Peter brings a wealth of clinical and healthcare leadership experience to his role as CEO. Prior to joining Fairlawn, he served as the associate vice president for UMass Memorial Health’s hospital at home program. Before that, he was the associate chief nursing officer for field hospital operations for UMass Medical Center (UMMC). In that position, he worked with federal, state and local officials to create and manage a 250-bed field hospital to care for nearly 1,000 COVID-19 patients from the greater Worcester area. He was also UMMC’s director of cardiovascular diagnostic and interventional services and manager of the emergency and life flight departments. He previously worked as a staff nurse for 20 years at several area hospitals. Peter is a 26-year veteran of the U.S. Army Reserves. His service included multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, where he served as a chief nurse, unit commander and leader of a golden hour offset surgical trauma team. In addition to overseeing a 20-person clinical team treating critically injured servicemen and women in a range of combat scenarios, he coordinated evacuation efforts to separate patients from conflict and administer critical treatment in high intensity situations.

Prior to her appointment as Fairlawn’s medical director, Dr. Twehous was the hospital’s chief of physical medicine and rehabilitation. She also previously served as a medical director at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, the Burbank Rehabilitation Center in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Farnum Rehabilitation Center at the Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, New Hampshire, and the VA Medical Center in Long Beach, California. Dr. Twehous completed her medical degree and an internship in internal medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and her residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of California at Irvine. An assistant professor in the department of orthopedics and physical medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Dr. Twehous has also held academic positions at Harvard Medical School in Boston and The University of California at Irvine in Orange, California.

Dr. Twehous is an independent private practice physician.

Throughout her 30-year nursing career, Cathleen has served in leadership roles for several healthcare systems in Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware. Prior to joining Fairlawn, she held quality and risk management positions at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center in Baltimore, MD, and Salem Medical Center in Salem, NJ. Cathleen earned her doctor of nursing practice through Capella University, Minneapolis and both her bachelor's and master's degree in nursing at Wilmington University in New Castle. She also holds a post-graduate certification as a legal nurse consultant. Cathleen has presented on a variety of topics related to nursing education and leadership at conferences throughout the United States. She is a member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, the Academy of Medical Surgical Nursing, the American Nurses Association and the International Nursing Honor Society Sigma Theta Tau.

A licensed physical therapist, Jamie joined Fairlawn in 2012 as a staff physical therapist. In 2015, she was appointed physical therapy manager. Prior to joining Fairlawn, Jamie was a physical therapist at the University Medical Center at Brackenridge, a level-one trauma hospital in Austin, TX. She holds a master’s degree in physical therapy from Quinnipiac University, Hamden, CT, and is a certified American PT Association clinical instructor. She also holds certification in the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale.

Prior to assuming his position at Fairlawn in October of 2004, John served as an audit manager for Alexander, Aronson, Finning & Co., P.C. in Westborough, Massachusetts. He also previously worked in several financial services positions for UMass Memorial Healthcare, Worcester, Massachusetts. A certified public accountant, John earned his certificate in accounting at Assumption College. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross.

Samantha joined Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital team in 2016 as a registered nurse and grew into her current role as a director of quality and risk in 2022. In this role she helps to create an environment and culture that enables the facility to fulfill its mission by meeting or exceeding its goals, conveying the hospital mission to all staff, facilitating staff accountability for their performance, and motivating staff to improve their performance. She is also responsible for the quality and delivery of patient care services within the hospital.

Joy joined Encompass Health in 2019 and moved to Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital as the business development director in February 2022. In this role she leads a team of clinicians who assist hospitals, families and patients access the acute rehabilitation care they need and deserve. As a physical therapy graduate of Quinnipiac University, her career has spanned multiple healthcare settings. Joy brings with her more than 25 years as a senior leader in healthcare operations and management across regional and national markets with a focus on post-acute services, including home health, outpatient, skilled nursing and acute rehabilitation.

Dr. Kermani completed his bachelor's degree at Clark University and received his doctorate in pharmacy from MCPHS University. He has been a member of Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital since 2008. He loves the Worcester community and is dedicated to serving patients. Dr. Kermani finds helping patients very rewarding.

A licensed speech-language pathologist and a certified brain injury specialist, Linda has worked at Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital since 1988. Linda earned her master’s degree in speech-language pathology at the University of Massachusetts, where she also completed her bachelor’s degree in communication disorders. She has presented at a number of professional conferences on topics related to stroke and brain injury.

Dorothy brings more than 35 years of experience in the human resources field to her role as the hospital’s human resources director. Prior to joining Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital, she served as a senior human resources business partner for Nuvance Health, a system of hospitals and healthcare professionals in New York and Connecticut. She also previously served as the HR Center of Excellence leader for Ability Beyond, a health and human services organization for individuals with disabilities. Dorothy earned her master’s degree in applied psychology-industrial /organizational psychology from Fairfield University, in Connecticut. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration/education from Sacred Heart University, in Connecticut. She also holds advanced certifications through the Society for Human Resource Management as a Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and the Human Resources Certification Institute as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).

Joining Fairlawn in 2002, Corey served as a staff physical therapist until he was appointed physical therapy rehabilitation manager in 2010. In 2015, he assumed his current position as director of therapy operations. He holds a doctorate degree in physical therapy from Simmons College and a master’s degree in physical therapy from Boston University. Named Fairlawn’s Clinician of the Year in 2008 and Employee of the Year in 2014, Corey is a member of the Physical Therapy Clinical Advisory Board at Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Sciences.

A licensed occupational therapist, Lauren is the former therapy program director at Synchrony Rehabilitation Center in Worcester, MA. She previously worked for Salmon Health and Retirement, serving as a staff and lead occupational therapist, director of rehabilitation and sub-acute program director at their Worcester location. Lauren earned her bachelor’s degree in occupational science and her master’s degree in occupational therapy at Worcester State University.

A CRRN® (Certified Registered Rehabilitation Nurse), Florence earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Framingham State University and was inducted into Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society. She previously worked Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey, and as a nurse for the Worcester Public Schools. Florence is a member of the Association of Rehabilitation Nurses.