Cumberland High School's Paige Willenborg (L) received her award from Champion PT (and CHS alum) Cory Hanley.
2012 Pontiac winners Kristin Eggenberger (M) and Cailyn Carstens (R) are pictured with Presenters Kris and Junior Lambert, along with Ella Bane, the daughter of the late Jill and Parker Bane.
The 3rd Annual Champion Fitness Physical Therapy/Jill Bane Memorial Scholarship winners were presented recently to the 2012 winners during Awards Ceremonies at their respective high schools. These scholarships were selected from high school entries from all across Illinois where a Champion Fitness Physical Therapy clinic is located. Prospective candidates must meet several criteria, most importantly planning to study either physical therapy or athletic training at the college level, completing a writing prompt, and have a letter of recommendation included from a non-family member.
A pair of recipients was named from Pontiac High School. Calyn Carstens will be attending Western Illinois University to become an athletic trainer while Kristen Eggenberger will be studying physical therapy at St. Ambrose University. Their awards were presented by Kris and Junior Lambert, along with Ella Bane, the daughter of the late Jill and Parker Bane. Paige Willenborg from Cumberland High School, the 2012 Class Valedictorian, will be on the campus of Millikin University in Decatur to study physical therapy as well. Her award was presented by PT Cory Hanley of Champion’s Casey clinic, Cory himself a graduate of Cumberland HS.
Each of the winners will receive $1000 towards their educational pursuits. A total of $9000 has been awarded in the three years the scholarship has existed.
PT Cory Hanley and Referral Director Joan Sporrer visit with a local nurse at the Newton Grand Opening.
Close to 100 people attended the “Grand Opening” of the Newton Clinic for Champion Fitness Physical Therapy on April 27. City officials, area dignitaries, several current and past patients, as well as a goodly number of Jasper County residents stopped by to visit with PT Cory Hanley, PTA Daniel Weiler, and members of the Champion Corporate staff. A big draw was the excellent meal of pork burgers and pulled pork sandwiches prepared by Hartrich Meats. Several door prizes were awarded as well!
Champion Fitness Physical Therapy is looking for a Compliance & Ethics Officer to design, develop and lead our company-wide compliance and standards of conduct programs. The ideal candidate will have a successful track record as an in-house professional in a public or private company, as well as experience in a client service business. Superior professional judgment, analytical abilities, a collegial approach to problem-solving, and a polished, diplomatic presentation style are all critical to this role. This incumbent must work effectively with a broad array of highly credentialed client-focused professionals, as well as, senior management.
QUALIFICATIONS
- A Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s desired.
- Must be certified in Healthcare Compliance through HCCA or obtain certification within 9 months of hire CPC, CCS-P preferred, but not required.
- Minimum of 5 years’ experience working in practice management, practice compliance, or a combination of the above.
- Must have experience preparing and providing training.
- Must be proficient in Microsoft Office Tools; especially Excel, Word, and Powerpoint.
- At a minimum, must have a working knowledge of practice operations, coding and billing, HIPAA, False Claims Act, Anti-kickback Statute, Stark Law, Civil Money Penalty Provisions, and EMTALA.
All interested individuals should send resumes and references to one of the following:
Email to: humanresources@champfit.com , or
Fax to: 815-844-5318 – Attention: Human Resource Manager, or
Mail to: Champion Fitness Physical Therapy – 924 W. Custer Ave., Pontiac, IL 61764
June 7 falls on a Thursday this year, and, for most of us, it will be a typical day, filled with normal activities – working, playing, family time together. For Katie Harvey, someone with a smile that lights up a room, though, it will have much more significance. That is the target date the Newton IL native has set for a huge moment in her life. That is the day that she wants to be able to walk again—one year to the day from her tragic accident of 2011.
After attending an insurance meeting in Bloomington, IL, Katie was a passenger in a mini-van with other fellow employees heading back to Effingham on the afternoon of June 7. As they approached LakeLand College/Mattoon exit (#184), a fatal accident up ahead of them on Route 57 had caused traffic to be slowed to a crawl. A semi behind them, failed to slow down, however, ramming into one pickup truck, then the van Katie was in, and then another vehicle before it tipped over on its side and burst into flames, killing the driver.
Unfortunately, one of Katie’s fellow passengers was killed as well. The media report merely stated that “22 year-old Katie Harvey of Newton was taken to Carle Hospital for treatment.” What it didn’t say was that Katie was thrown from the vehicle, suffering multiple injuries to her arm, her back, her spine and her legs. She also suffered a collapsed lung. One official told her that it was fortunate she wasn’t wearing a seat belt; had she been wearing one, she most likely would have been killed. Ironically, Katie swears she had her seatbelt on and remembered nothing of the accident.
