SUNA SPOTLIGHT: Lisa Odabachian

***************

Lisa Odabachian, MPT, RN, BSN, is indeed a physical therapist, but has a nursing background having worked in a variety of settings over the years.

She’s also one of the newest members of the Great Lakes Chapter of SUNA.

Lisa is a pelvic floor dysfunction specialist at Berkley (Mich.) Medical Center, a Beaumont Hospitals outpatient physical therapy clinic, and treats women and men of all ages with a wide variety of urological, genital and bowel issues such as incontinence, urgency, pain and interstitial cystitis.

Being involved in this specialty has been gratifying for Lisa and she feels as though she can help make a difference when all hope seems to be extinguished.

“I became interested in urological health because through my nursing practice, friends and family, I saw many women having urinary incontinence and urgency, painful intercourse after childbirth,” says Lisa. “Often times, they were embarrassed to tell their doctor.  Some would tell their doctors and be given the advice to simply “just do Kegels” or to have bladder suspension surgery.  Many doctors don't know that there are other options for their patients like patient education, biofeedback and manual techniques.”

Lisa graduated from Madonna University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. After graduation, she was a medical-surgical nurse at St. Joseph Hospital in Ypsilanti, Mich., and then worked as a community health nurse with Home Health Care.  After that, Lisa was a dermatology nurse for Robert Fosnaugh, M.D. treating skin cancer and assisting with dermabrasion and hair transplants. Huron Valley Hospital was next where Lisa worked as a medical surgical nurse and a clinical supervisor. Additionally, she was active as secretary and participating in LEAGUE for Continuing Education in Nursing while raising her children.

When her youngest was in first grade, Lisa returned to school to get a master’s degree in physical therapy in 2001.  Since then, she has taken numerous courses from top-notch pelvic floor specialists around the country to learn specific internal and external manual techniques to treat the muscles, viscera, myofascia and connective tissue to treat pelvic floor dysfunction.

”Many people assume that I didn't like nursing because I pursued a master's degree in physical therapy,” Lisa says. “I tell them nursing and physical therapy knowledge perfectly complement each other especially well in a urology practice. Having a good solid knowledge of the urogenital system and the pelvic floor muscles coupled with a strong background in orthopedic manual physical therapy and specialized pelvic floor techniques have allowed me to successfully treat patients with pelvic floor dysfunction.”

And yet, through all of her work, Lisa has added SUNA to her resume.

“I joined SUNA after attending the Great Lakes SUNA Annual Meeting in March,” she explains. “I had attended a few other events prior to and after the Annual Meeting and found each and every one to provide a quality speaker discussing important topics affecting my patient population. I am able to network with doctors, nurses, physical therapists and other health care professionals with whom we can share information and resources, as well as refer patients to each other so that our patients can positively benefit.”

A native of Orchard Lake, Mich., Lisa has also delved into the research realm of her practice and is part of an exciting study utilizing cutting edge research.

”Since last year, I have been actively involved in a National Institutes for Health-funded research – a multicenter randomized trial of manual therapies for treatment of urologic pelvic pain syndromes,” notes Lisa. “The positive results from this trial research prompted the NIH to offer a $1 million grant to the Interstitial Cystitis Collaborative Research Network for a full study: A Single-Blinded Randomized Multi-Center Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Durability of Myofascial Tissue Manipulation in Women with Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome. We started enrolling patients this month. 

“I am excited to a part of this cutting edge research evaluating the efficacy of manual techniques used for women with interstitial cystitis with the hope of revealing evidence based treatment outcomes.”

But wait, there’s more to Lisa than just work, work, work. She also has a family and enjoys healthy hobbies. At home are a 21-year-old daughter and an 18-year-old son along with a kitty named “Puppy.”  Lisa enjoys water sports on Cass Lake and biking. 

“The West Bloomfield Trail Network is a minute from my house upon which I enjoy biking and cross-country skiing,” says Lisa. “I love riding the 51-mile Zoo de Mac every year from Boyne Highlands to Mackinac City.  I love to travel.”

And by traveling the journey to join Great Lakes SUNA, this chapter is proud and honored to have Lisa as one of our own.

WELCOME ABOARD, LISA!