Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation Team

Dr. Fitzpatrick joined the Inova team in 2011. He earned his medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency training at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Dr. Fitzpatrick is board certified in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, Electrodiagnostic Medicine, and Neuromuscular Medicine.
 

Lora joined Inova Fairfax Hospital in 2006, working in both inpatient and outpatient settings before transitioning to the position of Outpatient Clinical Manger in 2018. She earned a bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy from Boston University. She is Sensory Integration Certified through Western Psychological Services and is also certified in Therapeutic Listening through Vital Links. Lora is a Virginia State-Level Advocate for People with Disabilities (a year-long training via Partners in Policymaking/Virginia Board for People with Disabilities). She has extensive experience with brachial plexus birth injury, sensory processing disorders, and care of the complex medical/chronically hospitalized child. Two of Lora’s three children have developmental disabilities, and she is passionate about raising self-advocates who are able to achieve whatever dreams they may have. 

Rachael has been with the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation team since 2019. She earned a master’s in occupational therapy. Her professional interests include self-regulation, sensory processing, motor planning, splinting for upper extremities, and fine motor and handwriting difficulties. Rachael is also the primary occupational therapist for the NICU Follow-Along Clinic. She enjoys working with people who have cerebral palsy, pediatric cancer, seizure disorders, prematurity, autism, Down syndrome and rare genetic conditions. Outside of work, Rachael enjoys volleyball, singing, hiking with her “tripawd” pup named Bradley Booper, cozy coffee places, and making breakfast for dinner. 

Megan joined the team at Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation in 2020. She earned a master’s in occupational therapy from Ithaca College. Her professional interests include the evaluation and treatment of a variety of diagnoses in the pediatric population. Outside of work, Megan enjoys weightlifting, biking, traveling, and hanging out with any and all dogs.

Sarah joined the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation department in 2021. She earned her master's degree in occupational therapy from Towson University. She treats a variety of neurological diagnoses. Her professional interests include Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), and stroke, and she is in pursuit of furthering her skills in these areas through professional continuing education. When she is not at work, she enjoys reading, hiking, baking and spending time with her dogs.

Alyssa joined the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation department in 2018. She earned a master’s degree in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California. While she has worked in a wide variety of settings, her primary focus has been in hospital-based outpatient programs. She is now specialized in neurological rehabilitation, lymphedema management and oncology rehabilitation. She has received extensive training in the area of stroke/brain injury rehabilitation, holds a certification in LSVT BIG (for treatment of symptoms of Parkinson’s disease) and has experience with a wide variety of neurological conditions. Alyssa is also a certified lymphedema therapist (CLT) and is board certified through the Lymphology Association of North America (LANA). She enjoys working with a variety of diagnoses and is excited when her knowledge from one specialty is able to inform her practice in another area. Alyssa enjoys spending time with her family, weightlifting, playing volleyball, hiking, reading and singing.

Megan joined the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation department in 2021. She earned a doctorate of physical therapy from Thomas Jefferson University. She treats a variety of pediatric diagnoses, with particular interest in neurological disorders and developmental delays. When Megan is not at work, she enjoys hiking and playing soccer. 

Laura joined Inova Fairfax Hospital in 2015 and has experience working in both inpatient and outpatient settings. She earned a doctorate in physical therapy from Arcadia University. Laura has experience working with pediatric patients from newborns through adolescents. She frequently provides treatment for diagnoses of torticollis, cerebral palsy, gross motor delays, Down syndrome, hypotonia and cancer. 

Theresa joined Inova Fairfax Hospital in 2004, working on the inpatient team before transitioning to the outpatient department in 2011. She earned a master’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Miami. Theresa has worked in a variety of settings, and she now focuses on outpatient lymphedema and oncology rehabilitation. Theresa became a certified lymphedema therapist (CLT) and is board certified through the Lymphology Association of North America (LANA). She is also a certified breast oncology rehabilitation therapist and a certified chemotoxicity and cancer exercise therapist through the Physiological Oncology Rehabilitation Institute. Her special interests are in oncology rehabilitation, breast cancer and head/neck cancer. When Theresa is not working, she enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and dog; reading; taking long walks; and cooking (especially baking!). 

