Vol. 19 •Issue 21 • Page 12
And the Winner Is…
New York practice owner receives ADVANCE’s 4th annual honor
By Rob Senior
ADVANCE congratulates Gary Welch, PT, DPT, CFMT, COMT, CFCE, the winner of our 4th annual PT Practitioner of the Year contest.
Dr. Welch became the first award winner to be nominated twice—patients Valerie DiGiovanni and Margaret Gallagher both acknowledged his fine service to the physical therapy profession in separate letters toADVANCE.
“Dr. Welch is a driven professional who successfully performs the duties of his position with a high degree of motivation and positive attitude,” wrote DiGiovanni. “He works more than 70 hours a week to make sure his patients are taken care of. He recently began office hours on Saturdays. His demeanor is very professional and positive. Patients love and look forward to coming to his practice.”
“I know Gary Welch invested a lot of time, energy, encouragement and support into my recovery,” added Gallagher. “It was an
Dr. Welch, the owner of in Patchogue, NY, has been a licensed physical therapist since 2000 when he graduated from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stonybrook. He later utilized Stonybrook’s transitional doctorate program to become a DPT last year.extremely frightening experience for me. Experiencing the quality of care and knowledge Gary Welch has as a physical therapist I knew I was getting the best there was out there.”
“I am so honored to receive this award,” said Dr. Welch. “It is humbling to know that my patients feel that their lives have been positively impacted to the point that they take time out of their busy schedules and nominate me for the award.”
After starting his career as a practitioner at St. Charles Hospital, an outpatient rehab facility in Patchogue, Dr. Welch made the decision to start his own practice in the winter of 2007.
As his specialty certifications attest, Dr. Welch is quite a continuing education enthusiast, and that passion helped lead him into developing his own practice. “I got involved in as much continuing education as I could,” he recalled, “and once I became a certified functional manual therapist, and took all the courses to become a certified orthopedic manual therapist, I felt that I had enough of my own skills to start my own practice.”
That was his motivation, but Dr. Welch’s inspiration came from a unique time and place. “I was out on my bike one day,” he recalled, “riding along Hospital Road, about a mile from my house. For some reason, instead of heading toward my house, I turned to ride down by the hospital.”
What Dr. Welch saw next changed his life and career. In the distance, across the street from the hospital was a brand-new medical building, still under construction.
“I stopped in my tracks,” he recalled. “I couldn’t believe this beautiful building was going to be right across the street in my neighborhood. But sure enough, there was a phone number to call for leasing information.”
Initially, Dr. Welch figured the cost would be prohibitive, but after months of planning, he found himself in the brand-new building in February 2007, the proud owner and founder of Spectrum Physical Therapy. A little less than two years later, his practice boasts close to a thousand patients treated, with more on their way through the doors every day.
Dr. Welch attributes the number of patients he has treated in such a short time to word-of-mouth, and his devotion to continuing education, which makes him more qualified and impressive to doctors in the area. “The doctors see the improvements being made, and they’re pleased with this progress,” he said. “My doctorate degree, my certifications as a manual therapist—these things help me to promote my practice and to promote physical therapy as a whole in our area.”
His own hard work plays a significant role, as Dr. Welch routinely puts in 70-hour weeks to develop and enhance his practice. “At the start, I was the only therapist here,” he reasoned. “Working those long hours was the only way to stay open from seven in the morning until 8:30 PM.”
Once the patient load became impossible to handle on his own, Dr. Welch’s wife—also a PT—came in to help out part-time. “She saw some of the extra patients I couldn’t treat, but I still was working 70 hours or so per week for the first eight months of the practice.”
The couple is currently co-owners and full-time employees of Spectrum Physical Therapy. “I’m glad to say I’m now down to 50 hours of work per week,” laughed Dr. Welch.
Margaret Gallagher’s nomination thanked Dr. Welch for showing her ways to exercise safely and condition herself in between appointments. “It’s imperative to get any patient to a point of independence with a home exercise program, while teaching them exercises that reduce pain and impairment while improving their function,” said Dr. Welch.
One of Dr. Welch’s biggest points with his employees is teamwork. “Patients have very busy schedules,” he reasoned, “so if I’m not here during one of my patients’ appointment, it’s important that I have someone on staff who can fill in for that appointment.”
This is possible because of the excellent notes Dr. Welch and all the therapists at Spectrum take on each visit. “Each therapist can look and see what programs the patient is working on and what protocols we’re following with each patient,” he said.
Even with all the work he’s completed recently with building his own practice, Dr. Welch isn’t stopping just yet. “I am currently in the process of starting a physical therapy office at Brookhaven National Labs, which will provide PT services for the employee’s of the lab and allow me to continue providing pre-employment screens for new hires,” he reported. “The pre-employment screens help to determine if a prospective employee is capable of performing the essential tasks that are required for that job and lower the potential for future injuries.”
