Meet Our Physical Therapists
Bill Nash
Bill received his Physical Therapy degree at the University of Missouri. After practicing for 18 months in Little Rock Arkansas, he accepted the Director of Physical Therapy position at Alton's St. Joseph Hospital in December of 1978. Bill established Alton Physical Therapy, P.C. in January of 1982. He currently holds licensure in Illinois and Missouri.
Bill's primary focus is Practice Management. He continues to be active in direct patient care through Community Memorial Hospital in Staunton, IL.
Bill is a member of the American Physical Therapy Association, including the Private Practice, Orthopedic, and Sports Therapy Sections.
Jenny Gargac
Jenny is a 1994 graduate of Maryville University, St. Louis earning her Bachelor's of Science Degree in Physical Therapy. Upon graduation, Jenny began working at Alton Physical Therapy. In 1996 Jenny assisted in the development and implementation of the Aquatic Physical Therapy services that were initially offered at Beverly Farm Foundation in Godfrey, Il. Jenny was the primary Aquatic Physical Therapist offering therapy to a variety of patient populations until APT began offering onsite Aquatic Physical Therapy services. She currently holds licensure in the state of Illinois.
She is currently a part time employee at APT. She is the Assistant Clinic Manager and has been a Clinical Instructor to many student Physical Therapists.
Brad Webb
Brad Webb, Jerseyville Illinois, received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Therapy in 1995 from the University of Illinois-Chicago following five years of active duty service in the United States Air Force. After graduation, he relocated to Florence South Carolina where he served as Clinic Manager for three years at Lowe's Therapy. While in South Carolina he was an instructor in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at Florence-Darlington Technical College. Brad joined APT in 1998.
Brad enjoys all aspects of Physical Therapy. Through continuing education, he continues to further his knowledge of manual therapy. He received training from the Healing Arts Center in St. Louis Missouri. Brad is also a Certified Massage Therapist. Cervical spine, headaches, orthopedics and sports rehabilitation are his primary interests. Brad is a Clinical Coordinator for clinical education of Physical Therapy students at Alton Physical Therapy.
Christa Kelly
Christa was born and raised in Jerseyville, Illinois. It was Jerseyville Community Hospital where she found interest in Physical Therapy as an orthopedic injury patient during high school.
Christa is a 1996 graduate of Maryville University, St. Louis earning her Bachelor's of Science Degree in Physical Therapy. She began working at clinical sites in hospitals and outpatient clinics and found love for outpatient rehabilitation. She was initially drawn to Physical Therapy by the difference her own P.T. made in her life. Working with people and a variety of injuries keeps her challenged and desiring to learn more every day.
Her special interests are Pre and Post Operative care of orthopedic injuries. Overall she likes the variability of patient care and helping each person learn about and work toward their optimum level of recovery.
Steve Schwegel
Steve was born and raised in Alton, Illinois. After attending parochial schools for elementary education, he graduated from Marquette High School in 1986. He then attended St. Louis University receiving a Bachelor's Degree in Physical Therapy. He has completed yearly Continuing Education courses.
He became interested in the field of Physical Therapy when he was a senior in High School and sustained several orthopedic injuries. He underwent Physical Therapy at Alton Physical Therapy, P.C. with Bill Nash, P.T. and became very interested in the field.
His favorite aspect of this field is the relationship you develop with the patients throughout their rehabilitation. He enjoys working with shoulders, knees and feet. Special interests include isokinetic testing, orthotics, and sports injuries. Other focuses include post operative care for rotator cuff tears, arthroscopies of knees and shoulders as well as ligament reconstruction.
Debra Wittman
Debra received her Master's in Physical Therapy degree at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa in 1997. Prior to that she attended and graduated with honors a the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Kinesiology. Debra began work with Alton Physical Therapy as a physical therapy aide in 1993. In 1993 Alton Physical Therapy obtained the professional service contract for Jersey community Hospital. Debra has been working at the hospital since that time, back in her own community where she was raised. She is the Assistant Director of the Physical Therapy department, and serves as the Clinical Educator for physical therapy students.
Living in a rural area, Debra enjoys evaluating and treating all types of patients with many varying diagnoses. Her special interests are orthopedic injuries chronic and acute; pediatrics, and manual therapy. Debra enjoys getting to know and interacting with her patients through the rehabilitation process. She is very involved in community education and sports injury prevention. Debra is the primary Lymphedema Therapist in the tri-county area. She currently holds Licensure in the state of Illinois.
Melody Watson
Melody received her Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy from Maryville University in St. Louis in 1989. Melody worked at St. Anthony's Health Center in Alton in acute rehabilitation and outpatient orthopedics until she joined Alton Physical Therapy. She became director of Physical Therapy for Alton Physical Therapy at Jersey Community Hospital in April 1996.
Through continuing education Melody has progressed her knowledge of a variety of diagnosis and treatment techniques. She enjoys treating a variety of patients with both orthopedic and neurological needs. Her primary interests are diabetic conditioning, wound care, Women's Health issues and low back pain.
Melody participates in community education with presentations on Women's Health, body mechanics and low back training and "Mr. Backbones" a program targeted to elementary children.
Jacob Slusser
Jake joined the staff of Alton Physical Therapy at Jersey Community Hospital after receiving his Master of Physical Therapy degree from Northern Illinois University in 2002.
He enjoys outpatient orthopedic physical therapy with his primary interests including athletic injuries and their prevention, low back pain, rehabilitation of injuries to the knee and shoulder, as well as postoperative care of the knee and shoulder, as well as postoperative care of the knee. Jake also serves as a clinical instructor for physical therapy students in the department.
Jake resides in Jerseyville where he is a member of the Jerseyville Kiwanis Club.
Barb Hayes
Barb received her Bachelor's of Science degree in Physical Therapy from St Louis University in 1985. After graduation, Barb worked for the Alton Center of Sports Medicine and Physical Therapy and The Physical Rehabilitation Institute in Florissant where she gained tremendous experience working with sports related injuries. Barb has 15 years of experience at Riverbend Orthopedics as the Director of Physical Therapy.
Barb enjoys all aspects of outpatient physical therapy. She relishes the opportunity to make a positive impact on a patient’s life by improving their symptoms and building a lasting relationship.
Michael Coalson
Mike has been a resident of Staunton Illinois his entire life. After graduation from Staunton High School, Mike attended Maryville University, St. Louis earning his Master of Physical Therapy degree in 2006.
Mike has participated in sports at both high school and college level, playing 4 years of baseball for Maryville University. His special interests include sports related and orthopedic injuries. However Mike has experience working with several different types of neuromuscular related diseases.
He began his career working in outpatient rehab, specifically with work-related injuries. Mike then began working in both inpatient and outpatient rehab in the hospital setting in 2007. He joined APT in 2008 and is currently Director of Physical Therapy at Community Memorial Hospital in Staunton.
Kelly McCormick
Kelly was born and raised in Alton, IL. She earned a Master of Physical Therapy degree from Maryville University of St. Louis in 2008 and graduated with honors. As a student, she completed one of several clinical rotations at Alton Physical Therapy and joined the team soon after graduation.
Kelly particularly enjoys treating orthopedic injuries and providing a relaxed environment to ease the rehabilitation process for her patients. She looks forward to contributing to the excellent reputation APT holds for outstanding patient care and building long-standing relationships with clients.