M.S., CCC/SLP; Clinical Manager
Sue Tedesco, OTR attended The Medical College of Georgia where she received a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy. Sue pursued the adult acute inpatient rehabilitation setting after graduation and specialized in the treatment of brain injury and stroke victims. She is NDT certified and has attended several advanced NDT courses. Sue believes that the sharing of knowledge is an important component of making sure all clients receive excellent care; which she pursued through teaching seminars and mentoring many therapists in various settings. Sue had the pleasure of being an adjunct professor at the Medical University of South Carolina for the Occupational Therapy department where she co-taught the neurology lab. Sue has lived in Illinois, North Carolina, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina, but is happy to now call Colorado home.
Dr. Cortney Baker grew up in the Dallas area and graduated from Cedar Hill High School. While attending Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, she discovered speech therapy was a natural fit and went on to earn her master’s degree in Communications Disorders & Sciences. After graduating from SIUC, Cortney worked in the school system for a year to complete her CFY, but longed for something different. In 2002 she discovered home health from a friend and fellow speech pathologist and decided to make a career change.
Cortney quickly realized she’d found her true calling in pediatric home health. She loved all aspects of what the setting had to offer—parent involvement in the child’s familiar environment, individualized attention and carryover from the initial visit. For the first time, she felt like she was actually making a difference with each of her patients. Cortney was able to provide personalized, quality care and focus on individual patients’ specific needs because all sessions were one-on-one.
Cortney wanted to allow other therapists the same opportunity to provide quality services to the pediatric population in Dallas and surrounding areas. KidsCare Home Health was soon formed with the sole intent of being a supportive, positive work environment where therapists felt they could excel in their careers while being valued and heard. Cortney envisioned a great place to work, while supporting therapists in what she believes is the best avenue of providing therapy—home health.
Cortney has been thoroughly amazed at what KidsCare Home Health has accomplished since opening on October 27, 2003. The company started out in a house in Garland with 10 patients, and has since grown into a successful agency with operations all throughout Texas and Denver, Colorado. Cortney is thankful to those who have supported the vision of KidsCare Home Health and have put so much time, effort and energy into what it is today—an indication that people really care about what the company is doing in the community.
Cortney earned her doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership from Pepperdine University in 2015; she focused her research on women leaders in healthcare and identifying the challenges and obstacles they overcome to climb the corporate ladder. However, Cortney quickly realized that the challenges aren’t industry-specific; they are gender-specific. As a result, Cortney wrote the book Unlimited: Conquering the Myth of the Glass Ceiling, released August 2017. She has become a much-sought after corporate speaker with a focus on leadership development.
Cortney was honored to be named 2016/2017 Texas Business Women of the Year by the Women’s Chamber of Commerce-Texas. She resides in the Dallas area with her husband, Jason, two of their three children, two dogs and a cat. In her spare time, Cortney loves spending time with family (fur babies included) and friends. She also enjoys reading and learning new things.
Jason grew up in a small farming community in Central Illinois. He attended Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (Go Salukis!) and graduated in 2001 with his Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering. Carbondale is also where he met Cortney and, shortly after graduation, they moved to Texas.
Jason had been involved in KidsCare Home Health from the very beginning when Cortney decided to create a home health agency. Starting up meant helping with everything, from getting the company set up to cutting out pieces for some of KidsCare’s first therapy materials. In early 2006, he began working in a full-time role at KidsCare Home Health, managing daily business operations and directing human resources. In his current role as CFO, he is responsible for ensuring that KidsCare Home Health remains financially healthy.
For Jason, The best part about working at KidsCare Home Health is seeing and hearing about how the service we provide changes the lives of children, their families, and our communities. He is pleased to know that KidsCare Home Health has a lot of great people that make great things happen, and each one of them is essential for the successful treatment of our clients.
Jason and Cortney are married with three children. Outside of the office, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, playing hockey, golfing, and traveling.
