Dr. Noah Greenspan, PT, DPT, CCS, EMT-B is a Board-Certified Clinical Specialist in Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Physical Therapy He began his professional career at the New York University (now Langone) Medical Center’s Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine. In 1998, he founded the Pulmonary Wellness & Rehabilitation Center, a Manhattan-based physical therapy practice specializing in the care of patients with cardiovascular, pulmonary, and complex medical conditions. In 2014, he founded the Pulmonary Wellness Research and Education Society (renamed the Pulmonary Wellness Foundation). In 2017, Dr. Greenspan’s "Ultimate Pulmonary Wellness" was published. In response to the COVID Pandemic of 2019, Dr. Greenspan started a daily Coronavirus prevention program and later, the COVID Rehabilitation & Recovery Lecture Series, a COVID-Specific Online Bootcamp for COVID Survivors and Long Haulers and in October of 2020, he and Marion Mackles, PT, opened the PWF’s COVID Rehabilitation & Recovery Clinic at H&D Physical Therapy in NYC and produced and directed an award-winning film documenting their experiences, called Long Haul. On December 16, 2021, he returned from exile to open the new and improved Pulmonary Wellness ComplexPT!
Learn more about cardiac and pulmonary wellness & rehabilitation expert Dr. Noah Greenspan in this introductory Q & A.
My greatest achievement:
My greatest achievement has been the creation of the Pulmonary Wellness & Rehabilitation Center in 1998. My greatest achievement since then has been keeping it afloat through good times, bad times, a whole lot of global adversity and chaos, government interventions and Covid.
What is the future of your field?
I hesitate to use the word “bright” in light of the current global pandemic. However, I believe the future of cardiopulmonary and complex medical rehabilitation is going to become more critical as people are forced to pay more attention to their health, and as we learn more about both the short and long-term effects of Covid-19.
The biggest misconception about my field is...
When most people hear that I am a physical therapist, the conversation usually goes toward the direction of their necks, backs, shoulders, hips or knees. I don’t think most people even know that the specialty of cardiopulmonary physical therapy even exists. But they definitely should considering that heart disease is still the number one killer in the US and the world and pulmonary disease is number three. I also think that cardiopulmonary rehabilitation specialists offer a unique perspective in dealing with the challenges of Covid, especially as it relates to long covid and covid long haulers.
What I'm best known for:
I think one of the things we are known for is treating the whole patient, helping them regain those qualities that make them uniquely who they are as human beings. Too often, when people are diagnosed with a chronic illness, their entire lives become centered around that condition. Their days become about going to the doctor, taking their medicines, eating, sleeping, and getting up to do it all again tomorrow. Their lives often become these monochromatic, black and white versions, shells of their former selves, devoid of any type of art, music, fashion, color, style…life. It can become very depressing. We are always looking for ways to inject energy, entertainment and style into everything we do.
What sets my practice apart?
Being relentless in finding answers and resources for people that need our help. Our goal will always be to combine all aspects of life into our wellness & rehabilitation programs. These include the arts, science, nature, humor and humanity. We like to call ourselves “Malcolm X rehabilitation specialists,” because we will always do everything in our power to help our patients, by any means necessary.
What I love most about my profession:
I love it all! Besides the absolute genius and the magnificent physiology of the cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, I love figuring things out, solving problems, and being able to be there for people in their greatest time of need.
New services you're excited to offer:
Our rebranding under the name Pulmonary Wellness ComplexPT reflects the diversity and comprehensive nature of our services and our willingness and desire to take on the most complicated patients, people who have the greatest and most complex needs.
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