“Treatment” at Carle lasted two months. Surgeries, rehab, doctors, nurses, therapy, wires, skin grafts, bone grafts, wheel chairs— all became part of her normal routine. Katie’s one year old daughter, Raylie, was afraid to approach her mother in the hospital. Katie’s parents, Randy and Linda, spent the entire time with her daughter, offering support and encouragement whenever they could. As tough as the situation was, the Carle personnel were amazed at her early desire to begin the long road back, always with a smile and a willing heart.
Katie Harvey and her 2-year old daughter Raylie
Once the two months were over, Katie returned home to Newton with her family and began physical therapy and further treatments at a facility in Effingham. Although she was not paralyzed, she was still confined to a wheelchair and so began the lonely, arduous task of trying to regain that normal lifestyle so she could become the mother she eagerly wanted to be for Raylie. After some time, however, Katie’s hopes began to fade, as the results she wanted didn’t come. “I felt like a number there,” she said. “Like sometimes they really didn’t care about me like I thought they should.” She told her mother that she didn’t think she would ever walk again.
In early February, Katie got a second chance. Champion Fitness Physical Therapy opened a new clinic in Newton, and the Harveys decided to change her routine and not have to travel out of town for therapy. “The first time I came in here,” Katie recalled, “I could tell they were different. These guys cared.”
They were PT Cory Hanley, PTA Daniel Weiler, and student assistant Tyler Doughty, and their approach gave Katie that much needed shot in the arm. “They spent time with me, they worked me hard; they pushed me….like I thought I needed to be pushed,” she said. For their part, working with Katie has been equally a joy for the clinicians. Like their counterparts at Carle, they have enjoyed her spirit and approach to each session, as if she is motivating THEM, rather than the other way around. “Everyday she’s in here—up to four days a week—she never has a bad day,” Tyler noted admiringly.
Her parents noted the change immediately. “These guys -,” mother Linda commented, “- they have meant the world to her. She looks forward to coming in here every day.” Her dad Randy added with a smile, “Best thing that’s happened to her.”
Katie Harvey knows the road ahead still is going to be tough. She faces a two-week stint of concentrated in-house therapy up in Chicago; there also might be more surgery on her arm to restore its full range of motion; and there are still weeks of therapy with her clinician friends at Champion. But Katie also sees that June 7 date coming up, and she remains determined to accomplish her goal. “I’ll be okay,” she smiles to whoever talks to her.
The “Boys of Fall” are back once again—-ONE MORE GAME VI will be played on Saturday, September 1 at Williamson Field in Pontiac. This “fantasy camp” for guys wanting to relive their glory days, experience the game of football for the first time, or just want to put on the pads one more time are eligible to play. In 2011, several cahnges were made that made the whole experience the best one yet.
Champion Fitness Physcial Therapy is looking to hire physical therapists (PTs) for the Champaign and Tuscola areas. Any interested applicants should contact Human Resource Officer Stephanie Kennedy (skennedy@champfit.com) at their earliest convenience. (877-348-8500)
Owner and Physical Therapist Jeffery C. Schade announced recently that TWO new physical therapy clinics will open by the end of January. The sites are located in Metamora at 912 W. Mt. Vernon Ave. and in Newton at 100 S. Sycamore. With seventeen clinics now all over central Illinois, Champion Fitness Physical Therapy continues its efforts to be able to offer its many services to area families. The company has always maintained a strong reputation for standing behind its patients by scheduling their first appointment within 24-48 hours, educating them along the way, and offering a caring staff who makes the physical therapy process as convenient and comfortable as possible.
Owner Schade is excited about the opportunity to provide services to both areas. “We are thrilled with the chance to have these clinics in Metamora and Newton,” Schade said. “These communities are exactly the type we look for when we search for areas to possibly expand. The city officials and the townspeople in both cities have been exceptionally warm to our arrival, and we look forward to serving the clientele in both areas. Our physical therapists for these clinics, Michael Bennington for Metamora and Cory Hanley for Newton, are both a couple of the top therapists in our company, so that should make things easy as well,” Schade noted.”
Schade went on to add, “The goal with each patient is to help that individual ‘Get Busy Living!’ We want that person to get back to enjoying the lifestyle that he or she was doing earlier, or even things he or she maybe hasn’t done for years, things like dancing at a wedding reception, or swinging that driver on the first tee, pushing that lawnmower, or planting those onions in the backyard garden. At Champion Fitness Physical Therapy, the patient comes first-always!”
