Staff

Cindy Stephens, PT Owner of Hood River Physical Therapy, Inc

Cindy Stephens graduated from the University of Delaware in 1984. She spent her first five years as a physical therapist at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore Maryland as well as moonlighting as a home health physical therapist. The following year she managed a private physical therapy clinic in the same city. In 1990 she moved to beautiful Hood River, Oregon to be closer to great windsurfing and was fortunate to gain a position as a staff physical therapist at a small outpatient orthopedic physical therapy practice. Within two years she became the owner of that same clinic. She is now the owner and full-time director of Hood River Physical Therapy. She is also the Rehab Services Manager at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital which provides physical, occupational, and speech therapies to the hospital's inpatients. Cindy developed industrial on-site physical therapy programs at two local fruit-packing businesses and also performs ergonomic assessments at various businesses in the area. She is certified by Isernhagen Work Systems to perform Functional Capacity Evaluations, Functional Job Analyses and PreWork Screenings.

Peter Schmidt, PT

Peter is from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and received a BS in Exercise Physiology as well as his BS in Physical Therapy in 1989 from the University of Colorado's Health Sciences Center. He worked as a physical therapist in The Dalles, OR before joining the staff of Hood River Physical Therapy in 2002. His professional emphasis is on rehabilitation and prevention of orthopedic injuries. Peter's personal interests include skiing, climbing snow-covered mountains so he can ski back down, windsurfing, and spending time with his wife and two kids.

Laurie VanCott, MSPT

Laurie graduated from Pacific University's Physical Therapy Program in 2000. Her undergraduate degree is in art history and business from Lewis and Clark College. She chose to pursue a career in physical therapy after working as a yoga teacher in New Zealand and the US. As a physical therapist, Laurie's focus has included working with patients with fibromyalgia, chronic pain, and women's health issues. Laurie joined Hood River Physical Therapy in January 2003 and has been pivotal in developing our Incontinence Therapy / Women's Health Program. Laurie currently spends half her working hours in HRPT's outpatient clinic and the other half administering physical therapy to the inpatients in Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, a contract held by HRPT for well over 20 years. Additionally, she spends a few hours each week treating and preventing injuries in one of our local fruit packing houses. She also teaches a few yoga classes per week. Laurie's personal interests include cycling, soccer, hiking, yoga, and spending time with her husband and two young children.

Karen McDonald, DPT

Karen McDonald received her Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy from Northern Arizona University in 2009. Karen chose to enter the field of physical therapy after 10 years of ski instruction because of her love for teaching and working with people. Her professional emphasis is currently in the acute setting at Providence Hood River Memorial Hospital, working mostly with patients after orthopedic surgery. She has a wide interest including orthopedic, neurologic, and pediatric rehab. Her undergraduate degree is in Geology from Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. During her undergrad and post-grad years, she worked as a ski and snowboard instructor at Mt Baker, WA and Park City, UT. She also has experience instructing skiing for people with disabilities. In addition, Karen worked as a tour guide driving buses in Skagway, AK for several summers. Karen's personal interests include skiing, mountain biking, hiking, yoga, travel, and spending time with her husband, dog (Cody), and cat (Cooper).

Laurel Roof, MPT

Laurel Roof received her Master's in Physical Therapy from Emory University in Atlanta, GA in 1999. She has practiced orthopedic physical therapy since that time, in both California and Oregon. Laurel continues to pursue expertise in her field through continuing education and practice, with particular emphasis on spine-related dysfunctions. In addition, she is experienced in aquatic therapy, sports injury, and post-surgical rehabilitation. Laurel also pursues Spanish language fluency, hoping to better assist a larger portion of the community. When not at work, Laurel tries to stay healthy and have fun by skiing, mountain biking, running, and swimming.

Laura Pederson, PTA

Laura is originally from Gresham, OR, and received her Physical Therapy Assistant degree from Mount Hood Community College in 1994. She has been living in the Gorge since that time and has worked at Hood River Physcial Therapy since December 1996. She has focused her continuing education on manual therapy techniques including and specializing in Strain/Counterstrain and Craniosacral Therapy. She developed a Prenatal & Post-partum physical therapy program at HRPT in 1997 and has continued to gow this program since that time. Laura's enjoys outdoor and sports-related activities with her son.

Mike Collins, MS CCC-SLP, Speech Therapist

Mike graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987 with a Master's Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. His practice has focused on treating adults with speech, cognitive, and swallowing problems after stroke, brain injury, oral cancer, Parkinson's disease, and other neurological syndromes. Mike sees patients in both hospital inpatient and outpatient clinic settings. Mike also works part-time in the public schools. He enjoys spending time with his 8 year-old son, Keenan. His hobbies include gardening, home improvement projects, and outdoor pursuits.

Lara Dunn, MA CCC-SLP, Speech Therapist

Lara graduated from the University of Oregon in 1996 with a Master's Degree in Speech and Language Pathology. She works mainly with pre-school and school-aged children and their families. Lara has worked extensively with children with autism, cerebral palsy, and other developmental disabilities. She often helps clients and families with augmentative and alternative communication systems. Lara also treats adult clients in the hospital and outpatient clinic settings. Outside of the clinic, Lara is a bookworm, acrobat, and outdoor enthusiast.

Senay Burton Office Manager

Originally from Washington State, Senay joined Hood River Physical Therapy in January 2002. Armed with and education in Business Administration and Marketing, she became involved in the Medical Business Administration field working for Cigna Healthcare, in Phoenix, AZ in 1997. There she became familiar with insurance benefits and moved into a Senior Financial Specialist position. She moved to California in 2000 and worked for American Express as a manager in their Quality Assurance Dept, then moved into managing accounts receivable. The opportunity then arose to travel to India as a business analyst to implement an office in Mumbai. Upon her arrival back to the US, she moved to Hood River and began working at Hood River Physical Therapy. She loves it here-the work AND the play.

Pily Bello Receptionist

Sandy Licea Billing Department

Lauren Murphy Physical Therapy Aide

Heather Mason Physical Therapy Aide

Stephanie Ludlow Physical Therapy Aide

Kathy Meyers Bookkeeper