Player: Robert Berry, MS, ACSM-CEP

Current Team: Henry Ford Hospital - Detroit, MI

Position: Clinical Coordinator of Cardiac Rehabilitation

Years in the League: 22

Stats: Robert Berry, MS, ACSM-CEP, set his sights on a career in cardiac rehab after losing his mother to a myocardial infarction when she was just 54 years old. The Exercise Science undergraduate was driven to focus his energy on helping others avoid similar tragedy, a commitment that has guided his 20+ years in the profession. Currently, Berry is Clinical Coordinator of the CR program at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where he is heavily involved in the design and implementation of the facility’s Virtual CR program. Berry is eager to help win permanent status for certain temporary changes during the COVID-19 crisis that promise to drive development of these new models.

Success in this area would mean wider access to and greater participation in CR, particularly among underserved populations. And for Berry, the patients are the reason he does what he does. As a practicing clinician, he spends 80% of his time delivering direct care. “What I enjoy most about working daily with patients is getting to know their personal stories,” he says. “Every patient I’ve ever met has an interesting story to tell; we just have to keep them engaged long enough to learn it.”

Player: Todd Brown, MD, MSPH, FACC, MAACVPR

Current Team: University of Alabama at Birmingham - Birmingham, AL

Position: Associate Professor and Cardiologist

Years in the League: 21

Stats: Todd Brown, MD, MSPH, FACC, MAACVPR, is back in the AACVPR “locker room” for another season. A longtime and highly engaged member of the organization, Dr. Brown was inducted as team captain (i.e., AACVPR President) and quarterbacked the association through the 2017-18 year. His prior experience at the organizational level, coupled with his real-world perspective as a preventive cardiologist and medical director of a CR program, make him a valuable boomerang player. As the current Director-at-Large, he’s excited for yet another opportunity to work with the membership, whom he describes as “some of the most positive, energetic, and just plain fun to be around people that I have the privilege of working with.”

In particular, Dr. Brown is looking forward to the work of the Data Analytic Center this year. Like Berry, he also hopes to take an active role in seeking permanent status for COVID-19 public health emergency waivers that have allowed cardiac and pulmonary rehab programs to receive reimbursement for virtual services. The issue is near and dear to his heart, as someone who has helped shape AACVPR’s approach to innovative delivery of CR/PR, including virtual and remote delivery.  

Player: Katherine Menson, DO

Current Team: University of Vermont Medical Center - Burlington, VT

Position: Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician

Years in the League: 6

Stats: Katherine Menson, DO, got involved in pulmonary rehabilitation in 2017 as a fellow at the University of Vermont Medical Center. Just two years later, she took over as medical director of the PR program there. In her relatively short time in the profession, Dr. Menson has already had an impact through her work updating AACVPR PR guidelines for non-COPD patients, contributing to the establishment of a tri-state CR and PR affiliate society for Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, and collaborating on the American Thoracic Society’s Pulmonary Rehabilitation Working Group. Serving as an AACVPR Director, she hopes, will provide even wider latitude to advocate in favor of greater PR and CR reimbursement and education and to lobby on behalf of underrepresented patient populations. In particular, she hopes to create tool kits that involve business plans, with the aim of equipping programs with the resources they need to win support at the administrative level to expand program access.

While the bar is set high, Dr. Menson finds joy and motivation in the passionate work of fellow AACVPR members who “think big” in terms of research, content and more. “I’m always inspired by the experiences and creativity of professionals at the front lines of PR and CR programs,” she says, “and I look forward to being another voice for meaningful change.”

Player: Connie Paladenech, RRT, RCP, FAACVPR, FAARC

Current Team: Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist - Winston Salem, NC

Position: Manager of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Years in the League: 59

Stats: Connie Paladenech, RRT, RCP, FAACVPR, FAARC, is approaching 60 years in the field of respiratory care. Contrary to her early dreams of becoming a veterinarian, she gravitated to cardiopulmonary rehab because of its impact on people’s lives despite a host of challenges – from patient access to reimbursement. That pull has been a consistent motivator over the years, and Paladenech says she has been rewarded by her front-row seat to the evolution of her chosen profession. “When I first entered the field, there was limited knowledge and few treatment options available for people with cardiopulmonary disease,” she acknowledges. “Each year continues to bring growth in our understanding.”

What she loves best about this specialty, Paladenech confides, is “the people and their passion for what they do.” With that in mind, she plans to champion the cause of membership advocacy. The married “dog mom,” who manages the CR and PR programs at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina, is also putting a priority on “continuing to progress innovation while maintaining our core principles.”

Player: Salim Street, M.Ed, CSCS

Current Team: Ascension Seton - Kyle, TX

Position: Director of Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Years in the League: 25

Stats: Salim Street, M.Ed, CSCS, heard the call to care for others at a young age. Although he says medical school was “not in the cards,” he holds a Master of Education degree in exercise physiology. His 25-year-plus career has included stints in emergency department positions and applied kinesiology, but Street readily admits that the move to cardiac rehab was the best career decision of his life. “My experience in cardiac and pulmonary rehab has been very rewarding on a daily basis,” he elaborates. “The impact that we make in our patients’ lives is highly motivating.” Today, Street is Director of CR and PR at Ascension Seton Medical Center Hays, Ascension Seton Southwest and Ascension Seton Bastrop in Texas.

Street is also a director for the Texas Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation which, along with his other roles, has shown him the importance of developing and promoting a leadership team that is diverse. As he adds AACVPR Director to his list of accomplishments, the married father of one is excited to be part of the association’s continued mission to elevate patient access, participation and innovation in CR and PR to the next level. “In addition,” he continues, “I’d like to see adoption of continued increases in reimbursement for pulmonary rehab.”