Craig Hospital Leadership

Michael "Mike" Fordyce is President of Craig Hospital. Mike served on the Craig Hospital Board of Directors from 1998-2005, and was Chair of the Board from 2003-04. Fordyce came to Craig from Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI), where he served as chief administrative officer. CHI, a national health care system, owns and operates 72 hospitals and 42 long-term care facilities across the country. Fordyce was with CHI for 21 years, with a strong background in administration, strategy, organizational development, and human resources. He received his academic training at the University of Cincinnati.

Thomas E. Balazy, M.D., is the Medical Director of Craig Hospital. Dr. Balazy has been at Craig since 1987 and for 17 years Dr. Balazy was Craig's Medical Director at the Mulitrauma unit at Swedish Medical Center. Dr. Balazy received his medical degree and completed his residency at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, and completed a fellowship in spinal cord and brain injury at Craig. He is also assistant clinical professor at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Balazy is board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. In 2006 Dr. Balazy received the Jerome Gersten Clinical Teaching Award from the Dept. of PM&R at the UCHSC School of Medicine. Dr. Balazy is the author of a widely read publication on chronic pain in spinal cord injury.

Julie Keegan, CPA, is the Vice President of Finance. Julie received her B.S. in Accounting from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1981. Her prior experience includes working as a certified public accountant for Arthur Anderson & Co, Chief Financial Officer for Presbyterian Aurora Hospital, Director of Finance for Saint Joseph Hospital and Vice President/Controller for Exempla Healthcare. Julie joined Craig Hospital in 2006. She is responsible for the Business Office, Information Technology, Materials Management and Food Service. She is very active in the Healthcare Financial Management Association and currently serves on their Board of Directors.

Dana Polonsky, P.T., is the Vice President of Clinical Services. She received her B.S. in Physical Therapy from the University of Kentucky, 1981. Dana joined Craig in 1984 as a physical therapist, was the Director of PT between 1997- 2005, and in 2005 was promoted to VP of Clinical Services. She is responsible for clinical and management of the departments of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language pathology, therapeutic recreation, risk management, security, safety, and volunteer services.

Diane Reinhard, R.N.,BSN, M.B.A., M.S.C.I.S. CRRN, NE-BC, is Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer. She received her BSN from the University of Denver 1985, MBA from the University of Phoenix 2001, and M.S. in Computer Information Systems from University of Phoenix, 2001. Diane has been in the field since1982, has been at Craig since 1990, and has been a director since 2002. She manages utilization of human, fiscal, and material resources allocated to inpatient units. She has been active in the Steering Committees for Nursing Nightingale Event, A.R.N. Conference, 9 Health Fair and has made several presentations about spinal cord injury. She was honored in Who's Who in American Nursing and in 1998 and 2008 was nominated for the Recognition of Excellence of Human Caring - Nightingale Award. Diane is the immediate Past-President of the Board of Directors for the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Nurses (AASCIN).

Stacy Abel, SPHR is the Director of Human Resources. Stacy has worked in the field of Healthcare Human Resources for 12 years and joined Craig in 2009. She received her B.S. in Business Administration with a Major in Human Resources from Columbia Southern University in Alabama, and is currently working on a MBA in Health Care Administration. Stacy is responsible for human resource functions at Craig, including staff recruitment, staffing, training and development, performance monitoring and employee counseling. Stacy is also active with the Colorado Human Resource Association, the Colorado Healthcare Association for Human Resource Management, and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Lester Butt, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., is the Psychology Department Director. Dr. Butt received his training at The George Washington University, M.Phil., Ph.D. (1973 in Clinical Psychology), Washington, D.C.; Harvard University, Internship and Post-Doctoral training, 1972-1974. Dr. Butt has worked in the field since 1971, at Craig since 1977, and Director of Psychology since 1987. Dr. Butt is responsible for direct clinical care and administrative/departmental duties. Dr. Butt is Diplomate, American Board of Rehabilitation Psychologists; Two-time Past President, American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers (AASCIPSW); Board of Directors, AASCIPSW; Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Rehabilitation and Psychotherapy); Board of Directors, American Board of Rehabilitation Psychologists, American Board of Professional Psychology; Panel Member, Consortium of Spinal Cord Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines (Depression, Individuals with Ventilator Dependency, and forthcoming Psychosocial Issues in Spinal Cord Injury). Dr. Butt received a National Institute of Health Mental Health Fellowship, 1968-1972 and is the recipient of the Clinical Performance and Essie Morgan Awards from AASCIPSW. He is on the Editorial Board of NeuroRehabilitation and serves as the reviewer for multiple other publications.

