About Us

The Story of our Business

We founded Therapy West, Inc. (TW) in 1985 as a pediatric clinic specializing in occupational, physical, and speech/language therapy. We primarily treat children with developmental disabilities, including Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, and Autism Spectrum Disorders.

TW currently employs

We provide clinic-based services in our two facilities, in addition to treating children at home and at school.

We started Therapy West to combine our professional ambitions with our family obligations. At first, we combined our individual practices and leased a building together. By maintaining our focus on family-oriented services that recognized the difficulties faced by the affected parents, our client base steadily grew. Meanwhile, we furthered our commitment to higher education while continuing to juggle the responsibilities of motherhood. We eventually developed a business model that allowed us to transcend the building that simply housed our joint practices. We became Therapy West, Inc., built upon a philosophy of contemporary research, intervention trends, and health education policy.

TW’s success stems from interacting with a large community of professionals, parents and students. Funding sources have changed over the last thirty years, and many of our competitors’ clinics have closed their doors.  Through our continuing dedication to innovation and quality care, we have achieved success as one of the oldest independent clinics in California.

Our community involvement and professional mentorship have allowed us to remain at the forefront of pediatric therapeutic care in Los Angeles.  Ultimately, we have achieved success through anticipating challenges in the field of health care and looking towards the future for solutions.

TW is unique in its ability to balance three related factors.  Foremost is the quality of our pediatric services and the mentoring we provide to our staff and parents.  Next, our contributions to research and data monitoring enrich our alliances to academic institutions.  For example, we are currently piloting a data-monitoring program that would allow service providers to efficiently identify children whose progress is suboptimal.  Finally, our hands-on educational seminars serve as another manifestation of our contribution to the community and our profession.  We are closely tied to local and state organizations, and we have internationally disseminated our philosophy in more than two dozen countries.

Our Community Involvement

Therapy West, Inc. engages the community at three levels: services for local Los Angeles families, professional contributions to industry organizations, and worldwide education.  Many state, national, and international institutions have bestowed prestigious awards on the founders of Therapy West, Inc. in recognition of their community involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Management

Erna Imperatore Blanche
PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Director of Research and Program Development

Bonnie Nakasuji
OTD, OTR/L, C/NDT, FAOTA

Director of Administration, Coordinator of OT Fieldwork and Residency Education

Dominique Blanche Kiefer
OTD, OTR/L

Director of Operations

Janet Gunter
OTD, OTR/L, SWC

Director of Clinical Operations

Juliana Gutierrez
OTD, OTR/L, SWC

Supervisor of Clinical Practice

Anne Osborn
PT, DPT

Supervisor of Physical Therapy Services, Center Coordinator of Clinical Education