Erik came to KidsCare Home Health in 2010 as a staff accountant. In 2012 he was promoted to Vice President of Finance and IT where he worked extensively with revenue cycle, technology, business analytics and strategy. As the President of KidsCare Home Health, Erik is focused on continuing to expand KidsCare Home Health into new regions. He is very excited to bring KidsCare’s core values of Commitment, Accountability, Results and Ethics into communities throughout the United States.
Prior to KidsCare Home Health, Erik spent 8 years in the Illinois Army National Guard. His time there took him all over the world including a 13 month tour in Iraq from 2006-2007 as a team leader. His experiences taught him valuable leadership skills as well as the importance of teamwork, communication and attention to detail.
Erik earned a B.S in Accounting in 2008 and a B.S. in Information Systems Technology in 2009 from Southern Illinois University.
Micki came to KidsCare Home Health in 2011 as a per diem speech pathologist. In 2013 was promoted to Vice President of Clinical Operations to focus on regional expansion within the Texas market. As the Chief operating officer Micki continues to facilitate national expansion and diversification of clinical opportunities.
Prior to KidsCare Home Health Micki held management, operations, and clinical positions in a variety of settings including education, pediatrics, private practice and adult long term care facilities. Her broad range of experience has brought a multi-faceted perspective to KidsCare’s strategic outlook which has been instrumental in the growth and success of both established and new markets. She is very excited to bring KidsCare’s core values of Commitment, Accountability, Results and Ethics into communities throughout the United States.
Micki earned a B.S. in Communications Disorders from the University of Arizona and a M.S. from the University of New Mexico and received her CCC designation in 1983.
Dustin joined KidsCare Home Health in 2013 as the Director of Business Development. He has been instrumental in market expansion and building relationships with stakeholders in the regions KidsCare Home Health provides services. As the Vice President of Business Development, he will continue to focus on helping bring KidsCare’s core values of Commitment Accountability Results and Ethics to new regions in the United States.
Dustin finds his role within KidsCare Home Health very rewarding and enjoys being part of such an ethically driven company. “The service KidsCare Home Health provides to our patients drastically improves their quality of life, and my part in the process makes coming to work each day very rewarding”
Prior to his time at KidsCare Home Health, Dustin worked for over 10 years in healthcare contracting and consulting. He earned an MBA from Lindenwood University in 2013 and a B.S. in Communications from Southern Illinois University in 2006.
Jeanette Reinert joined the KidsCare family in 2014. She comes from an extensive healthcare-oriented background and brings both experience and integrity to KidsCare. Not only is she an integral part of the growing KidsCare Home Health staff, but is a mentor and leader to those she supervises as the Community Relations Director. Jeanette graduated cum laude from Texas Christian University with a double major in Marketing and Management in 1992. To date, she has more than 20 years of experience in healthcare, starting her career as a Licensed Nursing Facility Administrator. In 2000, she found her calling in Marketing and Business Development. Through various organizations, she has earned over 14 years of experience in Sales Management. Her most recent venture, prior to joining KidsCare, was sales/marketing oversight of 14 skilled nursing and rehabilitation facilities throughout the state of Texas.
Jeanette switched to pediatrics after hearing about KidsCare’s sterling reputation within the medical community and was highly impressed by the mission statement and core values established by the company’s owners.
Well established within the Weatherford community for over two decades, Jeanette lives with her husband of 23 years, Charles, and has two daughters, Ashley (21) and Rachel (17). She enjoys travelling, relaxing by the pool with a good book, and games, particularly dominoes or spades, with family and friends.
Stephen serves as the Director of Revenue Cycle at KidsCare Home Health. He brings over 10 years of diverse healthcare experience in specialty pharmacy, healthcare audit, clinical appeals, and account management. In his current role, he is responsible for overseeing the daily operations for the billing department, applying a disciplined and systematic approach to the Revenue Cycle, while instilling processes to streamline departmental workflows. Stephen earned his bachelor’s degree from Colorado Technical University in Healthcare Management.
