Reunited: Recreation Therapists Return to Shepherd Center

On a recent Friday, the usually quiet lobby of the Marcus Center for Advanced Rehabilitation buzzed with energy and laughter. More than a dozen former Shepherd Center recreation therapists, from across Georgia and as far away as Massachusetts, gathered for a reunion.

The idea for the get-together grew from a conversation between Shepherd’s first recreation therapist, Barb Trader, who joined Shepherd in 1978, and Paula Maiberger, who worked in rec therapy with Barb for several years in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

“I realized how much I missed everybody,” Barb explains. “We had such a great team. They were really inventive and excited about what they were doing…. I think we all knew we were part of something really special. We enjoyed spending a lot of time together. We were excited about the fact that we were inventing things. You know, people would get ideas, and we’d try them out…. Every day we came to work knowing we were doing something important — that we were spending our time in a way that had real meaning for other people. That's kind of hard to get in the workplace.”

“Shepherd's just amazing. And we did really amazing things with our patients. And I think that was a draw [to return for the reunion,]” Paula says.

They note that several alums earned their doctorates and are now teaching therapeutic recreation at universities. “And so, they wanted to come back and see what else we're doing,” Paula explains. “And oh my gosh, everybody was blown away by Shepherd. Blown away. Shepherd is just so unique.”

As the gregarious group mingled, they swapped stories about the trials and triumphs of taking patients rafting on the Chattahoochee, to Atlanta Braves games at the old Fulton County Stadium, and sailing on Lake Lanier. They were joined by Shepherd Center co-founder Alana Shepherd, David Apple, M.D., Shepherd Center’s first medical director, and several current members of Shepherd’s recreation therapy department. Kelly Edens, CTRS, recreation therapy manager, spoke to the alums about the lasting impact their work has had on Shepherd Center and how the program they helped build has continued to evolve and grow as an essential part of therapy at Shepherd Center.

“I want to thank you all,” Edens said, “Without your dedication and support, we wouldn't be where we are today. Starting with Dr. Apple, what you all started is huge for us. We sit with all disciplines across the entire center — we're right in there with speech, OT, and PT. They know who we are. They know what we do. They tap us now, ‘Hey, can we do this?’ Which is really cool, but it's because of what you all started.”

Barb Trader recalled her first impressions of Shepherd, then Shepherd Spinal Center, when she visited in 1978.

“I liked what I saw. I was actually really energized by it, pretty moved by it because we had to walk right through the therapy gym to find a PT at West Paces Ferry Hospital way back in the day.”

After that first visit, Barb wrote a letter to Shepherd, suggesting they hire her as a therapeutic recreation specialist and sharing some ideas for activities she could lead for patients.

At first, the answer was no, that the hospital wasn’t in a position to hire her, Barb explained. Then came the part of the story that has become a chapter in Shepherd lore.

Two weeks later, Barb got a phone call — Dr. Apple had read her letter and wanted to start a recreation therapy program. He felt so strongly about the program's importance that he decided to pay Barb’s salary himself for her first year. From there, recreation therapy at Shepherd was born. It has grown from a staff of one in that first year to a staff of 42 today, making it the largest program of its type in the country.

Recreation therapy at Shepherd begins with identifying a patient’s goals and opportunities for growth. With their recreation therapy specialist, they create a plan tailored to their needs and aspirations. And while Shepherd’s Recreation Therapy Program helps patients lead healthy and active lifestyles as independently as possible, it goes further, helping patients redefine what’s possible, discover new passions, and explore existing interests in new ways. The reunion attendees played a crucial role in making the program what it is today.

“Rec therapy is critically important for all of our patients’ success,” said Shari McDowell, PT, DPT, FASIA, Shepherd Center's chief operating officer, as she thanked the alumni. “We could not have the outcomes we have for our patients without these team members and without what you laid as a foundation. So, I just wanted to say thank you. We're so happy you're here today and excited that you're going to see the growth — and know that you started it.”

After the remarks from McDowell and Edens, the group toured the hospital to see some of the many changes that had taken place since they worked at Shepherd.    

“Some of them hadn't even seen what we would just call the ‘new building’ back then, the Marcus-Woodruff building (built in 1992 and expanded in 2004), so there was a lot for people to take in,” Paula explained.

That evening, the alums gathered at Paula’s house to share a meal and more stories.

“We all had so many stories to tell about funny things that happened on outings or really moving things that happened on outings,” Barb says. “We all felt like Shepherd was a place where there was a sense of hopefulness and resilience, and the glass was always half full, not half empty. And that was kind of a shared, almost exuberance…. I think there's a lot of resilience in human beings that you get reminded of every single day [at Shepherd].”

Collectively, the group’s careers at the hospital spanned from 1978 to 2000, and many hadn’t seen each other in years, but Paula says that didn’t matter.

“It was just magical. It was so much fun. It's just that we were just a good, connected group, and it felt exactly the same when we all got back together.”

Written by Ruth Underwood