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| LYMPHLAND |
| Meet The Therapist
Name: Thomas A Kincheloe, OTR/L, CLT Address: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Email: tkbv@earthlink.net What inspired you to become involved in LymphedemaTherapy? A doctor friend suggested I look into it because there are so many people with the disease and not enough therapists to treat them. Where did you study and how long? I went to Norton School of Lymphatic Therapy 2 years ago. How long have you been practicing? I worked with a few patients but didn't really get into it full time until last October. Now I am getting more and more referrals...and I am delighted! Do you have other areas of expertise? I have some training in Myofascial Release Therapy but for the most part I just do occupational therapy if I am not doing lymphedema therapy. I hope to go into lymphedema therapy full time, and I think the opportunity is coming sooner rather than later. What insurances do you take? Do you offer any fee reductions for cash clients? I work for a major hospital system. We take all kinds of insurance, including Medicare. We will work something out with our patients if they have no insurance or have only Medicare, which pays 80% for outpatient services. However, I really can't answer for the accounting department. I do know the ladies there and know they do their best to help patients get what they need. What is your approach to understanding the individual needs of your clients? I believe in treating each patient as a unique individual with unique needs. I avoid categorizing patients. I look at it this way: Someday I may be in their shoes and so how would I want my therapists to treat me -- as a unique individual with special needs. Are you involved or affiliated with any professional Lymphedema, Physical Therapy, orMassage Therapy Associations? I am a professional member of the National Lymphedema Network. And now so is our lymphedema clinic. You can go to the NLN and search the Affiliated Treatment Centers under South Carolina. We are in Conway, which is just outside of Myrtle Beach. I am also a member of the South Carolina Occupational Therapy Association, and the Amputee Coalition of America -- a national non-profit organization dedicated exclusively to amputees. What else would you like us to know about you? I love working with lymphedema patients. It is, to me, much more challenging than either Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy. There is more emotional involvement, and it takes therapists with genuine compassion and understanding and patience to help those with lymphedema to work through the challenges that face them daily. I am active with the lymphedema world and doing my best to make a difference such as going to the nearby technical college and teaching the student nurses what lymphedema is all about, doing in-services where I work, and, most recently, teaming up with another very experienced lymphedema therapist (self-employed) to begin a project of educating the people in our region, both professional and non-professional. I spend virtually every night of the week talking to lymphedema people on-line. Sometimes I just read what they have to say without responding. Other times I am digging through my textbooks and other resources to try and help with some of the answers. I am very active in this respect. I am also a life-long above-knee amputee (and a volunteer mentor to other amputees) and so I know what it is like to live with challenges not faced by the non-disabled people in our society. I truly believe that God put me here for a reason, and using my skills and my experience in the way that I do, I feel as if I am meeting the goals He has set for me. You might say, "I'm truly on a mission!"! |
