Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital

Michael Spigel joined Brooks Health System in 2004 as the President of Brooks Rehabilitation Network, encompassing the hospital and 19 outpatient facilities. In June 2005, Spigel was promoted to Chief Operating Officer for Brooks Health System. Spigel has a Master of Health Administration degree, from Chapman University-located in Orange County, CA-and a Bachelors of Science degree in Physical Therapy from the University of Maryland. He was a staff Physical Therapist for seven years at the University of Maryland/Montebello Rehabilitation Hospital in the Spinal Cord Injury Program. Following this experience, he was a clinical coordinator of the Spinal Cord Injury team at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Washington, DC, and served the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center as a Supervisor on their Spinal Cord Injury Team. Spigel was also employed at Sutter Health in Sacramento, CA, a 25-hospital integrated health care system. His career at Sutter began as the Director, Regional Ambulatory Services, and as the Director, Strategy and Development for Sutter Medical Foundation, a medical group of over 150 physicians. Prior to coming to Brooks Rehabilitation, Spigel was with the RehabCare Group, employed as their Executive Director, Vice President of Operations and finally as their Sr. Vice President of Group Operations. Spigel has an in-depth knowledge of healthcare system management and, in particular, post-acute-care settings. He is highly skilled in strategic planning, leadership, communication, decision-making and project management. He is most proficient at creating profitable business results, while being seen as a visionary in each organization he has served.

Betsy Fallon joined Brooks Health System and the Executive Team as Vice President of Marketing and Planning in February, 2004. In this role, she leads marketing, strategic planning, business development, communications and public relations functions. She is also involved in community health and relations work since coming to Jacksonville. Fallon has over 20 years of healthcare experience. Her most recent position was Director of Business Development and Planning for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago. Previously, she directed marketing and strategic planning functions in two Chicago-area hospitals, ran two profitable operations with over 100 employees in medically-based fitness and was a consultant for a major healthcare strategy firm. Fallon has a Masters degree in Health Services Management and Finance from J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame in Economics with highest honors, where she was also the captain of the women's tennis team.

Dr. Charles Schauer earned his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Florida, with specialized training in neuropsychology. He has been employed in rehabilitative services since 1979 and has been with Brooks Rehabilitation since its origin. Dr. Schauer is involved with the Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security Brain and Spinal Injury Advisory Council. He has been active in developing the state standards for both brain and spinal cord injuries. He has also been very active in local and state prevention activities and is a surveyor for CARF.

Karen Gallagher joined Brooks Rehabilitation as Vice President of Learning in 2005. Her responsibilities increased in 2008, when she was named Vice President Human Resources and Learning. Karen has over 20-years of experience as a Senior Executive in the areas of Human Resources, Management Consultancy, and Organizational Development. She has held positions with Johns and Associates as a Senior Consultant, Alltel Corporation as a Sr. Vice President in Human Resources, and Barnett Bank in a similar capacity.

Dr. Alan R. Berger is Professor and Chairman of the Dept. of Neurology, Assistant Dean for Research for the University of Florida's College of Medicine Jacksonville, and interim Director of the Brooks Center for Rehabilitation Studies. He also serves as the Director of the Neuroscience Institute at Shands Jacksonville. Dr. Berger completed his Neurology residency at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and a fellowship in Neuromuscular Disease and EMG at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He was Director of Neuromuscular Disease and EMG at the Montefiore Medical Center / Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and was Vice-Chairman of Albert Einstein's Neurology department until 1995 when he joined the University of Florida COM Jacksonville as Associate Chairman of Neurology. In 2005, he was named Chairman of the Jacksonville Neurology Department. Dr. Berger has had RO1 grants from the NIH, and has been Principal Investigator of multiple clinical trials.

Dr. Andrea Behrman received her Ph.D. in Motor Behavior and Physiological Psychology from the University of Florida in Gainesville. She has been employed in physical therapy and rehabilitation services since 1980 and has been with the Brooks Center since its inception. She was recently appointed Interim Director of the Brooks Center. Dr. Behrman is currently an Associate Professor in Physical Therapy at the University of Florida and has extensive experience as a clinician and as a scientist. Her specialty as a physical therapist and researcher is in adult neurorehabilitation. Dr. Behrman has been published extensively and focuses her research on improving outcomes in persons with movement disorders secondary to neurologic disease or injury. For example, she has been working recently on the LEAPS trial which tests methods of improving walking in individuals post-stroke.

