Physiotherapy Associates Names Hank M. Balavender Chief Executive Officer

EXTON, Pa., May 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Physiotherapy Associates today announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Hank Balavender, PT as its Chief Executive Officer.  This is the first time in the company's 29 year history that a physical therapist has headed the organization.  He assumes the CEO position from Martin McGahan who has been serving as interim CEO for the company.

Prior to joining Physiotherapy Associates, Balavender served as an industry advisor for physical therapy practices around the country.  A physical therapist by training, he brings over 25 years of clinical and operational expertise to the CEO position.  Balavender has led six organizations in the physical therapy sector including HealthSouth where he rose to the position of Senior Vice President, Chief Operations Officer.  At HealthSouth, he was responsible for the operational management of 880 facilities.  Early in his career, he founded Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Associates in 1976 and grew it from a start-up company to 19 locations, 200 employees and over $20 million in revenues.

"We were looking for someone who could lead Physiotherapy Associates, drive significant productivity improvements and grow shareholder value and we are confident that Hank Balavender is that person," says Jeff Goldberg, Chair of the organization's board.  "We wanted our new CEO to have an outstanding track record of leading multi-site, decentralized service businesses in the healthcare sector and Hank's background as both a leader and founder of such organizations was definitely a plus.  He has over 25 years of demonstrated leadership, management and mentoring skills that have driven successful growth of businesses, evolution of business processes and value enhancement for key stakeholders.  Most importantly, he has the experience of leading companies through rapid cycles of growth and change, while building and motivating high performance teams. We are excited to have Hank join our family."

Balavender earned his Master of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of Hartford and a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Quinnipiac University.  He was an instructor in Quinnipiac's Physical Therapy Program and has taught over 200 continuing education programs in orthopaedic medicine to physicians and physical therapists.  He is a past president of the Connecticut Physical Therapy Association and is an active member of the Private Practice Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Hank and his wife Gail Sereno Balavender reside in Old Lyme, CT.  They have four adult children:  Brett, Ryan, Adam and Kelly. 

Physiotherapy Associates is one of the nation's leading providers of outpatient rehabilitation services. Physiotherapy Associates employs an industry-leading team of physical and occupational therapists and healthcare practitioners who are dedicated to high-quality patient care. The company provides physical therapy, industrial rehabilitation, sports medicine and orthotics and prosthetics services to millions of patients each year across the United States.  Physiotherapy Associates is national in scope, local in care. For more information, visit physiocorp.com.

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SOURCE Physiotherapy Associates