Meet Kim

  • Hand in Hand is here for all of us. Like Kim who, after discovering a job awith meaning at Hand in Hand, advanced and now works as a pediatric physical therapist, empowering children every day.

    Meaningful work and positive impact go hand in hand. Here for people, here for families, here for the Quad Cities.

    It’s mine. It’s ours.

Kim Nielsen started her journey at Hand in Hand back in 2008 as a respite care provider and after school caregiver while she was going to school at St. Ambrose University to receive her physical therapy degree.  She took the knowledge she gained from her early days at Hand in Hand and is now a pediatric physical therapist at MercyOne Genesis. She now uses her skills to support children in reaching their developmental milestones every day.

Kim also gets to share her skills with our summer camp participants as a volunteer each year.

“I have always loved the opportunity to include everyone, and a favorite activity of my kids is summer camp - so being able to help and give opportunities to those that might not otherwise be able to experience camp was super meaningful to me,” Kim said.

Part of that inclusive spirit meant helping campers go down the water slide at the pool for the first time.

“Getting kiddos that have never been able to go down the water slide the opportunity to experience the ride. Their smiles and laughter were the highlight of camp,” she expressed.

She says her camp experiences gave her a deeper understanding of how meaningful participation and inclusion can positively impact a child’s confidence, motivation, and overall development and gave her perspective for her work as a pediatric physical therapist.

She can take obstacles that are hard to navigate in the community and use them as real life examples with her patients in the clinic to help improve their ability to participate in the community.

“This experience directly influences my work in the clinic. When designing therapy interventions, I now focus not only on physical progress but also on building the functional and social skills children need to participate in their communities—whether that’s playing on the playground, joining a sports team, or engaging in school activities,” Kim explained.

“Seeing how much children grow when given opportunities to succeed in a supportive, inclusive environment reminded me that therapy should prepare kids for real-life participation, not just clinic-based goals. That perspective helps me advocate for community inclusion and collaborate with families to bridge the gap between therapy and everyday life.”