Among the services offered by the clinic include therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, therapeutic modalities, and recovery exercise programs. Regardless of the situation, whether it be an accident occurring at home, an athletic injury, an industrial rehabilitation case, or just a case of Mother Nature catching up to an individual, Champion Fitness Physical Therapy gives the folks in both the Metamora-Germantown Hills area and the Newton-Jasper County area an opportunity to receive prompt, convenient, and comforting care. “We would like to be your choice for physical therapy for the rest of your life,” Schade concluded.
In honor of the 15th Anniversary of Champion Fitness Physical Therapy, staff members collaborated efforts to create a souvenir cookbook of their most “famous” recipes. A limited number of these cookbooks are available at your local Champion Fitness Physical Therapy clinic for $10 with all of the proceeds benefitting the “Champion in Needs” fund. Call 877-348-8500 for more details.
This Friday, as part of our celebration of October—-National Physical Therapy month, Champion Fitness Physical Therapy employees will be honoring one of the most important causes our country faces…Breast Cancer Awareness. October is also National Breast Cancer Awareness month, and our staff members will be wearing Pink this Friday to show their support for Breast Cancer. Stop by and see how your local clinic is decked out.
Stephen Bardo is pictured with St. Mary's Principal Richard Moorehouse (L) and Champion Fitness owner Jeff Schade (R). Bardo spoke to St. Mary's students.
Former NBA player, Illini standout from the 1989 Final Four team, and current ESPN analyst Stephen Bardo spoke to a pair of groups in Pontiac on September 28. After an intial performance at Pontiac High School in front of a crowd close to 1000, Bardo brought his message to St. Mary’s Grade School where he shared his ideas and thoughts with a group of around 225. Bardo, a longtime friend of Gary Brunner, former PTHS girls basketball coach, who was instrumental in getting the former Illini to come to Pontiac, advised his audiences to dream big, develop their own “road map” to success, and see themselves as a success by putting their own picture on an existing poster of an individual they would most likely want to emulate.
Champion Fitness Physical Therapy helped as well in sponsoring the St. Mary’s event.
The 2011 IESA Class A softball crown returns to Casey-Westfield for the first time since 1997 as the Lady Braves defeated Bourbonnais 12-6 in the title game for this year’s hardware.
The Lady Braves defeated Dwight 11-0 in five innings on Friday mornning to advance to the trophy round on Saturday. In the morning session, CW knocked off Bloomington Holy Trinity 9-3 to get to the title game.
In the championship game, the Lady Braves battled back from an early deficit to take the crown by a 12-6 score over Bourbonnais and finish the year with a 24-1 record.
“My 8th grade class stepped up huge this whole weekend,” said head coach Chey Howe. “(We picked it up) all around in batting and in the field which helped my 6th and 7th graders step up as well.
“I am a VERY proud coach and have been privileged to have coached a number of the 8th grade class this summer where they showed me the potential they had when they worked out the loser bracket to receive 2nd at State then finishing in the top 14 teams at the World Series; they deserved to add this to their list.
“They are just very well rounded athletes that know the game well… in certain situations on defense I didn’t even have to tell them to do little things as to get the lead runner or look the runner back.
Here are the first two winners of our Fall 2011 “Get Busy Living” Performer of the Week contest. Your school could be just like theirs and win $100 for the PE department. E-mail your entry to mpeterson@ champfit.com
Week #1 Winner--Cumberland HS QB Kendal Butler (C) along with AD Roy Clapp and Champion's PT Cory Hanley, himself a Cumberland HS alum
Week #2 Winner Flanagan-Cornell-Woodland HS RB-LB Josh Long (R) with Head Coach and AD Ted O'Boyle
Maybe we should have changed the name to “One More Play!”
With lightning flashing in the nearby sky, Orange QB Drew Peterson had one last play to try to bring his team back from a 30-28 deficit. As he looked downfield for one of his wide receivers from the White team’s 35 yardline, the protection broke down, and he was forced to scramble. He broke containment, headed down the east sideline, racing toward the endzone. At the ten yardline, he avoided a defender, but that juke allowed White team’s Michael Hert to close in. A collision…bodies grunted…a lunge…and a winning…saving tackle by Hert as Peterson landed on the one yard line!
Orange players wanted one more play to get in, but officials has already decided that the weather was too threatening, so with 5:24 left on the clock, the game was called….and Pontiac Mayor Bob Russell earned his third straight victory in the series, topping former head coach Mick Peterson’s Orange Team 30-28.
It was by far the best game in the five-years as the format was adjusted to fit the number of players involved. Fifty-yard field, eight on eight squads, more emphasis on offense resulted in easily the highest scoring game in history. Former Pontiac All-State quarterback Tommy Green hooked up for touchdown passes to former Indians Chad Nelson, Blake Stadel, and Paul Kelly, while Andy Lauber, Travis Miller, Peterson, and Chad Sibert scored for the Orange. The difference was a PAT scored by Stadel on the White’s last score.
