Rehabilitation Leader
In time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first graduating class of East Carolina University’s occupational therapy program, a large group of nonprofit therapy and rehabilitation hospitals and clinics, run by Robert Larrison Jr. ’90 ’98, has been inducted as an inaugural member of the World Health Organization’s World Rehabilitation Alliance.
As an undergrad, Larrison played soccer for the Pirates.
Larrison, who graduated from ECU’s OT and MBA programs, leads Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation, which has dozens of rehabilitation hospitals and clinics across North Carolina and Georgia. Atrium Health Carolinas Rehabilitation is one of only two hospitals in the country to receive the global honor from the WHO.
Larrison’s family is about as Pirate as they could get. He was a top scoring midfielder for the soccer team. His wife, Katrina ‘90, is a fellow ECU OT graduate who ran the 100-meter hurdles for the track team and was founder and president of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. Their children are carrying on the Pirate tradition; their daughter, Michaela ’23, graduated from the physical therapy program, and their son, Robert ’17, has a history degree.
The man who now oversees thousands of employees who constitute a successful health care enterprise didn’t have a direct route to getting his MBA. He had to wait for a second chance for an acceptance letter.
“I was admitted to a couple of other MBA programs in North Carolina, but I really wanted to go to the ECU College of Business because it was one of the best and AACSB-accredited programs in the state,” Larrison said. “I went part time at night, forever. That was when distance education meant you drove a distance. I commuted from Raleigh for about four years.”
Larrison considers himself a nontraditional student: He was a male, fraternity member athlete in the female dominated occupational therapy world.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the education that I got at ECU,” Larrison said. “ECU took a chance on me as a student.”
In the U.S., Larrison’s organization serves patients with low health literacy and often life-altering, catastrophic injuries and disease processes, which he said puts the Atrium team in a strong position to serve as charter members of the WRA.
“This seemed to be a natural fit for the work we were already doing, just on a larger scale. And ECU, our service attitude has always been a part of me,” Larrison said. “It’s been a really good fit for me personally.”
Denise Donica, chair of ECU’s occupational therapy program, said Larrison is an inspiration to everyone in the OT community, and his leadership in getting his hospital system included in the WRA program is a testament to his dedication to health care globally.
“It is always amazing to see how our occupational therapy alumni use their skills in creative and life-changing ways to impact individuals, groups, populations and the world,” Donica said.