About Us.
Rick Gawenda, PT, is a licensed physical therapist with over 30 years of experience and currently serves as the founder and President of Gawenda Seminars & Consulting, Inc. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Therapy from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, in 1991. Mr. Gawenda previously worked as the Director of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Detroit Receiving Hospital where he was responsible for physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech-language pathology services, both in the inpatient and outpatient setting.
He has provided valuable education and consulting to hospitals, private practices, skilled nursing facilities, and rehabilitation agencies in the areas of CPT coding, ICD-10 coding, billing, documentation compliance, revenue enhancement, practice management, and denial management as they relate to outpatient therapy services. Mr. Gawenda has presented nationally since 2004 and currently presents approximately 100 dates per year around the United States.
Mr. Gawenda is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and Michigan Physical Therapy Association (MPTA). Mr. Gawenda is the Past President of the Section on Health Policy & Administration of the APTA as well as Past President of the Michigan Association of Medical Rehabilitation Program Administrators.
Mr. Gawenda is also the author of “The How-To Manual for Rehab Documentation: A Complete Guide to Increasing Reimbursement and Reducing Denials” and “Coding and Billing For Outpatient Rehab Made Easy: Proper Use of CPT Codes, ICD-9 Codes and Modifiers”.
Michelle Gawenda, RN, received her nursing degree from Sentara School of Health Professions in 2005. Prior to her role with Gawenda Seminars & Consulting, Inc. she co-founded and operated Kinetix Advanced Physical Therapy, a physical therapy practice with multiple locations in Southern California, for 17 years.
Mrs. Gawenda has experience in private practice start-up, practice management, and revenue enhancement. She also has experience in contracting, marketing, and provider relations. Additionally, she has experience performing outpatient therapy medical record audits to ensure documentation compliance.