Rehabilitation manager is a compassionate advocate

Archana Kanetkar is like a captain steering a team of rehabilitation clinicians toward the best patient care. She has spent 20 years with IU Health and now serves as the manager of rehabilitation services.

“She really cares about her team as professionals and people. She advocates for us and is very approachable and easy to talk to,” said Lauren Habig, a physical therapist and team lead for rehabilitation services at IU Health Methodist Hospital.

“I’m newer to the team and in my interview process I was blown away by her compassion. She is all about our department and helping me get what I needed to get started,” said Caroline Funkhouser, another physical therapist

Kanetkar, a physical therapist received her degree in India and attended graduate school at the University of Florida. Over the past two decades she has served multiple roles with IU Health’s rehabilitation services. At IU Health a team of practitioners provides rehabilitation services for patients with back and neck pain or injuries, chronic pain, concussion injuries, foot and ankle pain or injuries, hip problems and injuries, knee pain, lower back pain, pelvic health, sports related injuries, and stress injuries. Those techniques may include strengthening and retraining and balance therapy. Each plan is individualized to meet the patient’s specific needs.

In Kanetkar’s role she works with multiple hospital locations and may start her day at one hospital and end up at another. “My day-to-day responsibility is to ensure we have adequate support for the clinicians who do the work of serving our patients – whether that is equipment, front desk, or team support,” said Kanetkar, who chose the profession of physical therapy because of its multiple specializations, and opportunities for leadership in her field.

“Archana is an amazing manager, and our team appreciates her guidance,” said Dan Zarro, rehabilitation clinical support staff. “She is very informative when it comes to responsibilities, implements change in a diplomatic fashion, is a great listener, and leads by example. We always look forward to her presentations discussing metrics because it's imperative for clinic improvement and quality performance. We are grateful Archana fosters an environment for both personal and professional growth.”

Outside of work Kanetkar enjoys running, reading and traveling, especially anywhere in Italy.

-By TJ Banes, IU Health Senior Journalist, tfender1@iuhealth.org