Palm Beach Gardens Fire Rescue
Health & Wellness
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Dedicated to helping our firefighters “Stay Healthy, Stay Fit, and Stay Committed.”
Education
2012 – 2015 University of South Florida – Bachelors of Science, Health Science
2015 – 2018 University of Florida – Doctor of Physical Therapy
2019 Evidence in Motion – Orthopedic Residency
Professional Associations
2018 – present CORA Physical Therapy – Physical Therapist, Clinic Manager
2020 – present Tactical Athlete Initiative, LLC – Owner
Professional Certifications
2021 Dry Needling Level 1 and 2 Certified
2020 Orthopedic Certified Specialist
2020 Manual Therapy Certification
2018 Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist
2018 Doctor of Physical Therapy
Publications and Presentations
Gutschick, J. Injury Prevention in the Fire Service. Firehouse Magazine. 2021.
Gutschick, J. Injury Prevention in the Fire Service. Florida Fire Chief’s Health and Safety Conference. 2020.
Gutschick, J. Lazicki, R. Returning a special operations candidate to duty following an airborne operation injury: A case report. International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy.2020; (15)1.
Gutschick. Introducing Physical Therapy Students to the Military Tactical Athlete through ROTC Screening Events. APTA Combined Sections Meeting Poster Presentation. New Orleans, LA. 2018.
Dr. Jessica (Jessy) Gutschick earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of South Florida and immediately continued her education with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy at the University of Florida.
During her last clinical rotation, Gutschick worked at Fort Bragg Army Base, where she worked directly with Green Beret students going through the Q-course. This clinical rotation was the catalyst for a passion for working with tactical athletes.
After graduation, Gutschick continued her education, becoming a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), completing a year-long residency, and attaining her Orthopedic Certified Specialist (OCS) and Manual Therapy Certifications (MTC).
During this time, Gutschick married into a firefighter legacy family, giving her insight into daily shift and off-shift lifestyles. With no direct or established treatment access to work with this niche population, Gutschick established her own company, Tactical Athlete Initiative, LLC, while also treating and managing a clinic in central Florida for CORA Physical Therapy.
Megan Lautz is a Registered Dietitian and coach with a Master’s in Sports Nutrition. Megan’s mission is to help firefighters perform better, recover faster, and enjoy long healthy retirements.
Prior to joining Fairfax Fire in 2021, Megan worked with Montgomery County Fire and Police from 2017-2021. While a civilian, Megan has strived to understand the challenges firefighters face when trying to stay healthy. She has trained for and passed CPAT, completed a 24-hour ride-along, and is heavily involved in fire recruit training and nutrition. Megan provides healthy dinner demonstrations, nutrition roundtable discussions, workouts, and mobility sessions to career firefighters out in the field.
Megan is the owner of RescueRD LLC, which provides nutrition seminars and coaching for tactical athletes across the country. Check out @Rescue.RD on Facebook and Instagram.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Medocracy Inc. on behalf of Fairfax County Fire & Rescue
Registered Dietitian 2021-present
• Motivate firefighters on a light duty fitness improvement plan to improve dietary habits, resulting in an average loss of 11.6 pounds.
• Deliver a variety of in-station health and wellness offerings; including healthy lunch/dinner demonstrations, smoothie demonstrations, and group workouts.
• Develop nutrition presentations designed to prevent hydration-related injury, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
• Designed an 8-page quarterly health and wellness newsletter with a one- month turnaround time from the initial request.
RescueRD LLC
Founder 2020-present
• Implement a four-presentation nutrition curriculum for fire recruits with several jurisdictions across the country.
• Manage social media presence tailored to first responder nutrition on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
• Provide individualized nutrition counseling specific to first responders.
University of Maryland College Park
Dietetic Internship Coordinator (Part Time) 2020-present
• Mentor and provide supervised dietetic practice hours for 12 dietetic interns.
