Meet Wayne Neck of Global Rehabilitation Services in Cumming

Today we’d like to introduce you to Wayne Neck.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was a 1985 graduate of Central Michigan University with a Masters Degree in Speech/Language Pathology. I answered a want ad that landed me my first position as a staff therapist in a Gainesville, GA clinic. I was quickly approached by several school systems in need of my services for students, and in 1988 I incorporated and started Global Rehabilitation Services. Originally a one man show, I quickly discovered that schools were in need of far more professionals than just myself. I took the time to learn the education system in the State of Georgia and began seeking highly qualified pediatric therapists in different disciplines. Over time, Global Rehabilitation Services has grown to provide Speech/Language Pathology services along with Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Psychological services to over 15 north metro counties/school systems and charters. Beyond traditional therapy services, we also provide schools with summer camp programs, professional training, Medicaid billing support and more. We also offer training to private and public charter school systems struggling with the mandates of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Some of our member school systems have been with us for over 25 years and rely on Global Rehabilitation Services for cost effective quality provision of all their Special Education needs. I have seen Global Rehabilitation Services grow into something much larger than myself over the last 29 years, and it has been a true God given blessing to serve our schools and see students develop and overcome barriers to education.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has its share of obstacles at times, but what road doesn’t? You have to earn the trust of your customers in order to have the flexibility to get the job done correctly, and you have to be able to find and vet the most qualified professionals to meet the needs the customers have expressed. One of the biggest challenges is keeping up with technology and how different generations use it to gain information and communicate. Some social media outlets are (for our purposes) a waste of time, while others are valuable links to qualified therapists. Being effective in this area, allows us rapid access to a large number of professionals to draw from in meeting our needs. Over 95% of our new hires were found through internet/social media outlets as opposed to the newspaper and magazine ads of a couple of decades ago.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Global Rehabilitation Services – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Global Rehabilitation Services specializes in school based Special Education services. We provide Psychologists, Speech/Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Certified Applied Behavior Analysis Therapists, IDEA and Medicaid consultants and support staff to public and private school systems across north Georgia. We also supply camp programs, Response To Intervention (RTI) programs, and sensory gym set ups. All these services directly and indirectly help children in school settings with a multitude of diagnoses such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Autism, Cerebral Palsy (CP), behavioral/emotional/mental disorders and genetic syndromes.

As a company, I am most proud of our therapist and support staff. These professionals go above and beyond to meet the needs of the children they serve for our member school systems. They pull together to work through challenging situations providing positive student outcomes with the benefit of improved scholastic performance. I am also very proud of our mentoring program for new graduates. It starts with routine guest lectures at various universities and culminates with students accepted into our intensive, personalized mentoring program that challenges a new professional’s skills and fosters growth in his/her chosen field.

Beyond staffing schools with highly qualified and vetted professionals, we study our customers’ needs and provide cost saving ideas/measures to their Special Education operations. One example is our summer camp ESY (Extended School Year) program that provides qualified students a summer camp experience steeped in ESY objectives that some systems would otherwise not be able to afford.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Slow and steady has always been our plan. It is more important to be the best at what we do than to simply grow as large as we can. We enjoy staying local and knowing not only our customers, but the community our customers operate in. Our future is in continued learning of the Federal, State and Local educational systems so that we can offer our customers sound advice and programs to cost effectively meet their needs. Someday, we would like to launch a school specializing in the needs we see most often from the children we serve (Autism, ADHD, Emotional/Behavior Disordered). For now, simply knowing we are making a world of difference to those we serve, is enough.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.globalrehab.com
• Phone: (770) 844-0206
• Email: globalrehab@mindspring.com

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