Jill Gravink, Founder and Executive Director of Northeast Passage

Today’s guest is Jill Gravink, the Founder and Executive Director of Northeast Passage. Jill founded Northeast Passage in 1990 as a means of bringing Recreational Therapy out of the inpatient setting and into the community. Northeast Passage works with people who have physical and mental disabilities, using sport and leisure activities to improve the quality of the client’s life and to, as they say at Northeast Passage, “Live beyond disability.” Northeast Passage works with everyone from children to combat veterans, treating more than 3,000 clients last year. In this podcast Jill tells the story of how Northeast Passage came to be, and what it took to grow the organization from just her operating out of the trunk of her car to where it is today. We also discuss how organizations like Northeast Passage are well poised to contribute to the future of health care as the industry shifts to outcomes and value-based reimbursement, and conclude with a discussion about leadership.

Links to the Podcast:

Anchor: https://anchor.fm/healthleaderforge/episodes/Jill-Gravink--Founder-and-Executive-Director-of-Northeast-Passage-egraam

Stitcher: https://listen.stitcher.com/yvap/?af_dp=stitcher://episode/41078139&af_web_dp=https://www.stitcher.com/episode/41078139

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jill-gravink-founder-and-executive-director-of/id981989377?i=1000356065522

Podcast Outline

Time	Topic
0:01:34	Educational background
0:02:47	Defining recreational therapy
0:05:16	Art of recreational therapy, about NEP
0:06:36	History of recreational therapy
0:08:03	Getting certified in recreational therapy
0:08:40	First job after graduation
0:10:45	Use of aquatics in physical therapy
0:11:40	Starting NEP and initial vision
0:14:46	NEP’s first clients
0:17:11	NEP initial funding and sponsors
0:18:00	Coming back to UNH to teach
0:19:57	NEP’s early days, lessons learned, partnerships
0:23:24	Defining “universal design”
0:24:44	Growth of NEP in clients and funding, future NEP sustainability
0:27:52	Beginning to charge clients fees for service, NEP financial difficulties
0:29:58	Development of recreational therapy at NEP, associated grants
0:33:21	Learning to manage an organization
0:36:21	Merging NEP with UNH
0:38:13	Defining and using “strength-based” in therapy
0:39:31	Importance of integrating therapy within the community
0:44:04	Role group dynamics play in therapy
0:45:00	Receiving veterans’ adaptive sports grant, addressing veterans’ therapy needs
0:50:00	Long term relationship with Veterans’ Affairs after grant, current work with VA
0:52:10	Broader healthcare reimbursement trends away from FFS towards outcome and value-based payments
0:54:58	Change in role as executive director with UNH merger
0:56:38	The future of NEP
0:58:55	Changes in strategy and vision of NEP over time
1:00:41	NEP’s current organizational structure, working with UNH students
1:02:27	Changes in personal leadership style over time, lessons learned
1:05:46	How to find the right people for leadership positions
1:06:57	Philosophy on leadership and its challenges and opportunities
1:11:35	Importance of organizational culture
1:13:47	Early career mentors, importance of mentorship
1:16:47	Advice for people who want to address social needs
1:19:05	Advice for people interested in a career in recreational therapy

Topics Discussed:

Northeast Passage

American Thereapeutic Recreation Association

Adaptive Sports

---

Join our mailing list to get notified when new episodes become available.

---

Thanks to Sameer Panesar for production support.