Paul M Deutsch & Associates, P.A. Professional Staff
Paul M. Deutsch, Ph.D., CRC, CCM, CLCP, FIALCP
 Paul M. Deutsch Ph.D., CRC, CCM, CLCP, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology and Counselor Education with a specialization in Rehabilitation. He is in his 37th year in the field of Rehabilitation and has been in private practice since June 1, 1976. He is a Board Certified Vocational rehabilitation counselor, Board Certified case manager and Board Certified life care planner. Dr. Deutsch is a Fellow of the International Academy of Life Care Planners and is licensed in the State of Florida under Chapter 491 of the Psychology Practices Act as a Mental Health Counselor, (FL MH#0000117). He specializes in working with catastrophic disabilities resulting from either a birth or traumatic onset. Dr. Deutsch is best known for having developed the basic principles, tenets, methodologies and processes of Life Care Planning. He first published on Life Care Planning as a fundamental tool of Case Management in his 1981 multi-volume text, Damages in Tort Actions (Deutsch, Paul M. and Raffa, Fred, Mathew Bender and Company, 1981, Lexus Nexus 2003). Dr. Deutsch has contributed twelve volumes and more than ninety-five peer reviewed journal articles and chapter contributions including A Guide to Rehabilitation, (Deutsch, Paul M. and Sawyer, Horace, 1985 Mathew Bender, 2003 AHAB Press) and "Innovations in Head Injury Rehabilitation" (Deutsch, Paul M. and Fralish, A Kathleen, 1986 Mathew Bender and 2003 AHAB Press). His work has been fundamental in the development of life care planning as a trans-disciplinary sub-specialty throughout rehabilitation.
Dr. Deutsch's experience in rehabilitation and research not only spans many years but also many cultures and continents. He worked many years on Brain Injury research at the First Moscow Medical Center in the Former Soviet Union and has extensive experience consulting on many areas of disability and rehabilitation throughout Europe as well as China and South Africa.
Dr. Deutsch has an appointment as a Courtesy Facutly Member, Department of Rehabiltation Counseling, University of Florida; a Clinical Professor of Rehabilitation in the Department of Rehabilitation at the Medical College of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University; and is lead faculty in the life care planning program within Kaplan Universities HealthCare Pathways Program.
He has remained active in reasearch efforts and in the past few years helped to spearhead the formation of the Foundation for Life Care Planning Research.
He is a recipient of the 1988 and 2006 Alumni of the Year Award for the College of Health Related Professions at the University of Florida and the 1993 Educator of the Year Award from the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals. In 2004, the Life Time Achievement Award in Life Care Planning was presented to Dr. Deutsch at the International Symposium on Life Care Planning, for his contributions to the field. In 2007, he was presented with a Life Time Achievement Award in Rehabiltation from the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals.
Dr. Deutsch remains committed to the education of Health Care Professionals in the Life Care Planning Process and he is dedicated to research on the reliability and validity of the Life Care Planning Process. He maintains a full time private practice in addiction to his writing and research work.
(View Curriculum Vitae)
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Julie A. Kitchen, CDMS, CCM, CLCP
Certified Life Care Planner
Julie Kitchen has been involved in the research and preparation of Life Care Plans for Catastrophic Injuries for almost 30 years, in association with Paul M. Deutsch & Associates, P.A., in Oviedo, FL. She and Paul M. Deutsch actually developed the Life Care Planning Process and Methodology, as it is known today, in the late 1970's, early 1980's and initially published on the concept of Life Care Planning, Process and Methodology. Ms. Kitchen has authored chapters in A Guide to Rehabilitation, (AHAB Press) Damages in Tort Actions, (Mathew Bender, 1982-1989), The Case Management Handbook, (CRC Press), and Health Care and Disability Case Management, (Vocational Consultants' Press, 1998). She has also co-authored a number of monographs including: Life Care Planning, Step-by-Step Guides for (1) The Brain Damaged Infant; (2) The Spinal Cord Injured; (3) The Head Injured; and (4) The Ventilator Dependent Patient, and articles published in "Seminars in Hearing", Thieme Medical Publishers; "Life Care Planning: A Comparison of Private Hire and Agency Costs" and "Agency Response to Private Hire", NARPPS Journal, 1997. Ms. Kitchen has been teaching the Life Care Planning Process and Methodology since 1987 and currently is an instructor with the Life Care Planning distance learning programs by both the University of Florida and Kaplan University. She was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the annual International Symposium on Life Care Planning in September 2008.
