2019 PPS Awards Announced

Robert G. Dicus Award

Mark Anderson, PT

The PPS Board of Directors is honored to present Mark Anderson, PT, with the 2019 Robert G. Dicus Award. For over 35 years Mark has been a leader and advocate for the physical therapy profession along with being a friend to so many along the way.

Mark has been a leader, mentor, and motivator to students and colleagues who were interested in private practice and shared his advocacy interests. He has trained more than 21 colleagues in the area of advocacy who have since moved on to also formally serve. He shared his time and meaningful work with others to help them be involved and more engaged in the positive support of our profession.

Mark has served tirelessly for PPS working as a PT-PAC Trustee since 2008, working with the Government Affairs Committee and as the Government Affairs Committee chair. His service and efforts were recognized when being awarded the Federal Government Affairs Leadership Award in 2014. Mark worked with the Utah Chapter at the national level for both APTA and the National Association of Rehabilitation Agencies (NARA) on political and community advocacy. He was the vice president for two terms for NARA as well as a member of their nominating committee and Board of Directors, and Government Affairs Director for two terms. For APTA’s Utah Chapter he served two terms as President, as a Chapter President Elect, on the Board of Directors, and was the APTA federal government affairs liaison.

He has worked for the education of new PTs as an instructor at the University of Utah physical therapy department for more than 25 years. He has served as a leader to his colleagues in business as he is the founder and president of Mountain Land Rehabilitation, Inc (MLR). He then was able to enlarge the MLR footprint to three states, and along with his venture with Brighton Rehabilitation, now operates 38 outpatient physical therapy clinics and provides rehabilitation services for three Critical Access Hospitals. In 1991 Mark also founded Western Rehabilitation Health Network (WRHN), which now consists of over 300 rehabilitation practices in Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Montana.

Amidst all the success and busy schedules in pushing our profession forward, Mark has still found the time to be a part of his community. He has been involved in the Boy Scouts of America and the Sugarhouse Rotary Club, has volunteered for the LDS Humanitarian Services/Charities internationally with wheelchair-fitting assessments, and in 2016 founded Mountain Land Charities as a 501(c)3 entity for those in need.

Those who have described Mark say that he is a good, selfless, humble man, one who genuinely cares for all of those around him and who has touched so many people in our profession with his energy, drive, and commitment. Most importantly, Mark is appreciated as a leader, advocate, father, and friend.

Board Service Award

Michelle Collie, PT, DPT

The PPS Board Service Award was established by the Board of Directors to honor individuals who have made extraordinary contributions above and beyond the duties of their roles. The Board is pleased to present a 2019 Service Award to Michelle Collie, PT, DPT, whose service to the Section exemplifies the intent of this award.

Michelle embodies the true spirit of the Private Practice Section by advocating for the growth of our profession and the development and promotion of other PTs into private practice. As CEO of Performance Physical Therapy, Michelle grew the business from two clinics in 2003 to 14 today with locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. She has done so by embracing the ideals of PPS, developing her staff into managers and owners.

Since 2013, Michelle has served on PPS’s Marketing and PR Committee, eventually assuming the position of chair in 2015. In that time, she has worked tirelessly to provide PPS members with the marketing tools needed to enhance their ability to educate any audience about PPS’s work. She led efforts to develop the innovative Marketing 101 videos, vignettes for members to share their best marketing concepts through “99 Marketing Ideas,” and a marketing toolkit that arrives via email every month with easily shareable social media content.

In addition, Michelle continues to write a monthly column for Impact magazine in which she shares her marketing knowledge and best practices. She has also made social media engagement a top priority, focusing on potent graphical content as well as the creation of “Myphystherapist.”

Michelle also created Fit Factor, an innovative online health questionnaire that provides consumers immediate feedback and will provide PTs valuable data and analytics about their patients. As PTs adopt a personalized version of Fit Factor for their websites, the public will gain both greater insights into their health and a firmer understanding of the ways PPS members can help them become and remain healthy.

Not only has Michelle excelled within her own peer community, but she is also the recipient of the Rhode Island Small Business Journal’s 2nd Annual Entrepreneurial Women to Watch Award in 2014, and Performance was recognized as one of Rhode Island’s Best Places to Work in 2014, 2015, and 2016 by Providence Business News.

The PPS Board thanks Michelle for her tremendous contributions to the Section, its members, and to the private practice physical therapy profession.

Board Service Award

Connie Ziccarelli

The PPS Board Service Award was established by the Board of Directors to honor individuals who have made extraordinary contributions above and beyond the duties of their roles. The Board is pleased to present a 2019 Service Award to Connie Ziccarelli. Connie is a founding member and champion of the Private Practice Section’s Administrators’ Network, designed exclusively for the administrators of physical therapy private practices.

Connie is the cofounder and COO of Rehab Management Solutions in Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin. She has 30 years of experience in owning, operating, and managing outpatient private practices that specialize in physical and occupational therapy. Connie has authored numerous articles for Impact magazine and speaks to local, state, and national organizations on topics related to best clinical and administrative practices for successful reimbursement strategies in private practice settings.

When Connie began her term as chair in 2012, the Administrators’ Network had approximately 65 members. Under her leadership, membership grew to 308 by 2018—a 461 percent increase. Connie led the development of free educational webinars for administrators, quarterly newsletters with industry and legislative updates, an online network, and an annual networking event hosted at PPS Annual Conference.

Perhaps most notable is Connie’s personal connection with graduates of the administrators’ certificate program. The certificate program is composed of six modules—Marketing, Legal Compliance, Business Operations, Human Resources, Billing and Coding, and Finance—and an exam. Over 400 administrators have completed all six modules, 72 percent of whom elected to complete the administrators’ exam and receive their certificate of completion. She remains engaged with each graduate and encourages their continued involvement with the network when they return to their clinics. PPS consistently receives positive feedback on this program from graduates and practice owners.

Connie has also served in several other roles within PPS: as a liaison to Annual Conference for six years, two years on the Payment Policy Committee, and six years as chair of the Administrators’ Network. In 2018 she also began instructing the Business Operations module for the network.

Connie is a champion of private practice administrators. She embodies PPS’s mission to “Champion the Success of the Physical Therapist in Business” like few others can. The Board would like to express its utmost thanks to Connie for her continued dedication and support.