The Sibley Center for Rehabilitation Medicine offers outpatient physical, occupational and speech-language therapy, as well as an inpatient skilled nursing and rehabilitation unit. Our outpatient rehabilitation facilities are fully equipped with state-of-the-art gym equipment, private treatment rooms and a warm water therapeutic pool. Our therapists are skilled at treating a large variety of orthopaedic, neurological, gait/balance, vestibular and pain disorders. Select rehabilitation services are also available at Suburban Hospital.

A physician referral is required before the first appointment.

Location and Hours

Sibley Center for Rehabilitation Medicine
5275 Loughboro Road NW
Building D, 1^st floor
Washington, DC 20016

Hours are Monday - Friday: 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

What To Expect

Your physician will provide you with a prescription for outpatient therapy along with a diagnosis and expectations for improved function. When you begin therapy at Sibley, a full evaluation will be completed by a physical therapist who will set up a personalized treatment plan based on your goals and limitations.

Therapy programs generally consist of two to three sessions per week for six to eight weeks. Each session aims to help you reach your goals and return you to optimal function. During this process, a reevaluation is made in consultation with your referring physician to help determine whether to continue therapy or discharge with a home program.

 

Specialized Rehabilitation Equipment

Integrated Therapy System

Sibley Outpatient Rehabilitation offers the latest technologies, including an interactive 55” touchscreen software that features diverse programs that challenge physical, occupational and speech therapy patients to improve performance and function in visual motor tasks, auditory and visual processing, cognitive skills and endurance training. The program is able to gather baseline data and track progress over the course of treatment to improve therapists’ feedback to rehabilitation patients.

Overhead Lift

Installed in January 2021, the brand new overhead lift system in our outpatient rehabilitation gym allows patients to challenge balance, strength and endurance during their physical therapy sessions without the fear of falling! This lift can be used with a variety of populations, such as stroke and orthopaedics.

Body Composition Analysis

Since 2020, the Lymphedema Program at Sibley Outpatient Rehabilitation has offered state-of-the-art body composition analysis to monitor and track changes in edema for our physical and occupational therapy patients recovering from cancer treatments. In addition, this system can track changes in body fat, muscle mass and basal metabolic rate.

Running and Gait Analysis

Our motion analysis equipment consists of light-emitting diode (LED) markers, several high-speed video cameras and specialized analytics software. The LED markers are placed in several locations along the side of your body. As you walk or run, the video cameras capture the movement in real time. The LED markers help us see the exact position of your joints in relation to each other. With the help of this specialized software, we analyze your gait and identify problem areas.

Our Therapists

The Sibley rehabilitation team consists of a medical director, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. Many of our therapists have earned specialized certifications and/or had extensive training in various specialty areas, such as geriatrics, hand therapy, lymphedema treatment, gait analysis and women’s health issues. All are licensed to practice in the District of Columbia.

Numerous therapists are also skilled at intramuscular manual therapy (IMT), also known as trigger point dry needling. This procedure involves inserting tiny monofilament needles into muscles to decrease trigger point activity. Trigger points are taut bands within a muscle that may cause local or referred pain, limit muscle flexibility and/or function. IMT is not acupuncture; it uses the anatomical landmarks in the body to locate and treat trigger points to relieve pain and improve function. The physical therapist performing IMT has been trained by a board-approved or Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) accredited IMT training program.

McTheophilus “Phil” Barizo | Physical Therapist (PT, DPT)

Certifications: Dry Needling, LSVT BIG! Certified Clinician
Expertise: neurologic rehabilitation, orthopaedics
Experience: McTheophilus "Phil" Barizo earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from the University of Maryland, College Park. He went on to earn his Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree from Emory & Henry College, School of Health Sciences. Phil has experience treating a variety of orthopedic and neurologic conditions and has worked with a full range of patients from young athletes to geriatric patients with neurologic diagnoses.

Karis Cavender | Physical Therapist (PT, DPT)

Certifications: Board-Certified Geriatric Specialist (GCS), LSVT BIG
Expertise: Parkinson's rehabilitation and geriatric physical therapy
Experience: Cavender received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Slippery Rock University in 1999 after receiving her BS in Kinesiology from The College of William and Mary. During her career, she has worked in all settings of adult rehabilitation. She joined the Sibley team in 2005. Since that time, she has worked in a variety of roles, including providing PT services for Grand Oaks assisted living facility for 7 years. She has been a member of the outpatient rehab team since 2013. 

Jessica Cusimano | Occupational Therapist (OTR/L)

Certifications: LSVT BIG, UAB low vision certified, Certified Lymphedema Specialist (CLT)
Expertise: neurological, cancer and low vision diagnoses
Experience: Cusimano joined Sibley in 2016 and has been practicing in the DC area for almost 20 years.

Judith Davidson | Physical Therapist (PT, DPT)

Certifications: Certified Lymphedema Specialist (CLT)
Expertise: lymphedema, neurologic rehabilitation, oncology, orthopaedics
Experience: Judith has experience in hospital-based, sub-acute, outpatient and home care rehabilitation working among patients with diverse diagnoses. Judith graduated from the University of the West Indies School of Physical Therapy in Kingston, Jamaica and received a transitional doctorate from UTICA University in New York.

Michael Hirshenson | Physical Therapist (PT, DPT)

Certifications: Dry needling
Expertise: orthopaedics, sports rehabilitation, vestibular rehabilitation
Experience: Michael received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from the University of Michigan-Flint in 2012 after earning his Bachelor of Kinesiology from the University of Maryland. During his career he has worked in a wide variety of settings that include advanced level athletes, general orthopaedics and vestibular/concussion rehabilitation.  