Jeff Johns, M.D., Medical Director for the Spinal Cord Injury Center of Excellence, is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and has a sub-specialty certification in Spinal Cord Injury Medicine. He graduated from Duke University School of Medicine and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill. Dr. Johns has co-authored more than 15 peer reviewed articles in journals such as Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine, Muscle and Nerve, Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Topics in Spinal Cord Injury. He has also been an Assistant Professor at MCV/VCU and has served as a guest oral examiner for the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

Jennifer McParland, Program Director for the Spinal Cord Injury Center of Excellence, is a longtime Brooks employee with tremendous experience. McParland works very closely with Dr. Johns.

Dr. Maher is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She earned her B.S. degree in Physical Therapy at the Medical College of Georgia, and then went on to earn her M.D. at the Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Maher did her residency training in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. Before coming to Brooks, she was Assistant Professor of Rehabilitation at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, for eight years where she received the Samuel L. Stover, M.D., Excellence in Teaching Award. Dr. Maher is participating in the Propranatal Study underway at the University of Florida, Shands, Jacksonville. Dr. Maher is the mother of two boys and a girl, under the age of 10. Dr. Maher is a member of the Brooks Rehabilitation Specialist Group*.

Dr. Spierre is board certified by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and the American Board of Pediatrics. In addition, she holds a subspecialty certification in Pediatric Rehabilitation Medicine. Dr. Spierre received her graduate education at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Medicine and embarked on a combined residency in the fields of pediatrics and physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to joining Brooks, she worked in Minnesota at Saint Mary's Duluth Clinic as a staff physician and served as medical director of pediatric rehabilitation at Miller Dwan Medical Center. Dr. Spierre has presented at national conferences on brain injury and pediatric rehabilitations and is the lead author of the chapter "Rehabilitation of the Child with Multiple Injuries" in the textbook Skeletal Trauma in Children. Dr. Spierre is a member of the Brooks Rehabilitation Specialist Group*.

Mark Hofmann, M.D., the Medical Director of the Pain Rehabilitation Program, is board certified and has been a Diplomate of the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation since May 1992. He is also certified by the American Board of Pain Medicine. As Medical Director of the Pain Rehabilitation Program at Brooks, Dr. Hofmann provides intensive rehabilitation and pain management techniques through a team approach in order to assist patients in coping with chronic pain without relying on narcotic pain medications.

Nicole Delagrange, M.S., CCC-SLP, the Program Director for the Stroke Center of Excellence, has been working at Brooks since 2000 as our Inpatient Speech-Language Pathology Manager. She brings extensive training and expertise in adult stroke, traumatic brain injury and degenerative neurological disease processes to the position. Delagrange has more than sixteen years of comprehensive speech-language pathology experience, including management, program development, staff education and training. Delagrange will work closely with Dr. Paris.

Trevor Paris, M.D., the Medical Director for the Stroke Center of Excellence, is board certified by both the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners. He received his graduate education from the Medical University of South Carolina and spent his internship in the field of internal medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center, located in southern California. While there, he went on to complete his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Chuck Thigpen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Athletic Training & Physical Therapy at the University of North Florida. He recently completed his PhD in Human Movement Science from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has led a number of shoulder research projects, presented at national and international conferences, and teaches in both the academic and continuing education arenas. He served as the staff athletic trainer for the 2002-2003 UNC women's basketball team. Before that, Chuck worked as a graduate assistant with UNC wrestling, men's lacrosse, and women's crew. His primary research interest is shoulder injury, rehabilitation and prevention. Thigpen completed a PhD in Human Movement Science focusing on biomechanics and research design in 2006. He completed a M.S. in Human Movement Science with a concentration in Sports Physical Therapy from UNC in May of 2003. He earned his B.S. in Physical Therapy from East Tennessee State University in 1997 after serving at the first graduating class's president for two years. Thigpen is a NATABOC certified athletic trainer and a member of the National Athletic Trainer's Association and the American Physical Therapy Association's Sports Physical Therapy and Orthopedic Special Interest Groups. He and his wife Rebecca reside in Durham with their cat Gus.

Dru Lovecky, the Program Director for the Stroke Center of Excellence, joined Brooks in 2008. She brings extensive training and expertise to the program. Lovecky works closely with Dr. Paris.

