight on a multitude of topics including managed care and Continuing Care Hospitals, pediatric transition to adult care services, and the importance of patient-reported outcomes.
Dr. Bruce Gans serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and National Medical Director for Rehabilitation for Select Medical, the parent company for Kessler. He also currently is the Chairman of the Board of the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association. His distinguished career in the field of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation spans five decades as a leading clinician, educator, researcher, administrator, and advocate. A prolific writer and researcher, he has served on the editorial boards and as a reviewer for numerous medical journals and just concluded many years of service as an Associate Editor of the American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Dr. Gans also has presented hundreds of lectures throughout the world on various topics in PM&R. He is past president of both the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the Association of Academic Physiatrists. His medical degree is from the University of Pennsylvania and he also holds Master of Science degrees from both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington. Among his many honors, he is the 2016 recipient of the Rusk Award for Leadership and Innovation in PM&R. In this special three-part edition, Dr. Gans provides incredible insight on a multitude of topics including managed care and Continuing Care Hospitals, pediatric transition to adult care services, and the importance of patient-reported outcomes.
Elena Savvides is a music therapist on the in-patient pediatric unit at Rusk Rehabilitation where she provides both individual and group music therapy services to children and families, with occasional services provided on the surgery recovery unit. She has received specialized training in neurologic music therapy, which is the therapeutic application of music to cognitive, sensory, and motor dysfunctions that come from varied neurologic disorders. She is currently in the process of developing a Rhythmic Auditory Stimulation (RAS) pilot program in the pediatric outpatient rehabilitation unit at Rusk. Her Master’s of Music Therapy degree with specialization in Psychotherapy is from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario. In this interview, Elena discusses her experiences with initiating the RAS program.
Dr. Kenneth Harwood is Director of the Health Care Quality Program and Director of Research for the Program in Physical Therapy at The George Washington University. Prior to his being at The George Washington University, he was the Vice President of Practice and Education for the American Physical Therapy Association where he oversaw Association efforts and activities designed to improve and enhance the state of physical therapy education and practice. Dr. Harwood has held academic positions at Columbia University, New York University and SUNY, Health Sciences Center at Brooklyn. He earned his bachelor’s in Physical Therapy from the State University of New York at Downstate Medical Center and his master’s and PhD degrees from New York University’s Biomechanics and Ergonomics Program. He has published and presented nationally and internationally in the area of physical therapy, occupational health, low back pain care and prevention, safe patient handling and movement, health care policy and quality, and leadership. In this interview, Dr. Harwood discusses his study of the benefits of direct access to physical therapy and the effects that direct access has on health care costs, emergency department visits, and opioid use.