Cynthia Braden, MA, CCC-SLP, CPHQ, FACRM, is the Director of Quality Management. Cindy received her B.A. from the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, 1971 and an M.A. in Speech Pathology, University of Denver, Denver, Colorado, 1972. She has worked at Craig since 1973 as a Speech Pathologist and 22 years as the Speech Dept. Director, and since 2002 has been the Director of Quality Management. Cindy coordinates and manages hospital-wide performance improvement and patient safety programs; maintains readiness for surveys from regulatory agencies; coordinates Medical Staff Executive Committee and hospital functions; implements Medical Staff credentialing and peer review. Cindy is a member of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, member of the Brain Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group and the American Speech Language Hearing Association and Brain Injury Association of Colorado. In 2009, Cindy was awarded the prestigious Fellow Award status for lifetime contribution to the rehabilitation field.

Mary Feller is Executive Director of the Craig Hospital Foundation. The Foundation seeks funding and manages the investment of donations in support of the hospital's mission. Mary has a BS from Elmhurst College and an MA from Saint Louis University. Mary has 28 years of fundraising experience including serving as Director of Institutional Advancement for Graland for six years and Assistant Vice President of Development for Metro State College for 15 years. Prior to moving to Denver in 1989, Mary worked as Director of Development for Maryville College and Fontbonne College in St. Louis. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Amy M. Goldstein, R.Ph., M.S. is the Directory of Pharmacy Services. Amy received her B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, 1988. Amy received her ASHP Pharmacy Practice Residency in 1991 and ASHP Advanced Hospital Pharmacy Administration Residency in 1992. She has been in the field since 1988 and has been the Pharmacy Director since 2002. She is responsible for the overall planning, organizing, monitoring and evaluating of the medication use process at Craig Hospital. Amy is a member of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists and Colorado Pharmacist Association.

Joe Gomez, M.C.T.R.S. is the Director of Therapeutic recreation. Joe received a M.A. in Recreation Administration from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley in 1976. Joe joined Craig in 1971, and soon became Asst. Director. In 2003 Joe became Director and is responsible for the clinical and management of the therapeutic recreation programs and staff. Joe was a pioneer in the field of wheelchair sports and recreational options for persons with disabilities. He has had leadership and memberships in several professional organizations including Wheelchair Sports USA, National Therapeutic Recreation Association, and Library for the Blind. Joe helped start the Rocky Mountain Wheelchair Games and the Rocky Mountain Basketball Conference in the early 1970s. In 1976 Joe was the field coach for the USA ParaOlympic Team in Toronto. In 1977, Mr. Gomez was the team leader in the international wheelchair team in Stoke-Mandeville in England, and in 1980 he was the track coach for the ParaOlympic Team in Holland. From 1979-86 Joe was the assistant commissioner for the Rocky Mountain Wheelchair Basketball Conference of the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball Association. Joe received the Therapeutic Recreation Professional of the Year in 1996.

Wendy Gordan, M.A., C.C.C.,S.L.P., is the Speech/Language Pathology Director. Wendy Gordan received her B.S. in Speech and Hearing Therapy from Kent State University, 1973, and her M.A. in Speech Pathology from Kent State, 1975. Wendy has worked in the field since 1975, at Craig since 1976, and Director of Speech since 2002. Ms. Gordan administers and manages clinical services in the Department of Speech/Language Pathology to provide quality patient care in a hospital setting, program development for services as needed by patients and families, and participates in management/administrative activities and supervises school program. Wendy is a member of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Mary Hewitt, R.H.I.A. is the Director of Health Information Management and Craig's Privacy Officer. Mary received a B.S. from Illinois State University in 1978. She has worked in the field since that time and has been a director at Craig since 2000. Mary is responsible for the planning, organizing and directing the function, services and operations provided by the Health Information Management Department in the maintenance and use of the medical record. She is also responsible for protecting patient's privacy rights and their individually identifiable health information as required by the HIPAA Standards for Privacy. Mary is a member of several professional organizations including the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA); Colorado Health Information Management Association (CHIMA); National Association Medical Staff Services; and Colorado Association Medical Staff Services.

