Event Speakers

is a 2001 and 2021 graduate of Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. The recipient of the 2023 APTA Academy of Acute Care Mary Sinnott Award for Clinical Excellence and one of Crain’s Detroit’s 2019 Healthcare Heroes, Adele is committed to value based clinical practice, performance and organizational management at Henry Ford Hospital where she has served as supervisor since 2005. Adele also holds part-time faculty positions at Wayne State University’s DPT program and Michigan State University’s college of human medicine. An accomplished speaker, she has provided educational sessions at APTA’s CSM, APTA Michigan conferences and APTA’s State Forum in 2017, as well as webinars for PT.com, OT.com and PTLocker via APTA Michigan. Adele was the recipient of the 2021 Foundation of PT Research Acute Care grant and current areas of research include: early rehabilitation in the critical care patient, patient outcomes s/p lung transplant, transcatheter aortic valve replacement and COVID-19 and the predictive validity of mobility scores on discharge planning.

graduated from Western Michigan University in 2011 with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. Since 2012 she has worked in the acute care setting at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit—specifically the medical ICU. Justine was a co-developer of our early rehabilitation program which began in 2015 in our medical ICU. Throughout that time, she has participated in two research initiatives including the MICU Quality Improvement Study and the delirium research project. She has presented our Early Rehab program and research at the Johns Hopkins University Critical Care Rehab Conference, The Michigan Association for Respiratory Therapy Conference and the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association Conference. Justine was involved in designing and implementing a mobility walker for our critically ill patients and she currently leads the volunteer program in our ICU. Justine developed and implemented a group class for our long-term ICU patients to attend weekly incorporating games, activities and arts and crafts. Witnessing every day the negative effects ICU delirium has on patient function and ability to return to real life is why Justine is so passionate about what she does as an acute care OT.

graduated with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree in 2009 from Gannon University. She has spent her career working in acute care at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. She primarily has experience working on the neuroscience team with neurology and neurosurgery patients on the general practice unit, stroke unit, and in the Neuro ICU. She has worked in the early rehab program in the Neuro ICU since the program started in 2018.  She is also the neuroscience mentor for the physical therapy acute care residency program at Henry Ford Hospital. She received her certified stroke rehabilitation specialist certification (CSRS) in 2022 and presented at the Detroit Stroke Conference in 2023.

graduated in 2006 from Grand Valley State University in western Michigan. Her clinical passions include medical and surgical oncology and she currently practices in early mobility in the trauma & surgery ICU at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. In her role as the department educator she supports and encourages continuing education and evidence-based best-practices. Jenny has been responsible for program development in the following areas: bone marrow transplant, high risk pregnancy, Vented and Non-vented competency and functional outcomes in the acute care setting. Jenny has presented APTA CSM in 2014 and 2016.

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graduated with her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Wayne State University in 2008. She is a rehab supervisor at Henry Ford Hospital and has been practicing in the ICU since 2010. In her previous role as Critical Care Coordinator/Clinical Lead for Henry Ford Hospital’s Early Rehab Program, she led the training of both experienced and newly competent ICU therapists providing care in the ICU under the guidelines of the Critical Care Early Rehab Program. In addition to her role in education for PTs and OTs, she has also developed training education for the multidisciplinary team including nursing, respiratory therapy, and resident physicians. Her research includes the importance of early rehabilitation for patients awaiting lung transplantation. She has presented at the Johns Hopkins Critical Care Conference, the Michigan Respiratory Therapy Conference, APTA Michigan Eastern District Conference on treating patients with Covid-19 and multiple APTA Combined Sections Meeting sessions. She is a member of the APTA, including the Acute Care Section and the 2017 recipient of the APTA Michigan Clinician of the Year Award.

graduated from Western Michigan University in 2014 with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. She has dedicated her entire career to acute care and had spent two years working directly in the MICU in the second phase roll out of the early rehab program at Henry Ford Hospital. She later transitioned to a member of the neurology/neurosurgical team working on the stroke and general practice units as well as assisting with the implementation of early rehab in the Neuro ICU. Katelyn is a validator for the stroke unit and is one of the primary occupational therapists in the Henry Ford ALS clinic. She received her certified stroke rehabilitation specialist certification (CSRS) in 2022 and presented at the Detroit Stroke Conference in 2023. She also specializes in the neonatal intensive care unit and performs follow up developmental assessments for children ages 3mo-2years at Henry Ford’s DAC clinic and is a certified CPR instructor.

graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2018 with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. She has spent her career as an Occupational Therapist in Acute Care at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI, with a focus on the Medical ICU. She is the Critical Care Coordinator/Clinical Lead for Henry Ford Hospital's Early Rehabilitation Program, in which role she leads the training of both experienced and newly competent ICU therapists in treating patients in the ICU under the guidelines of the Critical Care Early Rehab Program. During this training, therapists are educated on how to interpret a patient's critical care course and determine if they are medically appropriate for OT intervention. Mansi developed in-services and presentations for critical care nursing and physician staff regarding the role of OT in an ICU and the importance of early rehabilitation for these patients. She collaborated with therapists to create and implement a weekly group therapy program for long term patients in the medical ICU to promote engagement in extra curricular activities to improve quality of life while inpatient. She provides educational sessions to the Medical, Cardiopulmonary, & Surgical residents about the importance of Occupational Therapy in the Acute Care Setting, particularly in a Critical Care Unit. She also serves as an ICU validator and fieldwork educator for Occupational Therapy students interested in pursing a career in Acute Care. Mansi has presented at the Barbara Rider Colloquium at Western Michigan University in 2023.

is a 2006 graduate of Saginaw Valley State University with her bachelor’s of science degree in Occupational Therapy and has spent her career working at Henry Ford Hospital, a level 1 trauma center in Detroit, MI. She has worked exclusively with patients with a variety of critical illnesses in the medical and surgical ICU. She was instrumental in developing a thriving early rehab program with critically ill patients involving collaboration with PT, RN, nursing leadership, respiratory therapy, and physicians. She fosters interdisciplinary relationships by negotiation and consensus building to attain goals for all disciplines. She has led a research team to establish best practice techniques in regards to delirium. She has spent the last few years focusing her attention and efforts in promoting OT’s involvement in identifying delirium and cognitive decline early in the hospital stay. Kara has presented professionally at MiOTA and Johns Hopkins conferences.

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graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2007 with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy. She has worked most of her career as an Occupational Therapist in Acute Care at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI, with a focus on the Cardiopulmonary ICU. She works with the Early rehab program emphasizing cardiac rehab, energy conservation and transition to life and active human occupation after cardiac event or surgery. Danielle’s role has included rehab and hospital staff education on OT’s roles and goals for cardiac and pulmonary patients, management of cardiac devices during therapy and tailoring treatment to the functional level of critically patients. She has participated in research including Implementation of an OT and PT pathway in transcatheter aortic valve replacement. With study publication in the Journal of Acute Care Physical Therapy in August 2020. She is a member of AOTA, a fieldwork educator, and has presented webinars to the Michigan Occupational therapy association about Occupational Therapy in cardiac care. Danielle also teaches as an adjunct professor in Wayne State University’s graduate Occupational Therapy Program.

has worked as a board-certified clinical specialist in cardiovascular and pulmonary physical therapy since 2016. She currently practices at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit in the Medical and Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Units and serves as an Assistant Professor in the Wayne State University DPT program. Nanette has presented at the Michigan Physical Therapy Association’s annual conferences and the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sections Meeting and provides guest lectures at several PT programs in the Midwest United States.

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