December 14, 2007
Condell Medical Center Director Returns from Military Service
Naval Commander Gail Crutcher, PT, returned last week as Condell Medical Center's Director of Rehabilitation Services after a year overseas working with wounded soldiers. He holds a photo of Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
LIBERTYVILLE, IL—Condell Medical Center welcomes back Rehabilitation Services Director Gail Crutcher, PT, following his year of military service caring for wounded soldiers.
Naval Commander Crutcher, a 56-year-old father of three from Richmond, IL, was stationed in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where wounded servicemen and women from Iraq and Afghanistan are taken for treatment before returning to the U.S.
Crutcher and his colleagues in Germany enabled many soldiers to take their first steps off the battlefield—even when many soldiers thought they would never walk again. Patients and hospital staff nicknamed Crutcher, "Opa," which means grandfather in German. The name was fitting because of the compassionate care and emotional reassurance he provided to hundreds of injured, traumatized soldiers. Through his selfless service, he offered soldiers a gentle hand, his gift for humor and the motivation to rejuvenate themselves. He even cried with them to share their pain.
"In many ways, my experience in Germany changed my life," Crutcher said. He gleaned new therapeutic skills and approaches from other military therapists and will use his knowledge and deeper sense of compassion to bring new, innovative treatment to rehabilitation services at Condell Medical Center.
As a tribute to our soldiers, Crutcher will present Condell Medical Center with an American flag that flew over the medical center in Germany. He has been with Condell Medical Center for 27 years.
Condell Medical Center's Rehabilitation Services include in- and outpatient speech, occupational and physical therapies, including Dayhab for stroke and surgical patients and Pediatric Alternatives in Creative Therapy (PACT).
###
Condell Medical Center is the leading provider of comprehensive medical and surgical services in Lake County, with state-of-the-art heart, neurosurgical, maternity and emergency services. Other services include: Condell Immediate Care facilities throughout Lake County, Centre Clubs (medically supervised fitness facilities), Pediatric Alternatives in Creative Therapy (PACT), Radiation Oncology Center, Condell Home Services, and Condell Day Center for Intergenerational Care. Physicians are independent practitioners and are not employees or agents of Condell Medical Center.