He also enjoys teaching his course on Manual and Manipulative Therapy of the Spine and Pelvis for the transitional DPT students at Stony Brook. This course promotes instruction on mobilization and manipulation of the joints throughout the spine, which has recently been encouraged by the APTA and AAOMPT, which he is a member.
As far as his personal life, Dr. Welch gave all the credit for his success to others who are in his life. “I do feel strongly that this could never have happened without my guidance and faith that I have in God,” he said. “I give all of what has happened in my life to God and thank Him for his guidance, love and grace. I also want to give thanks to the people who have helped to mold and teach me the skills I have to help my patients. I’ll start with my wife, who is patient with me and an outstanding manual therapist herself, as well as my professors at Stony Brook, my clinical instructors who guided me and the teachers who taught me the advanced manual therapy skills that led to my two manual therapist certifications.”
In the precious little spare time he does have, Dr. Welch enjoys tinkering with his Shelby Mustang GT 500, and is an avid photographer.
But nothing trumps his love and passion for his profession. “It’s such a pleasure to come into work and help others who are going through struggles in their lives,” he said. “Just to be able to make a difference and help someone get through their activities of daily living with less pain and improved function. I find the field of physical therapy so rewarding and wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
Rob Senior is senior associate editor at ADVANCE and can be reached at rsenior@advanceweb.com
Second Place: Marie Lynch; New York, NY
This year’s second-place finisher in the PT Practitioner of the Year Contest is Marie Lynch, MS, PT, who works at the New York Roosevelt Children’s Center.
Nominated by colleague Lauren Garavuso, MSPT, Ms. Lynch has more than 20 years of experience working at the Roosevelt Center, and is beloved by co-workers and patients alike. Upon receiving word of her honor, Ms. Lynch wrote the following to ADVANCE:
“I am stunned by all the nice things that were said in the application. I am a very modest person who just tries to think of others. I am so appreciative that my colleagues took the time and effort to write and submit this application. It is actually a testament to them that they would do so.
“Even before I read this note, I had already decided that when I e-mailed you, I would emphasize the wonderful program I work for and the tremendously warm, generous and gifted people I work with. The children in our program always come first; everyone on staff is dedicated to them.
“We truly do work as a team. So any recognition I receive I feel is a recognition of my colleagues as well. They inspire me with the countless little ways on a daily basis they give of themselves to the children. I have learned so much from the teachers and other therapists I work with.
“I know this award and ADVANCE is about therapy, but I would like to also put a special word in for special educators who work with children with special needs. In my experience, they have such a positive and large impact on the children who come in to their rooms for a whole school day. They are the people who are responsible for the development of the children in so many areas: ADLs, feeding, social, communication, cognitive and physical.
“In summary, I could not have become the therapist described in the application without being surrounded by such dedicated people in the warm environment created within our preschool. I must add one more line to acknowledge the director of our preschool, Yuki Okuma, who is responsible for running our preschool and creating such a nurturing environment. She has been the director for as long as I have worked at Roosevelt.”
—Rob Senior
Third Place—Desirea Caucci; Conshohocken, PA
Congratulations to our third-place winner for 2008, Desirea Caucci, DPT.
Caucci is president and co-owner of Conshohocken Physical Therapy. She was nominated by her husband and co-owner, Robert.
“Desirea has a tremendous ability to make people feel comfortable and upbeat—from the staff, to patients, to referring physicians,” wrote Bob Caucci. “She spends a full hour on each patient evaluation, which gives her a chance to listen and truly understand the person and the ailment.”
Dr. Caucci graduated from Arcadia University in Glenside, PA before going on to work for a large facility. But she always had a dream to go into business for herself.
“I had very strong family support,” she said of her decision to open the practice. “It was something I’d always dreamt of, and it was perfect timing.”
That time was about three years ago. With her husband’s business abilities and Desirea’s clinical expertise, the Cauccis opened Conshohocken Physical Therapy. With the intention of making their business a part of the community, they found their location only a mile from their home.
Since that time, Dr. Caucci has built a highly successful—and growing—practice. With a total of three PTs, she says their current 1,000 square foot facility is somewhat “maxed out” but doesn’t rule out further growth in the future.
“As a therapist and the practice owner, Desirea has been forced to juggle every aspect of the business,” Bob wrote. “She has met every challenge head on and worked through them with ease and confidence. In just over two years she has opened the practice in the back corner of a training center, quickly grown into a private office in the center of town and hired another full-time therapist to handle the rapidly growing referral base. Ultimately, she has created an extremely healthy business, both therapeutically and financially.”
“In medicine, everything is rushed,” said Dr. Caucci. “Patients need someone to listen to and truly assess their needs. That’s the role PT can play. That’s why, at our facility, we see only one patient per hour. It’s a unique approach, but our patients are truly appreciative.”
—Rob Senior
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