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BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — No matter what might ail someone, Joan Brefeld and her staff at Brefeld Physical Therapy can probably treat it.
Brefeld has been in business since 1986, currently operating at 106 Lincoln Place Court in Belleville. Ailments treated run the gamut from difficulties related to premature birth or developmental disabilities and all manner of injuries. Her staff also utilizes aquatics therapy. In addition to working out of her Belleville site, Brefeld contracts with home health agencies and special schools.
Brefeld also is certified to recommend power chairs to patients with difficulty walking. She earned her physical therapy degree from Saint Louis University, her Master's in Rehabilitation Administration from SIU Carbondale and her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Arcadia University.
Q: What brought you to physical therapy?
A: "When I was in high school, we had to do a book report on a career. There in the library was a book about physical therapy that looked interesting. I read the book and gave my report and someone in my class stands up and says 'I can get you a job at a camp for kids with cerebral palsy for the summer.' So I did that, and here we are. It was really a fun experience, and I realized that the kids weren't as handicapped as anyone thought they were. They were really having fun with what was going on. I had always wanted to work with kids so that just cemented it as far as an interest goes."
Q: Describe your path to opening your own clinic in 1986.
A: "I went to (Southern Illinois University) Carbondale for a degree in rehab administration, and in that degree program, we had to do a management budget class. They gave us a certain amount of money, and we had to develop our own program. So I developed a therapy clinic. When I was done with the project, I had everything there. So when I did proceed, Medicare requires certain applications. When the Medicare person came to check us for these, I had everything the way they asked for. He said 'Wow, how did you do all this?' I said 'Well, you gave me a booklet of what you needed, and I put it together exactly as you requested it.' Just like I was doing my Master's thesis. We gradually increased, needed more space and more staff. Over the years, we realized Belleville was a better location, because a lot of our work was coming out of the Belleville area and we were driving to Belleville way too much."
Q: You do a lot of work with babies, but people don't think about infants as typical physical therapy patients. What types of cases do you see?
A: "They might be as premature as 24 weeks at their birth, so they're very small. They lack head control; they lack muscle strength. Parents need the information on how to position them properly, what to do that will enhance their growth. If (the child) is severely involved, there's equipment they might need. We can get it to them. We have equipment we can loan and show families what can be done with this or that and get them on their way."
Q: After working in this business all these years, what keeps you going?
A: "I had a patient who said, 'When I hear you talk, you're passionate about what you do.' So I guess that's it. All the staff is really motivated, too. We're all on the same page. I think everybody enjoys working with people. We try our best to listen to what patients are telling us. It's like a family atmosphere — from babies to adults."
Q: What difficulties have you faced in terms of receiving payments from the state to perform services for qualified patients?
A: "We do accept Illinois public aid. That's been very challenging the past year. Some of the home visits that we were making for older children we can no longer do because of the expense. Some of these kids are homebound."
Q: What does the future look like for you and your clinic?
A: "Getting (senior staff) more on board and being more on the front line and my taking a back seat to some of what's going on."
Q: Will you retire soon?
A: "To be determined."
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Source: Belleville News-Democrat: http://bit.ly/1ZxP4qK
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Information from: Belleville News-Democrat, http://www.bnd.com
This is an AP-Illinois Exchange story offered by the Belleville News-Democrat.
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