Kenny Hosack, M.A., is the Director of Provider Relations. Kenny received his B.A. in Psychology-Religion double major from Tufts University in Boston, and his MA in Rehabilitation Counseling from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Kenny has worked in the field since 1974, at Craig 1974-1975, 1979-1986, and has been Director of Provider Relations since 1996. Mr. Hosack is responsible for development and implementation of the Craig's strategic marketing plan, provider relations with insurance companies, advertising and collateral materials, and public relations/media. Kenny Hosack is co-founder, Colorado Brain Injury Association, 1980; Chair, Colorado Department of Health Technical Advisory Report to the Governor, 1987; Chair, Colorado Division of Workers Compensation TBI Medical Treatment Guidelines Task Force, 1997-2003. Kenny Hosack received the National Head Injury Foundation Founders Award, 1991; Keynote Speaker at the First International TBI Conference, 1991.

Wes Johnson, B.S., is the Food Service Director. Wes has been in the food service industry since 1960. He served five years in the U. S. Coast Guard, including one year in Viet Nam. Wes majored in Hotel and Restaurant Management at the University of Denver, Denver, Colorado. He has been in Health Care for thirty two years and has been a department director for thirty of those years. Mr. Johnson has been at Craig since 1988. He is responsible for all food operations at the hospital including the patient feeding, catering, and cafeteria operations.

Lonnie Martinez, BS, RRT., is the Director of Respiratory Care Services. He additionally is responsible for oversight of Radiology Services and Inpatient Transport Services. Lonnie serves on the Advisory Boards for PIMA Medical Institute, Concord Career College and T.H. Pickens College where he earned his respiratory care practitioner diploma. Lonnie began his career at Craig in 1996 and has worked in several positions ranging from bedside clinician, assistant manager, manager and department director. He uses the business training during his undergraduate studies to manage the overall planning, organizing, monitoring and evaluation of respiratory therapy and the radiology department. Lonnie is the President for the Colorado Society for Respiratory Care and has been a member of the National Board for Respiratory Care since 1996. He has made numerous presentations across the country regarding various leadership topics and respiratory care and mechanical ventilation for persons with spinal cord injury.

Lee Means is the Director of Engineering/ES. Lee has worked in the field of engineering since 1981 and has been the director of engineering since 1988. Lee's responsibilities include the management of construction, maintenance, grounds and housekeeping. Lee is a member of the American Hospital Association, American Society of Healthcare Engineers, Colorado Association of Healthcare Engineers and Directors (board member).

Darrell Musick, P.T. joined Craig in early 2005 as the Director of Physical Therapy. Darrell graduated from California State University at Long Beach in 1989 with a B.A. in physical therapy. He began his clinical specialization in spinal cord injury in 1991 and was previously the clinical supervisor of the spinal cord injury unit at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center in San Jose, Ca. He also has 12 years experience working with individuals with spinal cord injuries in home and community settings. Darrell served as an adjunct faculty member at Samuel Merritt College MSPT/DPT Program for the last 10 years in Oakland, CA and has lectured at local, regional, and national conferences on physical therapy and spinal cord injury.

Stephanie Percival, M.A. is the Director of Patient and Family Services. Stephanie received her B.A. degree in Psychology from the University of Denver in 1976 and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University in 1984. Stephanie has worked in the Rehabilitation/Disability Management field for the past 21 years. Stephanie joined Craig Hospital in 2001 as a counselor in the Patient and Family Services Department and in November, 2005 Stephanie became the Director of the Department. Stephanie is an active member of the American Association of Spinal Cord Injury Psychologists and Social Workers.

