Adventist Health announces addition of five new physical therapists hired to treat Hanford area patients

New therapists include:

Hannah Case, PT, DPT: A physical therapist caring for patients who have experienced work-related, orthopedic, sports, and motor vehicle accident injuries. She also cares for patients recovering from joint replacement surgery as well as those suffering from vertigo (vestibular dysfunction) and neck and lower back pain. She earned her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from Touro University Nevada in Henderson. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and making a positive impact on the lives of her patients.

Meghan Fera-Maher, OTR/L: An occupational therapist focusing on care for patients who have had a joint replacement, a stroke, or a cardiac event. She also treats those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other medical conditions. She earned her Master of Occupational Therapy degree from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. Her goal is to provide meaningful, individualized treatment to her patients and help them regain their prior level of function.

Tanvi Jithendran, MA, CCC-SLP: A speech-language pathologist who treats patients recovering from stroke or trauma as well as those with dementia and swallowing difficulties. She earned her Master of Science degree from California State University in Fresno. Jithendran enjoys the opportunity to improve the quality of life of her patients through the best and most current rehabilitation practices.

Andrew Metzler, PT, DPT: An orthopedic physical therapy specialist who works with patients experiencing lower back, neck, knee, and shoulder injuries. He also treats those with osteoarthritis, generalized weakness, and radiculopathy of the cervical and lumbar spine. He earned his Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from West Coast University in Irvine, California. Metzler’s goal is to help decrease a patient’s pain and aid them in returning to the activities they enjoy.

Monika Finney, MS, CCC-SLP: A speech-language pathologist offering patients care for speech and language deficits, autism, aphasia, and dysphagia. She earned her Master of Communication Sciences and Disorders degree from the University of Central Arkansas in Conway. She feels fortunate to be in a profession that enables her to have a profound effect on the quality of life of her patients.  Monika will be joining fellow speech-language pathologist Christa Van Gemert, a therapist already caring for patients at Adventist Health Physical Therapy- Hanford. Van Gemert cares for children who have delays in language acquisition and speech articulation problems. She also helps autistic children develop social skills and works with adults who have voice and swallowing disorders and aphasia after a stroke. Van Gemert recently became a VitalStim therapy provider, the only provider in Kings and Fresno counties, which allows her to use a specialized electrical stimulation unit to retrain the muscles for swallowing.  She earned her Master of Science degree in Speech Therapy at California State University, Fresno.

The 10 therapists at Adventist Health Physical Therapy – Hanford provide care for a variety of needs and conditions as well as provide timely appointments usually within one to two weeks of referral. The team takes a personalized approach to ensure that each patient’s unique needs are met in a timely manner, and the patient achieves their best possible outcome.

Adventist Health Physical Therapy – Hanford, located at 210 W. Lacey Blvd. in Hanford, is accepting new patients. Appointments may be made by calling 559-537-2240. A physician referral is required.