Steve Norton

Steve entered the field of lymphedema therapy in 1986 as a medical massage therapist certified by the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB). In 1993 he received additional training in Manual Lymph Drainage and Complete Decongestive Therapy at Lerner Lymphedema Services, the first fully specialized lymphedema treatment facility in the United States. He advanced to Chief Therapist of the Lerner Lymphedema Services clinics located in Princeton, NJ, Manhattan, NYC, and New Brunswick, NJ, 1994-1999. In 1995 and 1999 Steve completed further educational programs in lymphedema management at the Foeldi College in Hinterzarten, Germany. In addition to his clinical duties, he was asked to provide instructional services in MLD/CDT at the Lerner Lymphedema Services Academy of Lymphatic Studies, a premier educational program for lymphedema specialists. In 1998 Steve co-founded an independent training and consulting company, the Klose Norton School of Lymphedema Therapy, offering MLD/CDT certification programs for medical professionals in various hospitals and clinical settings nationwide.

Currently, as a consultant and MLD/CDT Instructor, Steve continues to provide instructional and consultation services to private clinics, hospitals, independent physician's offices, and firms within the lymphedema and related compression therapy industries. He has authored articles on lymphedema management in professional publications and regularly reviews lymphedema-related manuscripts. He has contributed to chapters and editorial revisions of the internationally-renowned "Textbook of Lymphology" by Professor M. Foeldi & S. Kubik, and has been the host, presenter, and producer of internationally distributed educational treatment videos. Additionally, he is a regular presenter and organizer of various lymphedema related conferences including the National Lymphedema Network Conferences (1994-2002), the International Society of Lymphology Conferences, the Guthrie/Klose Norton Lymphedema Conference (Denver 1999 and Toronto, Canada 2002), the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center/Klose Norton Lymphedema Conference (Philadelphia 2003), and the International Union of Phlebologists (San Diego, CA 2003). In 2003 he was appointed to the National Lymphedema Network (NLN) Medical Advisory Committee based in San Francisco, California. In October 2004 Steve was interviewed at length for the Discovery Health Channel's television series "Medical Incredible" highlighting the degree to which lymphedema is often misunderstood and ultimately misdiagnosed.

Steve was among the first therapists in the United States to become nationally certified in lymphedema therapy by the Lymphology Association of North America (LANA) and was the first and only American lymphedema therapist to instruct an international group of clinicians at the world-renowned Foeldi Clinic, Special Clinic for Lymphology, in Hinterzarten, Germany.

Nicole has been working as a lymphedema specialist since 1999. She received her lymphedema training from the Klose Norton School of Lymphedema Therapy and passed the CLT-LANA specialist exam in 2001. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania in 1994 and a Master of Physical Therapy degree from Chatham College in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1998. She currently works in the Breast Care Center of the National Naval Medical Center, where she serves as the lead physical therapist. In addition, she serves as instructor with the Norton School of Lymphatic Therapy and adjunct instructor with Arcadia University's School of Physical Therapy. Nicole has lectured internationally on the topics of lymphedema and cancer rehabilitation. Areas of specialization within the lymphedema population include head and neck, breast reconstruction, and Stage III management.

She is currently the president of the Oncology Section of the American Physical Therapy Association and serves on the Medical Advisory Committee and research committee for the National Lymphedema Network. Additionally, Nicole serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors for the Lymphology Association of North America (LANA®).

Joy C. Cohn, PT, CLT-LANA
Norton School Primary Instructor

Joy is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. She has worked in rehabilitation, acute care, and research settings. Joy has published research in Total Joint Replacements while working as a clinical research coordinator for the Rothman Institute in Philadelphia. She also published research while working in the Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation Research Laboratory of the Shriners Hospital Philadelphia unit. Joy is the author of two chapters on edema management and functional neuromuscular stimulation in the physical therapy education textbook, "Physical Agents 2nd Ed" by Behrens and Michlovitz.

Joy received her lymphedema training in 1996 from the Lerner Academy of Lymphatic Studies. She has since participated in numerous advanced training programs for lymphedema management including an advanced review course at the Foeldi Clinic in Hinterzarten, Germany in June 2002. She founded the Lymphedema Treatment Program at Chestnut Hill Rehabilitation Hospital, Wyndmoor, PA in 1996. Currently she is a part-time Team Leader in the lymphedema treatment program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She participated as an adjunct in the advanced lymphedema conference sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania in April 2003. She was among the first group of therapists in the United States to become Elvarex certified in 1998 and was LANA® certified in 2001. Joy has worked as an instructor for the Norton School since 2004.

John Beckwith, PT, CLT-LANA
Norton School Primary Instructor

John received his Physical Therapy degree from the University of Connecticut in 1993 and his lymphedema training from Steve Norton and Guenter Klose in St. Louis in 1998 when they were with Lerner Lymphedema Services. He has worked in acute care inpatient and outpatient settings but since 1998 has worked primarily as a lymphedema specialist in hospital outpatient clinics. He created and developed the highly respected lymphedema clinic at Inova Alexandria Hospital in Alexandria, VA, working there from 1999 until 2006. Most recently he has been helping to build further a respected program at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA.

John passed the CLT-LANA exam in 2001 and has taken a number of advanced courses in lymphedema including Klose-Norton advanced courses in 2000 and 2003 and the inaugural English speaking advanced course at the Foeldi Clinic in Hinterzarten, Germany in 2002. He has lectured on lymphedema at PT and PTA programs in the Washington, DC area since 2000. Since 2005 John has been contributing educational expertise first as an assistant and now as a primary instructor for the Norton School of Lymphatic Therapy. His interests include lymphedema education, wound care, and the application of CDT expertise in the acute care setting.

