Therapist Feature: Gina McDade, PTA
For the month of July, we’re putting the spotlight on one of Tilton’s Therapy for Tots’ PTAs: Gina McDade.
Gina has worked as a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant for about 21 years. She graduated in 1998 from CSN but had previously geared all her studies toward surgical nursing. To finance her education, Gina worked as a medical assistant. It was working in that field that she was introduced to PTA in a facility - she had the opportunity to step in when help was needed (or someone was on vacation) and work near physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. This exposure was the first time she’d encountered the field of study and she fell in love. The interest resulted in a change in direction for her studies, and Gina was given the opportunity to work as a PT tech in 1986. This year was also the year she began at Cerritos College on her new path to PT. Shortly thereafter, Gina relocated to Las Vegas for her husband’s job and continued her schooling in the valley.
Gina’s dedication to PT started with a case of an adult who had severely injured themselves in machinery work. The focus of getting someone back to their previous level of function was appealing. She recognized and appreciated the interdisciplinary team that was put in place to bring all procedures, interventions, modalities, meetings, and manual approach for hand healing to maximize the outcomes for this patient. The approach of recovery and attention to quality of life makes a difference for patients. While Gina’s start in PT had its foundation in rehabilitation and adult care, pediatrics would soon come into play as well.
An important aspect of Gina’s studies has centered around her son, Kenny. He was born in 1990 at 24.5 weeks gestation, and required the assistance of therapists to allow him to improve his quality of life and overall development. She was interested in learning a different kind of therapy, instead of rehabilitation to help someone achieve the level of function they once had, pediatric therapy often focuses on teaching a new skill in real time which these individuals did not previously know or have the capability to do. These interventions have a drastic impact on the lives of those in treatment. The therapists who treated Kenny were educational, informative, and calm in their treatment - and did not only address Kenny, but also made the repeated effort to train parents to build better outcomes. All of these quality treatments and interventions inspired her to begin to pay it forward in the same way.
While Gina has worked in many different settings throughout her career - from tech and a private adult practice clinic, to Intermediate/ transition hospital, Sunrise Hospital, Outpatient Clinics as well as Children’s Therapy Center Outpatient Pediatrics, she most enjoys working with kids in their natural environment. The environment they are most familiar provides one less obstacle to work with if they struggle with transitional skills. In working with TT4T since February, Gina appreciates the flexibility and allowance for optimal time for treatment with families. In a work environment with less stringent expectations and less stress, Gina feels it allows for more cohesive treatment - especially considering she has a long history with many of the other therapists on the TT4T team.
Giving back to the profession has always been a concern for Gina, and she enjoys the encouragement and inspiration that can come with clinical instruction of students. She loves that student engagement keeps her on her toes with the questions that might arise, and that makes her a better learner and teacher overall. Gina is passionate about passing the knowledge she was given on to others who are passionate about this profession. She also serves as ACCE and advisory board member for a local Physical Therapist Assistant program, is a member of the APTA, and is involved with therapists in the community across all settings. Gina is currently taking CEUs for pediatrics and education as well.
While Gina has the experience for many different circumstances working with developmental disabilities, the aspect of being a parent with a child with neurodisabilities provides another level of understanding. She is able to walk a special line with families because she can truly understand what they are feeling and what they are going through. As a parent, being able to look into the eyes of another parent or caregiver who knows exactly how you feel can provide more feelings of empathy and connection.
Many parents of children with special needs often feel isolated and alone through their journey. They may lose friends or family due to their lack of coping skills or understanding. When a parent experiences this type of loss from their loved ones, it is obvious that it is in part due to their child’s disability - and the person just may not have the coping skills to be patient, understanding, or compassionate, and parents will often have to let them be distant. Parents already deal with loss from the start; losing a typical child the moment a diagnosis occurs. They will then often endure additional loss through friends, family, marriage, support systems, and the list can go on from there. The result is often a parent who feels very alone. Gina feels that it is a gift to be able to share her own experiences and help fortify others - that they are not alone. As she is able to meet and work with other parents, she is able to see eye-to-eye what they are going through, and relate to it in a very authentic way. Gina is passionate about sharing her personal story with other parents and help them feel they are supported and aren’t alone in their journey.
