Why I Came, Why I Stayed: Madonna Klein Loves Working in Methodist's Collaborative Physical Therapy Environment

In “Why I Came, Why I Stayed,” you’ll get to know people who are making a difference every day at Methodist and how they contribute to providing The Meaning of Care.

Madonna Klein, PT, MPT
Physical Therapist/Manager of Methodist Hospital Outpatient Therapy Services

Tell us more about yourself and your background.

I’ve been married for 18 years and have three children – two in high school, one in elementary school. I’m a huge sports fan, especially volleyball, football and basketball. I also love the outdoors, camping and lake water sports. I love to read and spend time with my very large family — 10 siblings and numerous nieces and nephews.

I grew up on a farm in northeast Nebraska but moved to Bellevue for middle school and high school. I graduated with my master’s degree in physical therapy from Marquette University and started working at Methodist in 1998 right out of PT school.

I spent a week in Omaha between finishing my last clinical rotation at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore and graduation in Milwaukee. I wasn’t necessarily planning to work in Omaha, but I had time to fill out applications and had my first interview with Methodist before being offered a position the next day.

At that time, the outpatient therapy department had just experienced a big remodel and was in a period of major growth. My first 10 years were spent doing half days on acute care, primarily critical care, and half days doing outpatient care, which was great for a new graduate to utilize all their skills. I eventually transitioned to all outpatient after the birth of my first child.

I spent a few years working at our HealthWest clinic and then at Methodist Women’s Hospital before returning to the main outpatient clinic at the 84^th street campus. Shortly thereafter, I was promoted to the outpatient manager position, which I have been doing for the past 11 years. I still maintain an outpatient caseload, as patient care continues to be my biggest passion. My areas of specialty include oncology, geriatric, neurological and orthopedic rehab. I have also been adjunct faculty for the PTA program at Nebraska Methodist College for the past 15 years.

Why Methodist? What attracted you to the organization?

Since I lived out of state for six years during college, I really didn’t know much about Methodist or the Omaha health care market. But I was excited for the opportunity to work in multiple areas where I knew I would only strengthen my clinical skills right out of school. I was also excited about the opportunity to build new programs in the outpatient department. Shortly after I started, we developed our geriatrics and balance program, and we’ve continued to expand our specialty programs and our department ever since.

What is it about Methodist that keeps you coming back?

What I have loved most about Methodist is that I’ve had the opportunity to work alongside great clinicians with wonderful experience and longevity at the health system. We have therapists who graduated from multiple different colleges across the Midwest and bring a nice variety of experience and training. I have become close personal friends with many of my colleagues, which makes the work environment much more enjoyable. 

I’ve also loved getting to know and work with nurses, other managers and providers in a collaborative environment. We all share a desire to provide the best possible care.

I feel fortunate that I'm able to easily and comfortably reach out to upper management with ideas or concerns.

I feel like Methodist has a culture that allows me to continue to treat patients the right way, one-on-one and focusing on the whole person by giving them the care they need how they need it in order to reach the best possible outcomes. I feel fortunate that we're not only allowed but encouraged to develop new programs to better treat the more unique populations we serve.