Champion Fitness Physical Therapy owner Jeff Schade was ecstatic about the game, despite the fact that he once again came out on the short end of the scoring. “We had only 27 guys, we practiced and played through some tough heat and humidity; and everybody just played lights out!” he said after the game. “We have a format that we all like now, and we really can’t wait til next year to do it all over again.”
Proceeds from the event benefit the Champion Fitness Physical Therapy/Jill Bane Memorial Scholarship fund.
For the past two years, Pontiac Mayor Bob Russell has been on the winning sideline as coach in the One More Game competition, the annual one-day football spectacular now entering its fifth year here in Pontiac. Back in 2009, Russell’s squad defeated Pontiac High School’s Social Studies chairman Eric Sweetwood’s Orange squad 12-6 in double overtime; last year, Russell and former PTHS Athletic Director & Coach Don Daluga proved once again that “veteran” coaches can still get it done as their White team used two first half touchdowns and a staunch defense to upend the Orange squad of the “younger” coaches Eric Sweetwood, PTHS Social Studies Chairman and Mark Myre of WJEZ Radio 14-6.
This year, though, Coach Russell will face his “toughest” test yet as his opponent across the field will be former PTHS head coach and recently named Hall of Fame member Mick Peterson. The game will mark Peterson’s first contest since he retired from coaching following the 2006 season. Peterson’s last game at Williamson Field was a 14-7 Senior Night victory over Rochester on a cold, blustery October night back in that final year.
The fifth rendition of One More Game takes place on September 3 at Williamson Field. All of the proceeds from the event benefit the Champion Fitness Physical Therapy-Jill Bane Memorial Scholarship Fund, awarded to prospective students entering the physical therapy or athletic training fields.
Jeff Schade, owner of Champion Fitness Physical Therapy and organizer of the annual occasion, looks forward to the day each and every year. “The guys just have a great time every year, and the stories that go along with it get better and better. Plus, we are able to use the proceeds from the day to help benefit the Jill Bane Memorial Scholarship Fund. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
Congratulations to the Pontiac Boys and Girls Club, the winner of the $1000 top prize!!!!!!!!!
The Pontiac clinic finished in 1st place overall by scoring a total of 114.5 points, earning the $1000 for the Pontiac Boys and Girls Club. Other winners included: the Dwight Youth Baseball and Softball Leagues (2nd prize of $750); the Tuscola Boys Scouts (3rd prize of $500); and the Streator Community Center (4th prize of $250).
Prize totals reflected the overall scoring by the fifteen clinics in the Champion Fitness Physical Therapy family. Final results are listed below:
Here are the results of our 24 hour vote….the FINAL category of our Clinic competition!
We will be posting the the final results of the clinic competition and announce the winners of the 4 Grand Prizes for Local Youth Organizations here at 4:00 this afternoon!!!!!!
Thank you for taking part in 15th Anniversary Clinic Vote and supporting your local youth organization! Record numbers of votes and voters from over half the country have been recorded.
As soon as we have have the final results tabulated, we will post them on this site!
The 15th Anniversary Champion Fitness Physical Therapy Summer Tour has now come down to a vote by the public—people just like you!
This Wednesday, starting at noon, the polls will open for twenty-four hours, and voters can choose their favorite Champion clinic in hopes that their finish will bring $1000 to your local community. Here are the standings going into the finals:
VOTE AS OFTEN AS YOUR COMPUTER WILL ALLOW YOU TO DURING THAT 24-HOUR PERIOD. TOP VOTE-GETTER WILL RECEIVE 30 POINTS; 2ND PLACE WILL GET 28 PTS.; 3RD WILL EARN 26 PTS., ETC. LOTS OF CHANCES TO WIN REMAIN!!!!!!!!!
FOUR PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED:
1ST PLACE—-$1000
2ND PLACE—-$750
3RD PLACE—-$500
4TH PLACE—-$250
At Champion Fitness Physical Therapy, we want to help you…..and your youth in your community…..”Get Busy Living!”
“It was the third of September,
that day I’ll always remember (yes I will),
cuz that was the day that my daddy….”
…played in ONE MORE GAME V!!!!!!
With respect to the Temptations, September 3 IS the day for One More Game V, the fifth annual fantasy football day when the boys of “old” become the “boys of fall” again. All proceeds go to the Champion Fitness Physical Therapy/Jill Bane Memorial Scholarship fund. Click here for more details!
