“My 10th grade year in high school, a classmate was in football practice when he ran into a guy with his head down. He broke his neck. So he’s paralyzed from the neck down.

“At the time, I didn’t think the family pushed him hard enough. He wasn’t motivated enough to go through the therapy like he should have to be able to do more for himself. So it made me wonder, what could I do to help influence somebody to want to do more? What kind of motivational factors could I use to help someone want to push through not being able to walk, not being able to feel their legs, not being able to use the bathroom on their own?

“A lot of people are in pain when they come in here. They may have just had surgery, and I’m the one who is supposed to say, ‘Come on and let me push and pull on that knee and try to get that range of motion back.’ But I enjoy that. I enjoy people.

“I’ve always wanted to do something to help people. When I treat patients, I treat them like they’re my mom or my grandmother, and they know that. With that personal one-on-one approach, you’re able to get great results.”

— Dr. Raven West

The post High school incident motivates her to help others appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“We exist to serve the needs of the community. If you look at the history of Bay Area Rehabilitation Center, we’ve gone from assisting a small group of individuals with cerebral palsy at the very beginning to where we now provide services to the full spectrum of individuals. Everyone from newborns on up to seniors, in all of the major rehabilitation disciplines: physical, occupational and speech therapies. When we brought the Opportunity Center on board in 2007, we added the component of vocational rehabilitation.

“On a personal level, what really drives me is the notion that I can help make a difference in someone’s life. I’m not out there providing the services. I’m not a therapist. I don’t treat people. But if I do my job right I can help put in place the right personnel, the right resources, the right types of facilities and the right opportunities for this organization to meet our mission. As a facilitator to allow our programs to happen, I think that’s what really keeps me focused.”

— Mark Alexander

The post His focus is on people, programs and facilities appeared first on The Baytown Project.