Tag Archive for: Indianapolis Business Journal

NeuroHope Wins 2017 “Health Care Heroes” Award

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The physical therapy team at NeuroHope has been named “Top Honoree” for Community Achievement at the 2017 Health Care Heroes Awards!

The annual event, presented by the Indianapolis Business Journal, took place during an elegant breakfast at the Conrad Hilton to recognize doctors, hospitals, community programs, and volunteers who are devoted to bettering health care in Indiana. NeuroHope was humbled to be among the nominees, and honored to take home the top prize in Community Achievement.

Read the article in the Indianapolis Business Journal here!

Director of Therapy Nora Foster accepted the award, flanked at the podium by her amazing team of Sara Sale and Donna Peterson. These ladies are the heart and sole of NeuroHope. Two years ago, they took a leap of faith to join me in a daunting task. As highly trained therapists in neurologic injury, they recognized a void in care in the healthcare landscape, and from a purely altruistic motive, decided to help address it. Their effort has led to the creation of a clinic where injured individuals can continue affordable physical therapy and wellness programs to maximize their recovery process and improve long-term quality of life.

Every clinic revolves around the standard of care it provides its patients. That standard begins and ends with the knowledge, skill, and compassion its clinicians provide. There is no team of therapists I would rather have leading NeuroHope than Nora, Donna and Sara. I witness their work every day, and I’ve experienced it first hand. For me, it’s personal.

Donna and Sara were two of the first therapists that worked with me following my spinal cord injury 7 years ago.   Paralyzed from the neck down, I was admitted to the Rehabilitation Hospital of Indiana two weeks after my injury to begin the grueling recovery process. Donna was assigned to my case. I knew nothing about spinal cord injury. I knew nothing about the complications my body was experiencing, and I was completely in the dark about my chances for recovery. I was a floating head on a pillow with no concept of the journey that lay ahead.

Inpatient therapists are tasked with a difficult role. Doctors slam their patients with a whirlwind of information and a glimpse of their diagnosis, but therapists are on the front lines to pick up the pieces. They are the first clinicians to spend extensive time and offer hope to injured individuals. Their job is to implement a physical recovery plan, but they unwittingly become counselors, teachers, and mentors as well.

Donna was with me every day for the first eight weeks of the most trying period of my life. Sara participated in a few of my early sessions as well. At a time when therapy was spent ranging my limbs, and contracting a single muscle was a major victory, they pushed me, educated me, and took the time to answer every question I had about my injury. Most importantly, they cared deeply about my progress. They were on the journey with me. Seven years later we are on a remarkable journey again.

Nora gives the same devotion to each and every one of her patients. It is a pleasure to watch her work, and an honor to have her leading the services at NeuroHope. When I met her three years ago, NeuroHope was only an idea. The vision was planted in my head, but without the right clinician, the roots of NeuroHope would never take hold.   I needed a therapist skilled and passionate about neurologic recovery, with the “fire-in-the-belly” to help will NeuroHope into existence. I’m honored to have found her.

I can not imagine three individuals more deserving of their “Hero” recognition. Not just for their role in creating NeuroHope, but for the lives they have touched throughout their entire careers.

NeuroHope Nominated for 2017 Health Care Heroes Award

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NeuroHope_TherapistsThe physical therapy team at NeuroHope has been selected as one of three nominees in “Community Achievement” for the Indianapolis Business Journal’s 2017 Health Care Heroes Award!

NeuroHope was created three years ago because of a simple realization: Many patients recovering from neurologic injury are discharged from rehabilitation too soon with no place to continue their recovery.  Insurance caps therapy coverage after only a few months and traditional healthcare clinics are unable to continue treatment at an affordable out-of-pocket rate.

NeuroHope’s Director of Therapy, Nora Foster (DPT), and her team of Donna Peterson (PTA) and Sara Sale (DPT) have embarked on a path to fill this void in care. From a purely altruistic motive, and with no experience in healthcare administration, they became devoted to creating a clinic that operates beyond traditional, insurance-based services.

NeuroHope integrates insurance visits with extremely discounted private-pay rates in order to provide patients with long-term care. This involves combining aggressive therapy with wellness goals to maximize recovery and improve quality of life.

In two short years, NeuroHope’s vision has proven successful. The team has created a non-profit outpatient healthcare clinic from scratch, become credentialed with Medicare/Medicaid and commercial insurance, and works with the Krannert School of Physical Therapy at the University of Indianapolis to provide students with Internship and volunteer opportunities.   NeuroHope’s patient-centric model was also the catalyst behind a 2015 change in Indiana law to help fund long-term rehabilitation programs.

Most importantly, Nora and her team have helped 36 patients, ranging from spinal cord injury, brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy on along their road to recovery.

This recognition is well-deserved for Nora, Sara, and Donna.  Not only for the work they have done to launch NeuroHope, but for the devotion they have shown to all of their patients over the their entire careers.

The 2017 Health Care Heroes Awards will be presented at a special IBJ breakfast at the Hilton Conrad on Friday, March 3rd.

Click here for more information.

 

 

Chris Named to IBJ’s “Forty Under 40” List

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Every year the Indianapolis Business Journal selects forty individuals in the Indy metro area who “have demonstrated impressive career achievements and unparalleled community involvement before the age of 40.”  The annual list is meant to recognize some of our city’s up-and-coming entrepreneurs, philantropists, and community leaders.   I am honored to be a member of the 24th class!

Chris&Kristen40under40A special print edition of the IBJ was dedicated to the class, and an in-depth profile of each member was included.  Read my segment here:

http://www.ibj.com/articles/56987-forty-under-40-chris-leeuw

The class of 2016 was honored at a reception at the Skyline Club in the One America Building and will also have the privilege to preside over a $40,000 grant, provided by the Central Indiana Community Foundation (CICF), to local charities.

I can’t thank the NeuroHope team and our supporters enough for all that has been done to launch our clinic over the last three years.  Without their support NeuroHope would be an idea instead of reality.  And, we are only just beginning!

NeuroHope in the Press: Feature in IBJ

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Last month, we welcomed Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ) Healthcare reporter J.K. Wall to NeuroHope.   He and a photographer dropped by on a bustling Wednesday to learn about the vision we have for our clinic, and to chat with some of our clients as they worked their tails off in therapy.

The result: A fantastic front page article in the March 15 edition!  Wall eloquently explains the void in therapy in central Indiana, and the model behind how we are changing the paradigm for longer rehab visits, and affordable access.

You can read the article here!

We would like to give a big thanks to J.K. Wall for his visit, and to our awesome clients Randy, Brad, and Ariane for sharing their recovery stories.