Carol H. was all smiles as she glided up and down the lane at the YMCA swimming pool with her physical therapist, Danielle Mellinger, MPT, by her side. Carol was completing one of her therapeutic aquatic exercise sessions with First Choice Rehabilitation Specialists at the Upper Dauphin YMCA facility in Elizabethville. Twice a week, Danielle Mellinger, the clinic director of the Halifax office of First Choice Rehab, drives to Elizabethville to treat her patients with Aqua Therapy.

"It is a win-win situation for everyone," states Carol. "I am so glad that aqua therapy is available to me here in Upper Dauphin County." Carol, who had extensive back surgery and experienced bruising, was pleased to be able to find this form of therapy so close to her Berrysburg home. "I was a member of the YMCA already and when my doctor recommended aqua therapy, I was pleased to learn I could come here." Only one week after her surgery, Carol is treated by walking back and forth in the water and doing exercises to increase her strength and flexibility. "When I complete my therapy, I can easily transition back to an exercise program with my trainer at the YMCA," she adds. The personal training staff at the YMCA and Danielle Mellinger, the physical therapist work closely to manage treatment of their clients.

Mellinger, who has a special interest in aqua therapy, instituted the program at the Elizabethville facility. She treats a group of patients on Tuesday and Friday afternoons in the pool. Clad in swim suit, Mellinger gets in the pool with her patients, showing them proper form, encouraging them and assisting them with the proper exercises. A Perry County native, she understands the need to offer therapeutic services such as aqua therapy to patients who live in more rural areas and she is pleased to be able to do so. Patients who are given instructions by their physician for aqua therapy can contact Danielle at the Halifax office of First Choice Rehab at 896-8898.