(View Curriculum Vitae)
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Kay R. Brown, CLCP, CCM
Certified Life Care Planner
Kay R. Brown began working with Paul M. Deutsch & Associates, P.A., in June of 1992. She has sixteen years of experience in the research and preparation of life care plans detailing anticipated costs of care services for catastrophically injured individuals. Additionally, she has experience in the assessment of vocational handicaps and their impact on vocational development and wage earning capacity related to an individual's pre- and post- accident earning capacity. Mrs. Brown completed the post-graduate course study of Life Care Planning for Advanced Catastrophic Case Management in 1995 through the Rehabiltiation Training Institute and the University of Florida, Department of Rehabilitation Counseling. She became a Certified Life Care Planner in 1996. After completing all requirements outlined by the Commission for Case Manager Certification, Mrs. Brown became a Certified Case Manager in 2006. She authored a chapter on Organ Transplantation in A Guide to Rehabilitation, (AHAB Press) and Damages In Tort Actions, (Lexis Nexis).
(View Curriculum Vitae)
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Jamie L. Pomeranz, Ph.D, CRC, CLCP
Dr. Pomeranz, a certified rehabilitation counselor and life care planner, has worked with people with disabilities in multiple capacities for over fifteen years. His career background includes working with individuals with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and developmental disabilities. Dr. Pomeranz has provided vocational rehabilitation consulting since 2000 and currently works in private practice developing life care plans and providing vocational consultation services.
In addition to receiving extensive educational training, Dr. Pomeranz has conducted research in the area of life care planning and has presented his findings at national conferences throughout the United States. Dr. Pomeranz has received federal funding to develop an instrument that can be used by life care planners to estimate personal attendant care services. He has published his research findings in the Journal of Life Care Planning and Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin. Additionally, he has published journal articles on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health, life care planning for individuals with polytrauma, and modern measurement. Currently, Dr. Pomeranz is on faculty at the University of Florida and teaches and conducts research in the Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health. Dr. Pomeranz teaches courses in psychosocial aspects of disability, group counseling, case management, ethics and vocational assessment within the rehabilitation counseling graduate program.
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Andrea Zotovas, MD
Dr. Zotovas is a board certified physician specializing in the area of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She is a consulting physiatrist with Paul M. Deutsch & Associates, P.A. and, in addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Zotovas provides inpatient acute and subacute rehabilitation, and conducts inpatient and outpatient EMG/NCV studies. Dr. Zotovas earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Kalamazoo College and her medical degree from the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. In 1990, she joined the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago, IL. Dr. Zotovas has extensive experience in group and private practice settings and is currently licensed in states of Florida and Illinois. (View Curriculum Vitae)
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Sara N. Cimino-Ferguson, MHS, CRC, CLCP
Sara N. Cimino-Ferguson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Criminology with a minor in Sociology from the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and a Masters of Health Science in Rehabilitation Counseling from the College of Public Health and Health Professions at the University of Florida. She is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor as well as a Certified Life Care Planner.
Ms. Cimino-Ferguson has worked with people with disabilities in several different capacities. After graduating with her Masters degree, she worked as a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor in Grand Junction, Colorado. She worked with individuals with varying degrees and types of disabilities to facilitate their return to work.
During her career, Ms. Cimino-Ferguson has had experiences at Shands Cancer Center and Shands Rehab Hospital and has worked as a Client Advocate for women victimes of domestic abuse. She currently serves as a Volunteer Wish Granter with the Make-A-Wish Foundation of East Tennessee.
Ms. Cimino-Ferguson is an instructor for Kaplan's Life Care Planning and Geriatric Care Management Certificate Programs. She is also an independent contractor for Houck Limited. In this capacity, she provides case management, vocational evaluations, and counseling services to the Department of Veteran Affairs. She serves as a member of the Educational Committee for the International Symposium on Life Care Planning.
Ms. Cimino-Ferguson has been published in the Journal of Life Care Planning, the Journal of Neuro Rehabilitation, and Topics in Spinal Cord Injury.
(View Curriculum Vitae)
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Shannon Westfall, RN
Ms. Westfall is a recent addition to the Paul M. Deutsch & Associates, P.A. staff of professionals. She is a Registered Nurse who reviews and summarizes medical records. Ms. Westfall's experience in emergency room nursing greatly assists in determining the medical needs of injured individuals.
(View Curriculum Vitae)
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Additional Staff
Providing our clients with the highest quality of services is essential to the work done at Paul M. Deutsch & Associates, P.A., in addition to the professional staff, Paul M. Deutsch & Associates, P.A., is supported by and recognizes the valuable contributions of all members of the administrative and office personnel. Through their hard work and dedication, Paul M. Deutsch & Associates, P.A., has remained at the forefront of the life care planning and rehabilitation industry.
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Sarah Ewing
Tariel Gogoberidze
Laura Brown
Judy Johnston
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Rusoudan Kartvelichvili
Gail Malmberg
Terry Teevin |
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