• Coordinate, develop, and implement presentations on graphic design, social media, food photography, and other technology in relation to dietetics.
INOVA on behalf of Montgomery County Fire & Rescue
Program Manager / Registered Dietitian 2017-2021
• Provided habit-based medical nutrition therapy resulting in an average of 14 pounds of weight loss, up to 8% body fat loss, up to 30-point reduction in cholesterol, and up to 2% reduction in hemoglobin A1c.
• Effectively eliminated rhabdomyolysis prevalence and hydration-related injury from the last six recruit classes by providing prevention in-services.
• Lead mobility and fitness instruction in stations with an emphasis on reducing low back, shoulder, and knee pain.
Nova Southeastern University, College of Allied Health, Advanced Doctoral Program
Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ph.D., P.T. 2007
Dissertation Research: “Shoulder Joint and Muscle Characteristics in the Recreational Weight Training Population” Published in J Strength Cond Res, 2009;23:148-157.
University of Miami School of Medicine, Division of Physical Therapy
Coral Gables, Florida. M.S.P.T. conferred December 1995.
Research Capstone: “Shoulder Pain in Manual Wheelchair Users with Tetraplegia and Paraplegia” Published in Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 1999; 80:453-457.
University of Miami
Coral Gables, Florida, B.H.S. conferred May 1994. 3+3 Physical Therapy Program.
Functional Movement Systems-Level 1 (FMS)
Certified 2017, Chatham, VA, USA
Functional Capacity Screen -Functional Movement Systems
Certified 2020, Chatham, VA, USA
Sabbatical Externship: Regenerative Medicine 2018 (Mentor: Joseph Purita, MD)
Institute of Regenerative Medicine, Boca Raton, Florida
Clinical Specialist in Orthopaedic Physical Therapy (OCS): Certified 2008
Recertified 2018, The American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS): Certified 2001
National Strength and Conditioning Association, Colorado Springs, CO
* 2015-current: Recertification with Distinction Credential (CSCS*D)
Certification in Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy of the Spine (Cert. MDT)
Certified 1998, McKenzie Institute, USA
Certified Blood Flow Restriction Training (level 1)
Certified 2020, Smart Tools, Strongsville, OH, USA
Certified Graston Technique: Instrumented Assisted Soft Tissue M-1
Certified 2020, Indianapolis, IN, USA
Morey has well-over 250 research publications and professional presentations. Please see the following link for his research activity. https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Notz1DAAAAAJ&hl=en
Dr. Morey J. Kolber earned his Master of Science in Physical Therapy from the University of Miami and his terminal doctorate degree (PhD) from Nova Southeastern University. Morey holds a faculty appointment at Nova Southeastern University where he teaches courses in orthopaedic physical therapy and exercise physiology. Additionally, serves as a senior editor for the National Strength and Conditioning Associations Strength and Conditioning Journal.
Morey holds a board certification in Orthopedic Physical Therapy (OCS) from the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties where he currently sits on the committee of content experts, helping to maintain and advance the OCS examination. Additionally, Morey is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist with Distinction (CSCS*D), is certified in the McKenzie Method, and holds a certification in both the Functional Capacity and Functional Movement System (FMS) assessment tools. Morey has been awarded the Sports Medicine Specialist of the Year by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and has received the Excellence in Teaching award through the American Physical Therapy Association.
Morey’s professional interests and current research is focused on injury prevention in weightlifters and tactical athletes, strength and conditioning, as well as regenerative medicine. Specifically, he has conducted and presented research on the predictive value of the Functional Movement Systems tool in the firefighter population as well as the effects of conditioning programs among injured firefighters.
Exercise is not without its risks and this or any other exercise program many result in injury. As with any exercise program, if at any point during your workout you begin to feel faint, dizzy or have physical discomfort, you should stop immediately and consult a medical professional. You should rely on your own review, inquiry and assessment as to the accuracy of any information made available within this program or via this web site.