Floris Singletary received her Master of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University in Speech Language Pathology. She has been employed in rehabilitative services since 1974 and has been involved with the rehabilitation research at the Brooks Rehabilitation sites since 1999. Singletary has been instrumental in the development of the Brooks Center for Rehabilitation Studies and bridging the relationship between the University of Florida's academic and research teams and clinical programs at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital and Outpatient Clinics. She is currently the Coordinator of Clinical Programs for the Brooks Center and oversees the recruitment and operations of multiple clinical trials at the Brooks Center lab and satellite facilities.

Dr. Koslowski is board certified by the American Society of Neuro-Rehabilitation and the American Board of Neurology and Psychiatry. He received his post-graduate education from New York Medical College in Valhalia, NY and completed his internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. While there, Dr. Koslowski began his residency in Neurology and completed it at the Medical College of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Finally, he completed a year-long Fellowship in Neuro-Rehabilitation at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. Dr. Koslowski has spent his professional career specializing in Neurology in Jacksonville, FL. He currently has a private practice, with specialties in Neurology, Pain Management and Neuro-Rehabilitation. Dr. Koslowski has also been published in several medical journals, including Neurology and Jacksonville Medicine.

Lucy B. Trice, Ph.D., ARNP, BC, has a varied clinical background, ranging from medical-surgical and intensive care nursing to adminstrative positions in both large and small, private and public acute care facilities. She served 10 years as the Director of the School of Nursing at UNF, and is currently the Associate Dean of the Brooks College of Health. Trice is a Board Certified Family Nurse Practitioner, and until assuming the duties of associate dean, practiced one morning a week at the I.M. Sulzbacher Homeless Shelter's health clinic. She has been involved with the St. Vincent's Parish Nurse Outreach program since it's inception in the early 90's. Trice's areas of research interest include spirituality and spiritual care, as well as areas related to education. She is published in the area of spiritual care, educational strategies, computerized testing, and leadership, and has presented papers both nationally and internationally in these areas.

Dr. Srinivasa is board certified by both the American Board of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners. She earned her medical degree at Gulbarga University in India while on a National Merit Scholarship. Following an internship at the Deaconess Hospital in St. Louis, Dr. Srinivasa completed her residency and post-doctoral training at Barnes Jewish Hospital-Washington University in St. Louis where she received the award for "Outstanding Academic Achievements". Dr. Srinivasa worked at Des Peres and Forest Park Hospitals in St. Louis, and served as the Medical Director of Rehabilitation Medicine at Forest Park Hospital from 1999 to 2002. She has worked as a Physiatrist at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital since 2002 and specializes in the rehabilitation of individuals with strokes, spinal cord, brain and musculoskeletal injuries.

Dr. Nabizadeh is certified through the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. He graduated from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA and then pursued his medical degree at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. His internship was at the Riverside Medical Center in Newport News, Virginia, and he completed his residency in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. For appointments with Dr. Nabizadeh, please call his office at (904) 398-9340.

Bob Shields is president of Copytronics information systems, a locally owned office technology dealer with offices in Jacksonville, Orlando, Daytona, Gainesville and Cocoa Beach. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin Lacrosse with a degree in business in 1976. Bob has lived in Jacksonville for over 30 years. He is married to Denda Shields and they have five boys. He has been involved with many local and national organizations.

Alan Fickling, is owner and CEO of Fickling Construction, Inc. In addition to his expertise in construction, Alan is committed to Brooks' tradition of excellence. He is Chairman of the Brooks Annual Golf Classic Committee, and under his leadership, this committee has hosted two of the most successful golf tournaments in the event's twenty-two year history. Fickling's active community involvement includes, Episcopal High School, Jacksonville Quarterback Club, Cathedral Arts Project, and the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. He is a native of Jacksonville, and attended local schools and lives in northern Duval County with his wife, Jeanine and two sons, Blake and Brent.

Mr. Johnson, age 59, has been Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of Regency Centers Corporation, a publicly traded REIT, since July 1993. From 1979 to October 1993, he served as Executive Vice President of Regency’s predecessor. Prior to joining Regency, Mr. Johnson was Vice President of Barnett Winston Trust, an equity and mortgage real estate investment trust. Mr. Johnson was a director of Columbia Equity Trust, Inc., an owner and operator of commercial office properties in the greater Washington, DC area, until its purchase by JP Morgan Asset Management in February 2007. Columbia was a publicly traded REIT. He also serves as Chairman of Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital, a private not-for-profit rehabilitation hospital, and sits on the Board and the Executive Committee of its private parent company, Brooks Health Systems.