Jason was born and raised in the Dallas area. He attended Mountainview College, the University of Texas at Arlington and WGU. He is currently studying certifications in Cisco CCNA Security. He currently holds certifications in Microsoft, Cisco, Dell Sonicwall, Comp TIA and CIW.
Jason came to KidsCare Home Health in 2010 with over 15 years of IT-related experience. Knowing that healthcare IT is one of the largest growing industries, Jason was excited about the opportunity to come into a growing company. With the migration to cloud services, Jason remains very busy.
As IT Director at KidsCare Home Health, Jason is responsible for the network infrastructure and systems analysis, as well as the administration of our Datacenter. His favorite part about his career is solving complicated problems on a daily basis and having the chance to work with new technologies. He enjoys the opportunity to continue to be challenged and learn within his profession. Jason enjoys working for KidsCare Home Health because of the difference they make in the lives of so many children.
In his spare time Jason spends time with his wife and children, including two daughters and a son. He also enjoys playing his electric and acoustic guitars.
Belinda began working for KidsCare Home Health in 2004, when the company was only about a year old. She says she had a strong feeling when she met Cortney Baker that this is where she wanted to be, and was excited when given the opportunity to be a part of KidsCare Home Health, growing into what it is today.
During her time at KidsCare Home Health, Belinda has had a part in many different positions revolving around billing, processing and office management – making her an expert on the inner workings of KidsCare. In her current role as Administrative Operations Manager, Belinda oversees the training and processes of all administrative employees in the company, as well as managing all administrative functions in the Fort Worth office.
Her favorite part of working at KidsCare Home Health is knowing she makes a difference in the lives of children with disabilities. She also enjoys the challenges that come with ensuring things run smoothly and efficiently, collaborating with her teammates, and all the wonderful people that she works with on a daily basis.
In her spare time, Belinda enjoys spending time with her three boys who she says, “keep their mommy on her toes.” She also enjoys traveling with her husband and shopping.
Shannon is originally from Stillwater, OK and made the trek to Texas to attend school at Texas Tech University. She received a Bachelor of Science in Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences and a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
Shannon began working for KidsCare Home Health as a Speech-Language Pathologist in 2006 after graduate school. She then had the opportunity to become a Clinical Manager in 2010 and was promoted to the Director of Therapy Operations for Texas in 2019. She has enjoyed getting to see the tremendous growth that KidsCare has had in the time that she has been part of the company. In her role, Shannon is able to work with both therapists and office staff to ensure that operations run smoothly and efficiently.
Shannon’s interest in Speech-Language Pathology developed both from taking speech therapy as a child and helping her brother, who also had learning differences. Shannon volunteered for a Speech-Language Pathologist at a hospital while in college and realized that speech therapy was her true calling. She enjoys working with the pediatric population in the home setting and helping them, and their families, with the variety of challenges that they face. Shannon is VitalStim certified and Hanen trained. She has a special interest in feeding and swallowing disorders, autism, and the preschool population.
Shannon enjoys working for KidsCare Home Health because of the support they have given her to grow as both a therapist and a leader in the company. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, reading, watching movies, and catching up on her favorite shows.
Karen received her master’s degree in communication disorders from the University of Texas at Dallas. She became interested in speech therapy in 1996 when her niece began receiving speech therapy services through Garland ISD for a severe phonological disorder.
Karen worked in the public schools, then spent a year working overseas in New Zealand before landing at KidsCare in 2005. While working as a full-time SLP with KidsCare, she became fluent in Spanish. While her Spanish is far from perfect, she loves being able to communicate with Spanish-speaking patients and families. She is also certified in the use of VitalStim Therapy and Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS).
Karen joined the KidsCare management team in 2010 and loves being able to provide support to the therapists that make KidsCare the success that it is.
Tonya is a Clinical Manager at KidsCare Home Health. As a native of Richardson, TX, she received her undergraduate degree in Speech Pathology from the University of North Texas, and her graduate degree from Texas Woman’s University.
