Vicki has been an Occupational Therapist since 1982 and has a wealth of experience working in acute care hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and outpatient settings in Wisconsin, Washington D.C., Maryland, and Colorado.
Vicki received certification in Lymphedema Management in 2005, and in 2007, she successfully completed certification through the Lymphedema Association of North America (LANA). In 2011, Vicki attended an advanced lymphedema course at the world-renowned Foeldi Clinic in Germany.
Vicki relocated to Denver in 2013 and established an outpatient clinic called Edema Rehab to address lower extremity swelling challenges secondary to oncology, trauma, hereditary, and orthopedic conditions. Previously, she worked at the Adventist Rehabilitation Hospital of Maryland for over 9 years. During that time, she established and built an inpatient and outpatient lymphedema program within two hospital and outpatient clinic locations. That program has grown to employ 8 lymphedema therapists. In April 2016, Vicki joined UCHealth as a senior OT and has a goal to establish the University of Colorado Health System as a Center for Lymphatic Excellence.
Vicki has served as a course instructor for Klose Training and Consulting since 2010. She teaches both the Lymphedema Therapy Certification and Orthopedic Swelling Solutions courses all over the USA. In addition, Vicki has also traveled to Malaysia to teach both basic and advanced lymphedema therapy to health professionals in that country.
Vicki is passionate about sharing her knowledge and experience with patients, family members, and healthcare professionals. Her primary focus is geared toward teaching patients to become independent in managing swelling associated with lymphedema, surgery, trauma, and/or obesity. By decreasing swelling, patients benefit from decreased pain and improved range of motion, ADLs and mobility.