Katie joined the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation team in 2020. She earned a doctorate of physical therapy from Mercer University. Katie enjoys working in the outpatient neurological rehabilitation setting because of the great variety it offers. It allows her to see a plethora of different patient populations. Most of her experience has been working with people who are recovering after a stroke or who have vestibular dysfunction. In her spare time, she can be found running (her goal is to run a half marathon!), listening to any kind of live music, curling up with a good book or scoping out the best coffee joints in DC. 

Abigail joined the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation team in 2022. She earned her doctorate of physical therapy from University of Illinois at Chicago. Abigail’s professional background is in working with people who have had amputations, along with a variety of diagnoses that occur in the geriatric community. She plans to continue furthering her specialization in these areas. When not working, Abigail enjoys listening to true crime podcasts, cooking, baking, and cheering on Washington professional sports and University of Kentucky sports teams.

Sam joined the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation department in 2018.  He earned a bachelor’s in rehabilitation science from Northeastern University and continued there to earn a doctorate of physical therapy. Sam has particular interest in treating people with chronic low back/neck pain, cervical or lumbar radiculopathy, sciatica, tendinopathy management, postsurgical rehabilitation (for intervertebral fusions and spinal discectomies/laminectomies/foraminotomies), and functional movement restoration/reeducation. When not at work, he enjoys international and domestic travel, reading, powerlifting and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. 
 

Shannon joined the team at Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation in 2021. She earned a bachelor's degree and certificate in kinesiology from the University of Pittsburgh and a doctorate of physical therapy from the University of Miami. She holds a certification in dry needling from the American Academy of Manipulative Therapy. Shannon enjoys treating the spine and has a particular interest in sacroiliac joint dysfunction. In her time outside of work, she enjoys distance road running, barre classes, audio books and playing with her twin boys. 
 

Rachel has been a member of the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation department since 2021. She earned her master's degree in speech-language pathology from Adelphia University. Rachel provides pediatric speech therapy services for a wide range of diagnoses.

Christa has been an Inova team member since 2016. She earned a master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from James Madison University. She provides a variety of outpatient pediatric speech therapy services, with particular professional interests in ankyloglossia, pre/post-frenectomy care and advancing her patients to solids. When Christa is not at work, she enjoys reading. 

Shannon worked in the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation department from 2014 to 2017, and then joined us again in 2019. She earned a master’s in communication sciences and disorders from the University of Texas at Dallas, Callier Center. She has received extensive training in breastfeeding/lactation support. Other areas of professional interest and expertise include dysphagia, instrumental assessments of swallow, feeding difficulties related to cleft lip/palate, selective eaters and children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder, medically complex children and their families, responsive feeding, collaboration with the medical and therapy team and family, and early childhood language development. When Shannon is not at work, she enjoys spending time at the beach, ice-skating and adventure walks with her boys. 

Erika joined the Inova Fairfax Rehabilitation department in 2021. She earned her master's degree in communication disorders from Emerson College. She evaluates and treats a variety of diagnoses and conditions. Her professional interests include treatment of aphasia, cognitive communication, voice, post-concussive syndrome and dysphagia. When she is not at work she enjoys hiking, kayaking, camping, knitting, painting, pottery, CrossFit and Bravo reality TV shows.

Susie was at Inova Mount Vernon Hospital as a student, and then she joined the Inova Fairfax Outpatient Rehabilitation department in 2018. She earned a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from James Madison University. She is a certified brain injury specialist through the Brain Injury Association of America. One of Susie’s favorite parts of her job is the variety of conditions she treats and the patients she serves. She has particular interest in multimodal communication and communication partner training for individuals with aphasia, and swallowing and voice rehabilitation for individuals with a variety of ENT diagnoses (e.g., head and neck cancer, vocal cord nodules and vocal function disorders). When Susie is not at work, she enjoys reading, poetry, running and spending time outside, both in the city and when hiking and camping. She also sang in choir through college and continues to sing in her free time, which helps her in her role as a voice therapist. She can often be found running between different coffee shops and bookstores in DC. (She loves eating and talking, so she loves helping others get back to doing those things as best they can!)

Nicole began working at Inova in 2019. She earned her master’s degree in speech-language pathology from James Madison University in 2010. She offers treatment for a variety of diagnoses and conditions, and has particular interests in rehabilitation after stroke and treatment of aphasia. When Nicole is not at work, she is chasing around her two daughters and supporting all DC sports teams!