The University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences recently welcomed a new inductee into its Alumni Hall of Fame. The latest inductee is Glenda D. Mack, MSPT, CWS, CLT, MBA. 

Mack, a 1997 alumna of the physical therapy program, is currently vice president of clinical operations for Kindred Healthcare/RehabCare. She has been with the company since 1997, when she began as a staff physical therapist with a long-term care facility. She also previously served as senior director of claims, audits and regulatory affairs for Kindred Healthcare/RehabCare.

In her role as a VP, Mack provides national leadership for the design and implementation of clinical programs across the many post-acute care sites managed by RehabCare, which is the division within Kindred Healthcare that provides rehabilitation services in over 2,000 facilities in 47 states, making it one of the largest rehabilitation providers in the country.

One of her primary responsibilities is to ensure state and federal compliance for the rehabilitation operations of RehabCare. Due to frequent changes in Medicare regulations, this is a daunting task, but one Mack remains committed to because of her devotion to quality care for older adults. Because of her depth of understanding of the business and clinical aspects of providing rehabilitation for older adults, Mack also provides education to a variety of regulatory bodies at the national level. She recently provided testimony in Washington, D.C. to the Senate Finance Committee, House Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means Committees to support payment policy reform for inpatient rehabilitation and skilled nursing therapy related issues. Mack also served as a content expert for the Center for Medicare Services post-acute care policy, and she was instrumental behind the scenes in helping craft language for some of the Medicare regulations regarding rehabilitation.

Additionally, Mack provides education regarding post-acute care rehabilitation and quality outcomes measurement for the American Healthcare Association and the National Association for the Support of Long Term Care. In the midst of providing leadership, advocacy, and formative education about policy on Capitol Hill, she has always maintained a strong passion as a clinician and as a teacher. She is a certified wound care specialist and is also certified in lymphedema management. Kindred administration describes her as a clinical leader in the field, serving medically complex patients. Mack has used this foundation to develop a model for outpatient wound care in Kindred’s long-term care environments – a great contribution to facilitation of home-based care. She has coordinated the opening of six new clinics with this focus.

Mack also has a strong commitment to clinical education. She received the Preceptor of the Year Award in 2000 from the Kentucky Healthcare Association. One of her primary roles in her current position is coordinating clinical education programs both for staff therapists and for student therapists. She is an adjunct professor in the CHS Physical Therapy program and guest lectures in the long-term care component of its geriatrics curriculum.

“The students comment annually about the depth and breadth of her knowledge and the passion of her commitment,” said Tony English, PT, Ph.D., program director, Division of Physical Therapy, and Anne Harrison, PT, Ph.D., associate professor, Division of Physical Therapy in nominating Mack. “This is very important because many students going into medical professions feel they do not want to work with frail older people. Each year after her lecture, there are always students who indicate that their interest and focus in the aging population increased as a result of the knowledge gained on this topic in these lectures. Ms. Mack’s content expertise spans the breadth of clinical care for complex patients in long term care to explaining the history and current status of regulations that govern medical care for older people. She continues to grow in all of these areas, and we expect to see her continue as an outstanding leader, making ever increasing contributions to the health care of older adults.”

Mack received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Trevecca Nazarene University (Nashville) in 1994. In 1997, she received a Bachelor and Master in Health Sciences in Physical Therapy, from the UK College of Health Sciences. Mack went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the University of Louisville in 2011.