Rehabilitation Providers

Jo Alexander, PTA

Jo has been working as a physical therapist assistant at Gifford since 2016. She is a lifelong resident of the Upper Valley and a strong advocate for her community. She has championed the aquatic therapy program which is housed at the Upper Valley Aquatic Center, where she gives individualized physical therapy for clients who would benefit from water exercises. She has a special interest in persistent pain and assisting people to move for long term management. She specializes in tendon injuries, both acute and chronic, and is pursuing advanced aquatic therapy training.

Outside the clinic, Jo attends online Pilates classes, walks in the woods with her sweetie, and loves winter running.

Dawn Arnold, PT

Dawn enjoys treating a variety of diagnoses ranging from general orthopedic issues, balance issues to women’s health. After a rock-climbing accident, she has experienced her own orthopedic challenges as she had to learn how to remain active while respecting the limitations of her joints, a mindset she feels helps her relate to her patients and their situations. She is committed to empowering her clients to take control of their health. And she prides herself on listening to her patients to assist them in developing a plan to achieve their goals.

In her personal life, Dawn enjoys cycling, kayaking, and hiking.

Julie Bascom, CCC-SLP

Julie Bascom, CCC-SLP enjoys helping adult patients and their families manage and understand their new or changing swallowing difficulties and to identify meaningful personal goals.

She is a good listener and assists her patients with achieving their goals for their greatest quality of life. Each patient has different desires and goals for therapy outcomes and she tries to help make that happen for each of them.

Amy Chiriatti, MPT

Amy Chiriatti, MPT has been working in general outpatient orthopedics for nearly 20 years. She likes the run-of-the-mill orthopedic issues, as well as specific and unusual cases. Dry needling has been a beneficial tool for her treatment style, as well as other hands-on techniques for soft tissue and joint mobilizations. She develops specific exercises and therapeutic treatments to target individual needs for patients at their current level – whether sedentary or competitive. Her active lifestyle reflects what she wants for her clients.

Patrice Conard, PT

Physical therapist Patrice Conard, PT enjoys being part of Gifford’s rehabilitation and medical teams but also takes great joy in caring for members of her own community. Her experience in acute rehabilitation, burn and wound care, and lymphedema are all skills she applies to her work with her patients.

Diane Everett, PT

Diane Everett enjoys treating patients of all ages with a variety of diagnoses and helping her patients learn how to better help themselves through recovery.

“I strongly believe in meeting the patient where they are at and providing the best possible care I can to educate them. I strive to provide the level of care that they and their body can accept initially and progress from there.”

She loves to build strong relationships with her patients and works to create trust in the care that she provides through strong listening and teaching skills.

Elizabeth Garibay, PTA

Elizabeth Garibay, PTA believes in treating the whole person and educating individuals on how movement is vital to the healing process. She truly enjoys guiding her patients to their physical therapy goals, whether it’s through building confidence or helping a patient return to an activity they love.

In her spare time, she enjoys snowboarding, running, or biking. She’s also had her fair share of injuries which allows her to empathize with her patients and any frustrations they might encounter as they work to get back to where they were before their injury.

Lindsay Haupt, PT

As a physical therapist, Lindsay Haupt, DPT, enjoys the challenge of figuring out the underlying mechanical cause of her patient’s pain or functional mobility. Her goal with treatment is to provide tools that work within each patient’s unique lifestyle to allow them to not only heal and get better but stay better. She achieves this by educating patients on their underlying problems so they have a clear understanding of what is going on and how they can help themselves get better. It brings her extreme joy to see a patient who has been struggling with pain, functional limitations or incontinence come in with a smile and report they are feeling better.

As a mother of two, she is keenly aware of the guidance and education pregnant women are seeking both pre- and post-partum. Her goal is to offer women the chance to learn how to better recover following the life-changing event of childbirth.

Anne Hutchinson, RD

Food has always been important to Anne Hutchinson, RD as it served as a connection to her family and friends. At Gifford, the Randolph, Vt. native will be helping patients reach their nutrition goals through support and education. She will be working at the Kingwood Health Center.

“I want to help people try and gain a better relationship with food, getting to the root of why we overindulge or restrict. Counseling them to understand their behavior when it comes to eating can produce long-term impactful changes.”

Hutchinson worked in the federal Women, Infants, and Children Program. She also spent time working as a Nutrition Support Clinician, helping feed those who cannot eat orally.

Ann Mason, MS OTR/L

Ann Mason specializes in occupational therapy in inpatient acute care and rehab settings. She also sees outpatient pediatric occupational therapy clients at the Kingwood Health Center. Ann enjoys working with all areas of occupational therapy treatment but is especially interested in orthopedic and stroke rehab. She enjoys learning about who patients are personally and how they best learn in order to help make therapy sessions more meaningful to them while working to maximize independence with self-care skills and home management tasks.

Suzanne McCarthy, PT

Physical therapist Suzanne McCarthy, PT provides care for post-operative patients and patients of all ages. Her treatment approach is based on improving fitness, self-care and management of orthopedic and sports related injuries. She values her time with each patient, listening to their concerns and goals. She believes in performing thorough evaluations to help develop the most effective treatment plan possible. As a lifetime participant in multiple outdoor sports, from the water to the mountains, she has a deep understanding of the mechanics needed to perform not just sports but any physical activity her patients might enjoy.

Averill Pazdro, DPT

Averill Pazdro, DPT enjoys working with all age groups and diagnoses but has a special interest in lymphedema/cancer patients and those with neurological conditions. She works to incorporate fitness, strength, balance, and pain free movement into all treatment approaches to promote health and wellness. She prioritizes each patient’s goals and works to get people back to the activities that they love.

Stacy Pelletier, RD

Stacy Pelletier, RD specializes in nutrition and dietetics. She particularly enjoys working with our geriatric population in the acute care and long-term care setting. Working with patients and their families to achieve their individual health goals and improve quality of life brings her joy. And she finds it especially rewarding to help patients better understand the connection between the food we eat and our health.

Deanna Perreault, PT

Deanna works with patients from infancy to geriatrics and believes in treating not just the injury site, but the whole patient.
Before becoming a physical therapist, Deanna worked in the mental health system which enables her to recognize and empathize with patients on both the physical and emotional aspects of their recovery. She sees herself as a partner in her patient’s recovery and works to ensure they understand their diagnosis and plan of care.

Her family is very active. Both of her children have grown up playing many sports, her husband coaches, and Deanna herself has been both a player and coach and enjoys treating athletes of all ages.

Jim Pratson, DPT

The goal of Jim Pratson, DPT, is to get his patients back to the activities that are important to them. He believes educating his patients on why they feel the way they do, why he has them performing certain activities, and how they can improve a patient’s quality of life are important aspects of his work. Along with listening to his patients, he strives to understand their needs and find changes they can make within their everyday life.