Donald Wright is currently an attorney for Rogers Towers and graduated magna cum laude from Yale University before attending the University of Virginia School of Law. Wright practices principally in the areas of wills, trusts, the administration of estates and guardianships, and the taxation of estates, gifts and generation-skipping transfers. He also heads the Probate and Estate Planning Section of the Firm's Business and Tax Department. Wright is Board Certified in Wills, Trusts and Estates Law by the Florida Bar. Wright has considerable experience in the area of probate litigation, including will contests and construction suits, objections to accounting, settlement of claim disputes, contested guardianships, fiduciary removal actions, construction of trusts and powers of attorney, and resolution of various homestead and real property issues involving decedents' estates. He has represented over 15 professional football players in connection with their personal estate planning, including special irrevocable trusts designed to preserve and protect players' assets for the years that follow retirement from the National Football League. Wright also lectures widely throughout the City on estate and probate related topics for a variety of institutions and groups. In addition to his work with Brooks, Wright has been President of the Estate Planning Council of Northeast Florida and the Planned Giving Council of Northeast Florida. He is also a member of the Christian Legal Society.

Mr. Travis is a founding partner of Intrepid. Prior to founding the firm, Mr. Travis was Senior Vice President and a Director of the Consulting Group of Smith Barney and its predecessor firms. Mr. Travis holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology, where he is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Advisory Board of the DuPree School of Management.

Dr. Selander is a family physician engaged in private practice in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Selander has practiced medicine since 1964. Dr. Selander also serves as chairman of the board of directors and a trustee of Memorial Hospital and as a trustee of Brooks Health Systems, both located in Jacksonville, Florida. Dr. Selander is also a past president of the Florida Medical Association, the Duval County Medical Society and the Florida Academy of Family Physicians. He was a delegate to the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Selander has served as a director of FPIC since its formation in 1996 and served as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of FPIC from 1997 to 1999. He also served as a director of First Professionals Insurance Company, Inc. from 1989 to 2006 and as its Chairman from 2000 to 2006.

Dr. J. Brooks Brown was born in Hurtsboro, AL, graduated from University of Alabama, received his Medical Degree from Tulane University, served as a Captain in the U.S. Army Medical Corps, did Surgery Residency at St. Luke's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, and Thoracic Surgery Residency at Medical College of Virginia. Dr. Brown was in private practice of General and Thoracic Surgery for a period of thirty years. During this time he was appointed Clinical Professor of Surgery and participated in a teaching program sponsored by the College of Medicine of the University of Florida. Dr. Brown is a Fellow, American College of Surgeons, Fellow, Southern Thoracic Surgery Association, and other associations. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and the American Board of Medical Management. He is a highly respected vital force in the medical and business communities of Northeast Florida and South Georgia. He is a futurist, a real estate developer, and entrepreneur, recognized as a medical, community, and church leader.

After two years at the helm as Jacksonville University's president, Dr. Kerry Romesburg has proven to be the right leader at the right time. With a knack for inclusiveness and a spirit of passionate optimism, he is well on his way to accomplishing his mission--to help rebuild JU financially and advance the JU tradition of excellence into the future. Students, faculty and staff appreciate the direction Romesburg has taken the university thus far, citing his progressive stance in handling fiscal accountability, fundraising efforts, promoting alumni relations and increasing enrollment. He has restructured enrollment management, overseen the completion of the new Davis College of Business, and led the charge to renovate the Davis Commons to revitalize student life on campus. Under his tutelage, a Spring Spruce-Up campaign was initiated, the historic Swisher Theatre was renovated, and the Board of Trustees has been expanded. Through the sale riverfront campus land, Romesburg and the board doubled the University's endowment and increased financial reserves. JU is Romesburg's first experience in the private education sector--a challenge he welcomed after a record of strong leadership during his decades in public education. As president of Nevada State College from 2002-04, NSC achieved accreditation and increased its enrollment from 166 students to nearly 800. From 1988 to 2002, Romesburg served as the president of Utah Valley State College in Orem, Utah. During his 14-year presidency, he oversaw the successful conversion of the college as it changed from a two-year community college to a four-year state college. Enrollment grew from 6,000 students to nearly 25,000, and the college's endowment grew from $280,000 to more than $41 million. Romesburg earned his doctorate in higher education administration in 1972; his master's degree in mathematics education in 1968; and his bachelor's degree in mathematics education in 1967-all from Arizona State. President Romesburg and his wife, Judy, a former high school English teacher, have two grown sons, both educators themselves. The Romesburgs stay active playing golf, hiking and backpacking. They've discovered some more favorites since living in Jacksonville--strolling along the downtown Riverwalk, taking long walks on the beach, and cruising to new places in their RV. "I'm confident that JU's athletics programs will rise to new and greater heights under the direction of the progressive and energetic leaders who have joined our team. Athletics Director Alan Verlander is totally committed to developing our student-athletes, our coaches and staff. It's a win-win situation for everyone--growing JU sports like never before, offering an exciting university experience for our students, and reaching out to the Jacksonville community."