Gina’s personal life balance is important as both a parent and a caregiver. She enjoys pastimes like football, baseball, and playing the drums, and also makes time for her passion for travel and taking cruises to allow herself some personal time. It is the personal time away from the parental responsibilities that allows her to “recharge her batteries” and be a better mom overall. Since moving to Las Vegas from Southern California near Chino, Gina appreciates the differences in convenience the city offers - the accessibility of Las Vegas, from businesses being open late to getting across town easily. As with many LV locals, she doesn’t care much for the nightlife of the Strip or Downtown, but enjoys supporting a professional sports team - Go Knights! While the city affords many conveniences, it can be a difficult place to meet close friends due to the transient nature of the city, so she feels blessed to make close friendships with work colleagues. Every Sunday, she and her close friends get together for a family supper, and she loves time at the lake or mountains in nature, or with her cat and two canine companions. Gina also has a daughter, Tori, who is 27 and the loving support of her best friend and partner, Rob
July 23rd is Parent’s Day, and Gina follows a mantra for her own life as a parent, and that is to “let your child shine.” Her advice for other parents is to pay attention to whatever your child finds that they connect to, whatever niche or component they enjoy, and help them to grow in it. Find what makes them feel good and shine, and then go with it all the way, rather than introduce or try to evoke something within them, just let them find their own groove. Gina’s son Kenny enjoys being a rockstar and is acutely interested in music. She focuses on letting him be a rockstar and making it a part of everyday life.
Another important piece of advice Gina shared is that parents need to be kind to themselves. In her own words, she says this all the time:
"Be kind to yourself as we are growing, trying a new program, regressing some, the kids are growing and everything is changing but the weight of the world and kinks in the plan are not for the parent to carry. Continual learning curves can be frustrating, but it is a cycle in life - because your child is growing and changing, resulting in restrategizing. Don’t put the world of expectation on yourself that you are not enough because what is really important is that we are all breathing, and that we get rest so we can do it again the next day.”
When Gina was working at Children’s Therapy Center, the cerebral palsy organization had relocated, leaving Las Vegas. Opportunity Village and NVPEP were the only organizations left for children with different abilities. At that time, Opportunity Village generally focused on supporting the Down Syndrome population. This left the Las Vegas community without a direct link to advocacy for kids with CP. Gina took it upon herself to start a support group at Children’s Therapy Center for families for CP, as well as other neurologic diagnosis. She arranged monthly speakers, estate planning & trust funds, therapy interventions, review HEPs, created a space for emotional release (for parents only), strategized doctor appointments, effective communication, IEP navigation, and discussion with teachers, adaptive facilities and sports. This group was run by Gina for 5 years. Gina stated that “advocacy is HUGE.” In fact, Nevada Advocacy and Law Center presented Gina with an award in 2005 for amazing advocacy efforts in our community. As her son, Kenny, was now older, she was able to share her information and experiences with other families in a supportive and compassionate way. Gina is truly passionate about getting information to the families in whatever way it takes, with any measure of effort needed.
As for new parents: Gina feels it is crucial that parents learn that they have a voice when it comes to their child’s care. It is a whirlwind when you find out that your child has been diagnosed, and its likely been emphasized that they must meet the requirements or needs of the medical establishment - but this is not true. Parents need to know that they have a voice and that voice is the first defense when it comes to their child’s care. Therapists who care for your child in your home are often the initial source for information outside of the medical office, and they can help guide parents through what is often a treacherous and tedious process. Gina feels that “we need to empower [parents] to feel that they can coherently and respectfully disagree with medical professionals and physicians, since they are the expert in the child’s daily function, behaviors, and their intuition needs to be respected. They have a voice. This is especially important in Las Vegas with limited physicians to choose from. Being well researched, prepared for meetings, and willing to speak my mind often intimidated other professionals but it was pivotal to advocate for Kenny’s education and care.”