Erin Hollister | Speech-Language Pathologist (M.S., CCC-SLP)

Clinical Speech-Language Pathologist
Certifications: MBSImP Certified, LSVT LOUD, McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program, Vital Stim, FEES Instrumental Dysphagia Assessment
Expertise: Parkinson's rehabilitation and swallowing disorders
Experience: Hollister joined Sibley in 2016 after receiving her Bachelor's degree in Hearing and Speech Sciences and her Master's degree in Speech Language Pathology from the University of Maryland. She completed her clinical fellowship with Sibley in spring 2017. 

Jerrod Leonard | Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA)

Certifications: LSVT BIG
Experience: Leonard joined Sibley in 2005 as a Rehabilitation Assistant after receiving his B.A. in Health Education from Morgan State University. In 2010, he received his A.A.S. Physical Therapist Assistant degree from Montgomery College.

Chris Marrow | Physical Therapist (PT)

Certifications: LSVT BIG
Expertise: cancer rehabilitation
Experience: Marrow received his Masters in Physical Therapy from The George Washington University in 2002 and has worked in the Outpatient Orthopedic environment ever since. He joined the Sibley team in 2007. He does workplace ergonomic assessments for employees and teaches back safety and falls prevention to employees and community members.

Bradley Miller | Physical Therapist (DPT)

Certifications: Board-Certified Neurology Clinical Specialist
Expertise: neurologic rehabilitation, vestibular rehabilitation
Experience: Bradley joined Sibley's outpatient therapy team in 2023. He recieved his Doctorate in Physical Therapy and Bachelor's in Business Administration from Misericordia University in Dallas, Pennsylvania in 2020. He completed residency training in Neurologic Rehabilitation at Louisiana State University. He has worked in both acute care and outpatient rehabilitation with patients post brain injury, stroke, and spinal cord injury as well as patients with neurodegenerative conditions and vestibular dysfunction.

Dhruvy Patel | Physical Therapist (DPT)

Expertise: orthopaedics
Experience: Dhruvy received a bachelor's in kinesiology from University of Illinois at Chicago, and Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Governors State University in IL. Dhruvy has worked in a variety of settings throughout her career such as a sports oriented clinic, a nursing rehab facility, and a neuro outpatient facility.

Jill Payaggapandha | Physical Therapist (DPT)

Certifications: LSVT BIG, Board-Certified Neurology Clinical Specialist
Expertise: neurologic rehabilitation, parkinson's
Experience: Jill received her Doctor of Physical Therapy from Northwestern University in 2014, Master of Science in Exercise Science from Syracuse University in 2008, and Bachelor of Science in Athletic Training from Towson University in 2006. During her career she has worked with a variety of orthopedic and neurologic diagnoses in the outpatient setting focusing primarily on the neurological population.

Jyosna Philip | Physical Therapist (PT, DPT)

Certifications: LSVT BIG, Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy (OCS), Certified Orthopaedic Manual Therapist (COMT)
Expertise: orthopaedics, geriatrics, manual therapy, Parkinson's rehabilitation
Experience: Philip joined Sibley Outpatient Rehabilitation in 2018. She received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from Texas Woman’s University in 2011 and Bachelor of Science degree in Microbiology from the University of Texas in Austin. 

Ashley Ramos-Guasp | Speech-Language Pathologist (M.S., CCC-SLP)

Certifications: FEES Instrumental Dysphagia Assessment, LSVT LOUD
Expertise: parkinson's, speech therapy, swallowing rehabilitation
Experience: Ashley joined Sibley in 2023. She has previously worked in the school setting as a bilingual specialist, in a skilled nursing and subacute rehab facility, and in an acute care hospital in the DMV area. She received her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Puerto Rico, and is currently completing her Doctorate’s degree at NOVA Southeastern University. Ashley is a Qualified Bilingual Service Provider (English/Spanish) and is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia and Maryland.

Karen Shachter | Occupational Therapist (OTR/L)

Certifications: Certified Lymphedema Specialist (CLT)
Expertise: lymphedema
Experience: Karen joined Sibley’s outpatient team in 2022. She received her master’s degree in occupational therapy from New York University after receiving her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Queen’s College. During her career she has worked with both children and adults with lymphedema and neurological and orthopedic conditions, primarily in the outpatient setting.

Lauren Trosch | Physical Therapist (PT, DPT)

Certifications: Board-Certified Orthopedic Physical Therapist
Expertise: orthopaedics, pelvic health
Experience: Lauren received her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from University of Delaware and Bachelor's Degree in Environment Studies and Spanish from Bucknell University. She has worked in outpatient orthopedic/pelvic floor rehabilitation throughout her career.

Margaret Walborg-Silva | Occupational Therapist (OTR/L)

Certifications: Certified Lymphedema Specialist (CLT-LANA)
Expertise: lymphedema management for head and neck cancer patients
Experience: Walborg-Silva has worked full time in lymphedema management at Sibley Memorial Hospital since 2010. She values education and encourages her patients towards knowledge, a functional skill set and independence with home management tools.

Rebecca Willman | Speech-Language Pathologist (CCC-SLP)

Certifications: LSVT LOUD, McNeill Dysphagia Therapy Program, FEES Instrumental Dysphagia Assessment
Expertise: cognitive rehabilitation, parkinson's, swallowing rehabilitation
Experience: Rebecca joined Sibley in 2022.  She previously worked in a skilled nursing and subacute rehab facility as well as an outpatient clinic in the DMV area. She received her Master's degree in Speech-Language Pathology from the University of Maryland. Rebecca is a Qualified Bilingual Service Provider (English/Spanish).