Lee Lomax is a seasoned business executive with over 25 years of multi-dimensional business experience. She is a principal of the Max Star Group, which specializes in training and leadership development, customer service, strategic planning, team building and development, change management, sales skills and process management. Lomax has spent much of her corporate life as an executive in marketing, advertising, customer service, human resources, change management, mortgage servicing, and training and development. Prior to starting The Max Star Group, she worked primarily in the financial services industry. Lomax was an executive with Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation where she led a team of 100 employees in six departments. Along with her partner, she trains and coaches professionals in exemplary customer service, change management, leadership skills, strategic planning, process management and best practices documentation. In 1996, Lomax led Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation to win the Florida Governor's Sterling Quality Award and the coveted Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award in 1997. Lomax has attracted much professional recognition for her career achievements. She acted as a Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award examiner and has been featured and quoted in multimedia, including Quality Digest, The Florida Times Union and local radio. Lomax holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Jacksonville University, Bachelor of Arts degree from Benedict College, extensive marketing courses at Pace University in New York and a Certificate of Executive Leadership Development from Wharton School of Business. Additional certificates include: Strategic Planning, Total Quality and Process Management, Re-engineering, Benchmarking, and Customer Satisfaction Measurement.

Lynn Shad received her BA and MA at the University of Florida. She is a Certified Financial Planner with over twenty years of experience serving clients with investment, retirement and estate planning. She has been with Wachovia Securities as Senior Vice President of Investments since 2005 and is the senior partner of the Shad Financial Group of Wachovia Securities. Shad has also provided retirement planning services to numerous corporations including BellSouth, Ford Motors, Georgia Pacific, Sprint, AT&T Universal Card and Allied Signal. Previously, she has set up programs around the state for parents and children with special needs, as well as serving as Executive Director of the Family Resource Center from 1978 to 1981. In addition to her work with Brooks, Shad's affiliations have included the University of Florida Foundation Board, Daniel Memorial Foundation Board, Mayor's Commission of the Status of Women and Jacksonville Community Relations Commission.

Mike Ruble has been in Private Banking with Bank of America since 1990 and leads a team of five professionals located in their Ponte Vedra office. His specialty is providing comprehensive and coordinated investment, tax and estate planning advice to high net worth individuals, families, trusts, foundations, and endowments. Ruble has a B.S. in Communications from the University of Florida in Gainesville, FL, and a Masters in Business Administration from The Rollins College Crummer School of Business in Winter Park Florida.

In 1967, Stan Carter was involved in an automobile accident resulting in his becoming a quadriplegic. Because of his disability, Carter became founder and operator of the first for-profit-paratransit (transportation for mobility disadvantaged) operation in North Florida, called STS. He was also founder and operator of the first complete van conversion operation, C & P Powerlift, specializing in modifying vans and cars for drivers and passengers with disabilities. Carter was employed by Florida Community College (FCCJ) of Jacksonville as Project Coordinator for five special training programs for people with disabilities, one of them being computer programmer training for individuals with severe disabilities. This project involved individuals with cerebral palsy, paraplegia, quadriplegia, visually impaired, and hearing impaired. In addition, Carter coordinated microcomputer training for people with severe disabilities. He was also assigned to the FCCJ's Institutional Advancement Department, where he wrote the grant to establish an independent living center in Jacksonville.