John has more than six years of experience consistently treating wounds in conjunction with lymphedema treatment. He has attended numerous wound care courses and a recent diabetic wound conference. John has attended two National Lymphedema Network conferences, three advanced lymphedema courses including one held at the Foeldi School in 2002, and has had his LANA certification since 2001.

Tara Pettengill, MPT, CLT-LANA
Norton School Associate Instructor

Tara has over 200 hours of training in cancer rehabilitation and complete decongestive therapy. She received her certification training from the Klose Norton School of Lymphedema Therapy in 2003. She received her Bachelor of Science degree from James Madison University in 1998 and her Master of Physical Therapy degree from MCP Hahnemann University in 2000. Tara was actively involved in the treatment of lymphedema and women's health patients at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She is presently practicing in a private clinical setting in southern Maine, with a focus on breast cancer rehabilitation, women's health, and lymphedema treatment.

Sarah Stolker, MPT, CLT-LANA
Norton School Associate Instructor

Sarah Stolker earned her Masters in Science, Physical Therapy at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. She obtained her lymphedema certification from the Klose Norton School of Lymphedema Therapy in 1999. Together with Dr. Andrea Cheville, Medical Director for the Norton School, she helped to establish the lymphedema program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Shortly before becoming LANA® certified in 2002, Sarah moved to St. Louis, Missouri. She is the Cancer Rehab Program Manager at SSM Rehab, St Louis, MO as well as a weekly contributor to St. Louis NBC affiliate, KSDK News Channel 5.

Linda McGrath Boyle, PT, CLT-LANA
Norton School Associate Instructor

Linda graduated from Northeastern University in Boston, MA in 1980 with her Bachelor of Science in Physical Therapy. She has worked in multiple physical therapy settings with an emphasis on outpatient orthopedics and teaching. She has been an adjunct faculty member at Arcadia University since 1996. Linda has hosted and assisted with several orthopedic continuing education courses. In 1998 she earned her credentialed clinical instructor certification from the American Physical Therapy Association. She completed her CLT with the Klose Norton School of Lymphedema Therapy in December 2001 and became LANA® certified in March 2003. Linda is currently working towards her transitional doctoral degree in physical therapy at Arcadia University. She practices at University of Pennsylvania Penn Therapy and Fitness in Philadelphia, where she sees lymphedema patients exclusively.

Larry Hazen, PT, CLT-LANA
Norton School Assistant Instructor, Advisory Committee, and Faculty Lecturer

Larry Hazen graduated with honors from Cal State Northridge Physical Therapy Program in 1985. He first worked at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, California where the emphasis was oncology patient-care including treatment of lymphedema. Larry served 10 years as a staff physical therapist treating patients in the med-surg units, SNF unit, acute rehabilitation unit, and in the outpatient setting. Larry developed the lymphedema treatment center at Queen of the Valley Hospital in 1986 and served as the sole lymphedema practitioner until 1999 when an additional physical therapist was certified. Larry's educational background includes courses by Casley-Smiths, the Vodder School, Lerner Academy, and the Klose Norton School of Lymphedema Therapy. Larry currently heads the Rehabilitation Department at Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa, CA.

Jane M. Armer, PhD, RN, MLD/CDT Certified Therapist
Norton School Advisory Committee and Faculty Lecturer

Jane Armer is an Associate Professor at the MU Sinclair School of Nursing and Director of Nursing Research at Ellis Fischel Cancer Center. In 2000 she was appointed to the Medical Advisory Committee of the National Lymphedema Network (NLN). She chairs the NLN's Research Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Lymphedema Association of North America (LANA®). She has been appointed to the Nursing Core Group of Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB), the national medical oncology clinical trials research group.

Jane is well known for her extensive research on physiological measurement of limb volume in post-breast cancer lymphedema. She has studied signs, symptoms, and self-management of lymphedema among women treated for breast cancer as well as the psychological impact of lymphedema. Jane's program of research focuses on the more than two million women who are living with breast cancer in the United States today who are at a lifetime risk for lymphedema development. Her earlier work focused on health beliefs and practices of community-dwelling diverse elders and adults, self-management of chronic illness, and relocation adjustment of rural elders. To learn more about this lymphedema research please visit: http://www.muhealth.org/~nursing/lymphedema/

Lawrence N. Sampson, MD, Vascular Surgeon
Guthrie Clinic, Guthrie Healthcare System, Sayre, PA
Norton School Advisory Committee and Guest Lecturer

Lawrence Sampson, MD received his bachelor's degree from Brown University magna cum laude in May 1982. He received his MD degree from Yale University School of Medicine in 1986. He completed his general surgery residency training in 1991 at the Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. He went on to do two years of research in vascular cell wall biology at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute. In 1995, he completed his vascular surgery fellowship at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. Since 1995, Dr. Sampson has been an attending surgeon at the Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pennsylvania. Dr. Sampson's practice encompasses the diagnosis and treatment of arterial and venous disease as well as lymphedema.

Megan Driscoll, MPT, CLT-LANA
Norton School Assistant Instructor

Megan Driscoll graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1993 with a Bachelor Degree in Physical Therapy and from the University of Pittsburgh with an advanced Masters in Orthopedic Physical Therapy in 2000. She initially learned to treat lymphedema in 1996 and completed the Klose Norton School of Lymphedema Therapy training class in 2002. She has treated lymphedema and women's health patients since 1996 as Director of the Magee-Women's Hospital Physical Therapy Department. Megan specialized in the treatment of lymphedema and actively assisted in research projects with Dr. Finegold and Dr. Soran at the University of Pittsburgh and is published in the Oncology Nursing Journal. Devoted to increasing awareness of lymphedema throughout the community, Megan developed the lymphedema support group and newsletter in Pittsburgh, and has held numerous conferences for patients and medical staff. She is currently treating lymphedema in a private practice in Chicago.