Administrator and CEO, Baptist Rehabilitation - Germantown

Susan Stralka is a multifaceted executive with a multidimensional métier. Like the facets on a gem, she shines on many levels in various roles as a physical therapist, an administrator, a clinical instructor of PT and a researcher, delivering results both locally and internationally.

Since 1997, her education, training, and talents have been focused on her position as administrator and CEO of Baptist Rehabilitation – Germantown, a facility that specializes in inpatient and outpatient musculoskeletal and neurological rehabilitation.

Captured by an early love for science, Stralka eliminated her top career options until she arrived at a choice that felt right. At 14 she envisioned becoming a vet, a physician, a physical therapist or a chiropractor. A favorite uncle, a general practitioner, mentored and nurtured her inquisitive mind, encouraging her to pursue medicine. She recalled that during their memorable chats, occasionally he engaged her in discussions when reviewing a patient’s symptoms. The analytical aspect of medicine held great appeal for young Stralka.

Also assisting in her quest to determine her vocation, her father arranged for her to work in a veterinarian’s office following the eighth grade - a summer of discernment for Stralka– and it was thought to be a great match due to her great love for animals. But an experience on the third day ended her dream of being a vet. When a client brought in her 17-year-old cat to be euthanized, “I cried like a baby and told my father, ‘I can’t do this,’” she recalled.

Becoming a chiropractor was also eliminated as a career choice that same summer. She realized that it was not her calling.

It was an experience with a burn patient and a physical therapist that made a lasting impression on Stralka. As a volunteer candy striper at a local hospital, she managed an assignment to the PT department head. One of her first tasks was to wheel a patient to the department for treatment and she was allowed to go back to help and observe. The therapy was painful for the patient, but Stralka was impressed with the gentle but persistent encouragement the therapist gave the patient, explaining as they went along how the movements were going to help with recovery. That interaction stirred something in Stralka that she would not forget.

With her mind focused on medicine, she plunged into the pre-med curriculum for college at West Virginia University. Summers were spent as a ‘medical intern’ - a government service position - at Polk State Hospital in Pennsylvania. The on-the-job training exposed her to a broad spectrum of medicine and therapy; she thrived in the environment of helping and serving the sick, the injured and the disabled.

With completion of her bachelor’s in biology, the time for choosing a career path had come. Stralka and her high school sweetheart, Jim, moved to Memphis to continue their educational pursuits. From a practical standpoint, the path to become a physical therapist was considerably shorter than the pursuit of an MD. Their simpatico relationship and mutual hopes for soon starting a family steered Stralka toward enrolling in PT school. She applied and was accepted at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. Graduating with a bachelor’s in physical therapy, she was confident she had made the right decision. She later returned to earn a master’s and a doctorate in physical therapy.

Stralka’s first job was in acute care at Baptist Memorial Hospital in 1972. Several years later the Campbell Clinic hired her as director of rehabilitation where she practiced therapy and conducted research until 1997. By this time, Baptist Rehabilitation-Germantown had been fully integrated into the Baptist Healthcare System and the CEO of the rehab hospital was recruiting a director of rehabilitation. Stralka fit the bill.

With an educational background in management and healthcare administration and vast experience in rehabilitation therapy, Stralka was prepared for the transition to CEO four years later in 2001. She also attributes her training in the Baptist Leadership Institute as one of the keys to her success.

Being a team leader and decision maker consumes most of her time at the 68-bed hospital, which has four outpatient therapy clinics, but her passion for the clinical side of rehabilitation keeps her involved and connected to patients. Her expertise in pain management, including the complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), draws referrals for the most challenging cases. “Pain management is my area of interest.”

“CRPS is an enigma… chronic pain changes the brain’s cortex. You have abnormal firing of neurons,” said Stralka. “We have learned so much in the last 10 years about how the brain works and you can’t just treat it from the bottom up (focusing on painful stimuli), you have to treat from the top down (the cortical sensory processing perspective). It is a very different syndrome … and multiple changes in the brain occur. You have to understand the neuroplasticity of the brain to treat these patients effectively,” she added.

Recently she co-authored an article published in the Journal of Hand Therapy on graded motor imagery (GMI) – a three step rehabilitation treatment process used to promote changes in the brain cortex which enable changes in performance – essentially, it “retrains the brain.” “There has been enough research now to show its efficacy for a number of disorders,” said Stralka. “One of the main uses of graded motor imagery is for phantom pain in soldiers who have had a limb amputation.”

Neuroscientist Vilayanur Ramchandran, PhD, University of Calif., San Diego, is credited with discovering the mirror box treatment to create a new association with the uninjured limb without pain. This mirror visual feedback (MVF) is one of three steps used in the graded motor imagery program at Baptist Rehab.

Her keen interest in brain plasticity has engendered innovative treatment modalities at the hospital. “We used to think that change only went on in the brain just for a period of time,” said Stralka, “now we know better.” Neuroplasticity or brain plasticity is the ability of the brain to change and reorganize itself due to outside stimuli and the process can continue into adulthood. Not only do changes occur at the structural level but also at the cellular level. “We base our treatments on brain plasticity,” said Stralka.

“One of the newer devices we have is the NESS L300™, used for patients with a foot drop due to a stroke, brain or spinal injury,” Stralka said. The NESS H200™ is a similar neurostimulation device used for the arm and hand. Both wireless devices use FES (Functional Electrical Stimulation) which increases blood flow, can reverse disuse atrophy, and together aid in muscle retraining and a return to more normal function.

“Another breakthrough device is the weight bearing assisted treadmill,” said Stralka. It is used for patients who cannot pick up their legs. The harness holds the patient up and bears the weight until the muscles are re-educated, Stralka added. The therapist varies the speed of the treadmill and the amount of weight supported while the patient relearns how to move the legs.

“We are about to purchase InMotion, an upper extremity robotics unit which will ‘retrain the brain’ for those who can’t move an arm. It is different from passive movement. The brain says, ‘I want to move my arm,’ and robotics kicks in and makes the movement smooth. It helps with the recircuitry of the brain,” said Stralka.

One of Stralka’s proudest accomplishments is a special community playground for children, which is equipped with facilities with ramps and adaptive equipment that enable children with physical and developmental disabilities to participate in activities at Riverdale Park in Germantown. “I thought we should have a playground where these children can play with their siblings and peers,” she said.

Stralka put together the team that made her dream a reality - the Baptist Memorial Healthcare Foundation, the City of Germantown, Riverdale Elementary School and Playcore, who donated the playground equipment – and she spearheaded the fundraising for “Everybody’s Tree House.” Phase II of the playground is underway which will add a picnic pavilion funded by the Civitan Club of Germantown.

Saturdays find Stralka on the golf course, the tennis courts or on the banks of the Red River in Arkansas fishing for trout. “I grew up in Pennsylvania so I’ve fished all my life.” She has two married sons and daughters-in-law and three grandchildren, two boys and a girl, who complete her life. She smiled at their mention, “Talk about passion…”

Her favorite pearls of wisdom? She rolled off several: “Do what’s right, no matter what it is. You learn more by listening than talking. Be passionate and dedicated no matter what you do. And, it’s not about you, it’s about the team if you are going to succeed.”

It’s all in a day’s work for a dedicated CEO and a strong community advocate.

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