While Tonya always knew she was going to make a career out of helping others, it wasn’t until she was introduced to the Speech Pathology program that she knew she had found her true calling. After graduation she began working as a speech therapist assistant during the day, and attended graduate school at TWU during the evenings. After graduating from TWU, she began working for KidsCare Home Health in August of 2008, and has been with us ever since.
Tonya enjoys the home health field because it allows her to get to know her patients and their families on a much more personal level in their natural environment. She feels this helps focus on the functional communication needed for that particular child’s environment.
In her spare time, Tonya enjoys canoeing and camping with her husband, scuba diving, reading, bowling and spending time with her family.
Victoria received her master’s degree in communication disorders from Arizona State University. She became intrigued by the field of Speech-Language Pathology in her freshman year of college when she met a Speech-Language Pathologist on the airplane going home for the holidays; she was especially interested in how reading and writing related to language functioning in children and so also studied reading education as part of her degree program.
While Victoria has over 20 years of experience working in a variety of settings, including owning her own pediatric private practice and mentoring graduate students in diagnostic practicum at UT, Austin, she knows there is still a great deal to learn about this vast field of communication disorders.
Victoria joined KidsCare Home Health in February, 2014 as a Clinical Manager growing the Central Region of Texas which includes Waco, Temple, Austin, and San Antonio. She loves working with her team of physical, occupational, and speech therapists and believes it is her job to facilitate their work to best meet the needs of their clients, and to help to make KidsCare Home Health the gold standard of pediatric home health agencies. She has been most impressed with KidsCare’s high level of ethics and organization within the company. It’s a great place to work!
Angela attended the University of Arizona for her Bachelor’s degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences and completed her Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology at Stephen F. Austin State University. She is entering her 20th year of practice as a Speech Language Pathologist. Angela has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient clinic, home health, long-term care, and educational settings. She has worked in home health with both adults and pediatrics for the majority of her career and has always loved all aspects of the medical practice of speech pathology. Angela’s specialty area is feeding and oral motor disorders. She also has experience with management of behavioral difficulties and medically complex patients. Angela has held positions in clinical management since 2009, first as a speech therapy department supervisor, then as an clinic director and now with as a Clinical Manager with KidsCare. She enjoys mentoring new clinicians and helping them feel supported and empowered to move forward in their clinical practice skills.
Angela is married to Robert and together they have a combined total of 6 kids in their blended family. Three of them are “grown,” living on their own and 3 live with at home with them. When she can find the time, she enjoys reading historical fiction and watching HGTV, especially Fixer Upper and House Hunters.
Kelly is a Clinical Manager at KidsCare Home Health. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise science and then continued to complete a Master of Physical Therapy at Shenandoah University. Kelly has experience in a variety of therapy settings including outpatient orthopedics, inpatient rehab, education, and home health. She enjoys the functional aspect of home health the best as well as the challenge of making activities fun for patients while meeting their goals.
Kelly started at KidsCare in 2012 as the Clinical Mentor for the new grad mentorship program and then moved to a Clinical Manager position. She left for a brief stint as the Academic Coordinator of Clinical Education for a local PTA program and, after gaining some great experience in the educational setting, quickly returned to KidsCare in the Fall of 2018. She is thrilled to be back at KidsCare and part of an innovative company that is a leader in the industry.
In her spare time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her family and friends, watching her favorite tv shows, rooting for the Chicago Cubs, traveling, and many outdoor activities.
Jeff is a native of Wichita, KS. Prior to entering the healthcare industry, Jeff worked in financial services as a manager and broker. His interest in physical therapy began while caring for his oldest son with special needs. He later received his Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Wichita State University.
Jeff has worked as a physical therapist for KidsCare Home Health since August 2018 and became a Clinical Manager in March 2019. His favorite part of working for KidsCare Home Health is the opportunity to work with a group of committed individuals to positively impact the lives of children and their families. He enjoys mentoring therapists and watching their personal growth.
