Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation President and CEO Richard J. Kathrins, PhD, has been elected chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Medical Rehabilitation Provider Associations (AMRPA).

AMRPA is a national trade organization dedicated to the interests of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and units, outpatient rehabilitation centers, and other medical rehabilitation providers.

Kathrins succeeds Bruce Gans, MD—the executive vice president and chief medical officer of Kessler Rehabilitation Institute—as AMRPA chairman, and his term will begin on January 1, 2018, according to a media release from Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation.

Prior to his election, Kathrins has been vice chairman of the AMRPA Board since 2013 and served as a trustee from 2010 to 2013. He was also the recipient of the organization’s INDE Award (Inspired, Notable, Dedicated, Efforts ­ Rehabilitation Leadership) in 2013.

Kathrins began his career at Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation as director of physical therapy in 1984 before being named president and CEO in 1991. He is a graduate of Boston University, holds a master’s degree in health administration from Clark University in Worcester, Mass, and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Business Administration from Touro University (now Trident University International) in Cypress, Calif.

As an active member of a number of state and national health care organizations, Kathrins has served as a member of the Executive Committee Fund for Access to Inpatient Rehabilitation and a trustee of the New Jersey Hospital Association. He also served as an adjunct professor of physical therapy at the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey and is the author of numerous peer-reviewed publications, the release explains.

“The entire Bacharach family is proud to acknowledge our CEO, Richard Kathrins, as he receives the very highest and most prestigious honor in the field of rehabilitation,” says Philip Perskie, chairman of the Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation Board of Directors, in the release. “Our community benefits immensely by having someone of Richard’s respected and esteemed expertise leading our hospital. We congratulate him.”

[Sourcde: Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation]