Published January 2022
In 2010, Joe and Marge Koczur established a meaningful endowment to support the education and training expenses of the Physical Therapy Department at Chester County Hospital.
The Christopher M. Koczur Memorial Fund was named in memory of their son, Christopher, who had a passion for continuing education and was working in the physical therapy profession before his untimely passing. For over a decade, the therapists at Chester County Hospital have advanced their skills and services through the generosity of The Christopher M. Koczur Memorial Fund which exemplifies the spirit and dedication of its namesake.
Each year, distributions from the Koczur Fund offset the costs of professional development activities in accordance with the endowment agreement. Reflecting on the impact of this fund, Brendan Sullivan, PT, MSPT, Director of Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation, and Sports Medicine at Chester County Hospital shared, “I am eternally grateful to the Koczurs for their generosity in funding clinical education for our therapists. Over the years, this fund has been utilized to enhance the clinical expertise of our staff in a variety of ways, with the singular focus on providing the best possible care to our community. My sincere hope is that this will continue to honor the legacy of Christopher Koczur for generations to come."
Chester County Hospital Physical Therapy, Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine team members shared the recent impact of The Christopher M. Koczur Memorial Fund:
"I am very grateful to have benefitted from The Christopher M. Koczur Memorial Fund. I was able to obtain my board specialty in geriatrics, my primary patient population in the hospital. I am now able to provide the highest level of evidence-based care to my geriatric patients, as well as empathize with situations that face that generation on a deeper level due to the generational and communication training I received. As one of only around 10,000 board certified PTs in the nation, I also bring a level of expertise to our department not present at every hospital, and help drive our departmental policies on mobilization." - Physical Therapist, Meaghan Harper, PT, DPT, GCS
"Telehealth has brought a new dimension to the delivery of healthcare to our community. Over a year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we were seeking ways to institute this service at Chester County Hospital. COVID hastened the plans and our Telehealth services became a reality in 2020. In part, our understanding of how to implement this service was through the attendance of the American Society of Hand Therapists annual meeting in 2019, paid for by the Koczur Fund. Additionally, certification for "Functional Nutrition for Chronic Pain" through the Integrative Pain Science Institute was instrumental in allowing our physical and occupational therapists to provide a nutrition pathway as an important tool for our chronic pain patients. We send our unending appreciation to Mr. and Mrs. Koczur for helping us to make these trainings possible!" - Lead Hand Therapist, Jill Townsend PT, CHT
"I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend The Norton School Certified Lymphedema Therapist course, which was funded by The Christopher M. Koczur Memorial Fund. It was an amazing experience and has advanced my knowledge and our specialty services to allow us to treat more patients with lymphedema using the most current standards of practice." - Physical Therapist, Theresa Feeney, PT, DPT, CLT
This type of gift is a sustainable way to leave a lasting legacy at Chester County Hospital – benefitting clinicians and their patients long into the foreseeable future. Chester County Hospital is grateful for the meaningful generosity and vision of the Koczur Family and is honored to carry on the legacy of Christopher M. Koczur's dedication to the physical therapy profession.