Being a physical therapist has offered Jeff a variety of experiences. He has worked as a pediatric therapist in early childhood development, in a school district, at an outpatient clinic, and in a hospital setting. He has studied MNRI Dynamic and Postural Reflex Pattern Integration from the Svetlana Masgutova Educational Institute for Neuro-Sensory-Motor and Reflex Integration. He also participated in a pediatric clinical affiliation at St. Mary’s Hospital at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.
Jeff enjoys working for KidsCare Home Health because the company cares about its’ employees on a personal level and provides an environment for personal growth and excellence. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys being “Pa Pa” to his granddaughter Winter Rose and spending family time with his two sons, daughter-in-law, and dogs. He is excited for the new addition of a grandson. His hobbies include bass fishing, golf, travel, gourmet cooking, and movies.
Erin graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s of science degree in speech/language and hearing sciences and then went on to complete a master’s of communication disorders at Louisiana State University. Erin has experience in a variety of adult and pediatric clinical settings, including hospitals, rehab and skilled nursing, educational settings and private practice.
In 2011, Erin became the first therapist hired for KidsCare Home Health in Waco, TX, working PRN for two years. After moving away from Texas for her husband’s career, Erin returned to KidsCare in 2014 as a full-time SLP in the Fort Worth area. Due to her avid interest in mentoring and educating fellow therapists, she served as a Lead Therapist and Feeding Therapy Coordinator for the company. In 2017, Erin became the Clinical Manager for KidsCare Home Health of Colorado, working as an integral component for initiating and building the KidsCare team in the Denver area.
Erin has a passion for working with children and families, especially in the area of feeding and swallowing, as her own child had difficulties with feeding/swallowing as an infant and young child. Having first-hand knowledge of the feeling that parents experience when they are struggling to provide basic nutrition to their child has pushed Erin to continually learn and grow clinically in the area of feeding/swallowing to become a sound and compassionate therapist for the children and families that we serve.
In her spare time, Erin enjoys spending time with her family and friends, distance running, exercising, traveling and cooking.
Joseph Reitan, DPT was born in Chicago and raised in Northwest Indiana. He attended Indiana University and then went on to receive his Doctorate of Physical Therapy at the University of Hartford in 2010. He began practicing physical therapy in Boise, ID, but then pursued traveling physical therapy for 2 years, followed by 3 years working orthopedic trauma PT rehab in the mountains of Colorado before returning to Boise. Through these experiences, he has practiced in over 70 different clinics across the country and a wide range of experiences treating patients in pediatrics, traumatic brain injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease, sports and orthopedic rehabilitation. In his spare time, Joe is very active, including participation in numerous triathlons including the Ironman distance and also raced in the Little 500 cycling event at Indiana University. Joe, a Hoosier at heart, now looks forward to settling down with his wife Liz, daughter Hannah, son Nate and dog Wrigley back in Boise.
I love that because of Kidscare I am able to work with my patients in the comfort of their own homes. Working with an entire family to achieve the most independent and functional life for a patient is an incredibly rewarding experience.
I love that because of Kidscare I am able to work with my patients in the comfort of their own homes. Working with an entire family to achieve the most independent and functional life for a patient is an incredibly rewarding experience.
I feel supported in knowing that the high standards of ethics that KidsCare promotes, provides a strong foundation for the company so that I can focus on achieving great outcomes with the kiddos I see.
KidsCare provides so many tools to help therapists be as effective as possible. From providing CEUs to having necessary documents available on the website to always having someone available that can answer a question, our therapists can’t help but be successful!
Coming from the school district, I often felt so removed from the caregivers and the siblings of the clients I was working with and would often hear the phrase ‘He may do it at school, but he is not doing it at home.’ This was frustrating for me as a therapist who wanted to help my clients to succeed in several environments. KidsCare gave me the opportunity to do just that!
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