National Rehabilitation Week:
The Rewards of Rehab

Every day, we want to acknowledge the dedicated, caring, highly-skilled team of professionals from many disciplines at Franciscan Hospital for Children who provide excellence in pediatric physical and pulmonary rehabilitation. In keeping with our philosophy of family centered care, our staff members address the challenges of each child and family and promote the best possible outcomes.

From Abe, born at 1-½ pounds with chronic lung disease and other medical complications, who at 5 years of age can now eat totally by mouth and is lovingly described by his father as a “sports maniac,” to Justin, a teenager who endured a sudden neurological condition that left him unable to move and can now run on a treadmill – we are very grateful for the work and care of our wonderful therapists throughout the year.

In honor of National Rehabilitation Week, we asked a handful of our rehab staff to answer the question,

What is the most rewarding part of working as a rehabilitation professional at Franciscan Hospital for Children?

Their answers are something to be shared and celebrated.

“I enjoy working with fantastic children and their families and seeing them achieve their goals. I especially like seeing them utilize their skills out in the community like riding a bike, playing baseball, or ice skating!” – Maria Fragala-Pinkham, PT, DPT, MS, Director of the Adaptive Sports Program

“Watching kids grow! Both literally & developmentally. When a child is discharging I like to think back to when they first admitted compared to where they’re at now. For example, some children admit on tube feeds, unable to eat, but they leave getting 100% of their nutrition needs from food. For others, we’ve had to increase their tube feeds to keep up with them! They’re growing taller, breathing more on their own, or more active from their work with physical therapists.” – Emily Finnan, RD LDN, Registered Dietitian

“I love it when I watch a child smile because they are having fun…even though I am asking them to do really hard work.” – Carrie Barlow, PT PCS, Director of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy

Is there a staff member you’d like to celebrate in honor of National Rehab Week? Tell us in the comments!