George Richardson, M.A., is the Director of Follow-Up Services. George received his MA in Rehabilitation Counseling from Arkansas State University, 1972. He served in the Army as an officer in the regular and reserve forces stationed in Germany during the Vietnam War. Mr. Richardson has been in the field since 1973 and has been director since 1984. He is responsible for the department providing psychosocial and post outpatient discharge services to Craig patients and provide programatic direction for the outpatient services system for people with spinal cord injury. He has been active in the development of Independent Living Programs and research efforts on long and term costs, measuring long term handicaps, and the development of Handicap Reporting Assessment Techniques of Spinal Cord Injured.

Maggie Rose, RN, BSN, CRRN, is the Director of Admissions. She graduated from Indiana University in 1975 with a BS in Nursing. Maggie has been at Craig since 1975. She began her career as a RN Team Leader and served as the Outpatient Nurse Manager for 10 years before being promoted to Admissions Director. Maggie is responsible for screening all referrals and inquires for admissions’ to our inpatient and outpatient programs. She provides education to referral sources, potential patients and families about Craig Hospitals programs. Maggie works closely with the CNS physicians, clinical and financial departments regarding potential admissions.

Ellen Severe, OTR, is the Director of Occupational Therapy. Ellen received a B.S. in Occupational Therapy from Colorado State University in 1986. She began working at Craig Hospital in 1990 on the Brain Injury team. She transferred to the Spinal Cord Injury team in 1992 and became a member of the Technology group. In 1994 she became assistant Supervisor for the SCI OT team. Since then Ellen has worked on both the TBI and SCI floors as well as in the Outpatient Clinic and pool programs. Currently she is co-leader of the Spasticity Clinic. Ellen was Supervisor for the SCI OT team from 2005 to 2007.

Jill Stelley Virden, MS, CTRS is the Volunteer and Gift Shop Coordinator. Jill has a BS from St. Cloud State in St Cloud, MN, and a MS from the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO. Jill has worked in the Therapeutic Recreation Department since 1990 and as the Volunteer and Gift Shop Coordinator since 2008. While in the TR department Jill worked in all areas of the program including the SCI team, TBI team, Horticultural Therapy and conducted a research project related to recreation and patient outcomes. Jill also developed the TBI outpatient program for the TR department. Now, Jill recruits, trains and places volunteers for Craig Hospital, and is in charge of all aspects of the Gift Shop. Jill is a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS) and a member of Colorado Healthcare Directors of Volunteer Services (CHDVS).

Jacque Walsh is the Controller. Jacque joined the management team at Craig in July, 2007. Her entire career in accounting and finance career has been in the healthcare industry. Jacque graduated from the University of Wyoming with a B.S. degree in Accounting and obtained her M.B.A. degree from the University of Colorado at Denver with an emphasis in Finance. She held previous positions as Controller at Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center in Denver and Hacienda Health Care in Phoenix, AZ. Jacque also worked as a Director of Budgeting and Cost Accounting at HealthOne and Director of Reimbursement at Exempla Healthcare. At Craig she is responsible for managing the accounting, budgeting, accounts payable, payroll and patient accounting functions.

Chris Watkins, B.S., PMP, is the Director of Information Systems. Chris attended Regis University in Denver, Colorado and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems. He has over twenty-six years of IT management experience, including eleven years in healthcare between Presbyterian St. Luke's and Centura Health. He is responsible for Information Technology and an active member of the Mile-Hi chapter of the Project Management Institute.

Gale G. Whiteneck, Ph.D., is the Director of Craig's Research Department. Gale attended Rose Polytechnical Institute in Indiana and Manchester College and received his B.A. in Sociology in 1970, and an M.A. and Doctorate in Speech Communication from the University of Denver in 1976. Dr. Whiteneck came to Craig in 1982 and has been Director since 1986. His responsibilities include the management of all research activities and publications for the federally funded Rocky Mt. Regional Spinal Cord Injury System and Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Center at Craig and the coordination of 18 clinical research staff. Dr. Whiteneck has authored or co-authored dozens of articles and book chapters that are key resources in the rehabilitation and research literature.