Today I wanted to take some time to tell the story behind our business and why I thought a change was needed in the traditional physical therapy system and it was time to create something new and unique for the Fort Wayne area to give active adults and athletes in the Fort Wayne area the best possible experience.
Why did you start your own business?
After practicing in the traditional physical therapy setting I became progressively more disappointed and frustrated with the current healthcare and sports performance system and the traditional way of doing things. In my opinion, the current system is not setup to provide you with the highest quality of care you deserve. All too often I think the traditional system results in people being rushed through appointments with reduced hands-on time and doing unsupervised exercises that are too often delegated to lesser-qualified support personnel that you could do at home anyways. It’s also very common to see PTs trying to help too many other patients at the same time. I also couldn’t help but feel like an insurance company was dictating the services you receive, instead of the healthcare provider. This is not a recipe for success for the clinician or the patient. Instead of complaining, I sought out how I could change this and create something new and ultimately offer a better standard of care that is centered around you and your needs so I founded JB Performance and Reconditioning. We offer an integrative model of physical therapy, fitness and performance that is suitable for all ages and activity levels. I believe that everyone is an athlete at heart and everyone should have access to the elite level care like world-class athletes- whether you are a youth athlete, a weekend warrior, a busy executive, or an active senior. We believe you deserve the best and we are here to help you achieve your best, whether that is improved health or improved performance.
Yes, pretty much every PT clinic says they are about patient centered care and excellent service, so what actually makes JB Performance and Reconditioning different?
1. Before you pay anything we want to make sure you are 100% confident in your decision.
Making any healthcare decision can be overwhelming with all the choices out there. We want to help educate you on the different options and get the best fit for you, even if that means referring you to a different provider or a competitor. We offer services such as free phone consultations or free discovery visits to help clear the air and get you the answers you are seeking so you can make a decision with confidence.
2. We get out of the traditional 'clinic' settting.
We are located in a gym setting, not the traditional therapy clinic setting. As I mentioned earlier we specialize in working with active adults and athletes. I believe that the clinic setting has limitations in that often times you can't see how the individual is actually performing in their environment or activity they are having problems with. After an acute injury this might not be initially appropriate or needed, but at the advanced/end stages of rehab I think this is very beneficial. I can observe you in your lifts/exercises, hitting a golf ball, throwing or hitting a baseball or running. If I can't do it at my office, we even have the ability to go 'mobile' and actually go to you. There are several times I have went to the training facility, baseball field or golf course to gather this information and help you either fully transition back to activity or improve your performance. This is not an option for most other clinics.
3. Address wellness and performance
Too often I think that PT has only focused on getting someone out of pain instead of prevention and wellness. This seems so backwards to me and I think applies to all aspects of the healthcare system. Too often we wait for something bad to happen, instead of being proactive. While no one can completely eliminate injuries and injury prevention is a controversial topic, I do think there are certain factors which are controllable and are often neglected that we can help with.
4. Bridge the gap between rehab and fitness/performance
One of the most overlooked pieces of the traditional rehab process is the gap that exists between getting out of pain and back to your normal activity or sport. Relief of pain is just a piece of the equation and does not automatically mean you are good to go with normal activity. Too often I would see a client be discharged from physical therapy after surgery or injury because their range of motion and strength were at an acceptable level. However, the problem was that the person was wanting to get back to the gym or the golf course or the basketball court and almost had to figure it out themselves. Having someone to help guide and educate you through this process can be extremely beneficial
5. Improved communication with you
I think communication is a very important aspect of the rehabilitation process and getting an optimal outcome. Here are some ways we improve our communication with you:
We offer many free resources upfront such as free reports, phone consultations and discovery visits with no obligations or strings attached. We believe you should be well aware of your options prior to making any decision.
We want you to be an active participant in your care, not just accepting what is being told to you. We do this by taking your feedback and input into developing your plan of care to create something realistic and attainable for you.
We also believe in maintaining an open line of communication outside of the clinic. Every client gets access to my lines of communication and is encouraged to contact me with questions/concerns/updates (even after hours or weekends). Often times I only see my patients one time a week and in a few cases two times a week. This takes up two hours of your entire week. The remaining hours of the week far outweigh this and can have a significant impact on your rehab and how you progress. We want to know any updates either good or bad so we can modify things appropriately in real time instead of waiting days or a week in between to address this.
6. Improve collaboration with other professionals
This is another element that I think is often neglected by the traditional physical therapy and sports performance model. There are often other professionals that work with a patient or athlete such as a trainer/strength coach, massage therapist, athletic trainer, chiropractor or the coach of the team or instructional coach. These are a lot of other influences on the individual and the athlete and can potentially result in mixed messages which can only increase confusion and delay the rehab process or athletic performance. Getting everyone on the same page so the patient/athlete is hearing a consistent message is likely going to result in an improved outcome. This isn’t to say there aren’t going to be disagreements, but they should be dealt with between professionals, not using the patient stuck in the middle.
Also there are many times where someone thinks because they are hurt that means that they have to put everything such as training on hold and the trainer/coach is left in the dark. Often times we can help create a program around the injured area as you are rehabbing so you can still maintain a certain level of fitness/activity. We will communicate this with your trainer/coach.
7. Get rid of the middleman and improve transparency
We are an out of network provider, meaning we do not directly accept insurance. This allows us to spend more quality 1-on-1 time with clients and will help you feel better faster. The traditional insurance model does not allow us to treat the way we feel is best for you or spend the time with you that you deserve. While other PT clinics may see you 3x a week with other patients at the same time, we usually see you 1-2x a week. You tend to need less visits, and in the long run may end up spending less with us than a traditional PT practice when you consider your deductible, co-pay, and extra visits needed. However, you can call your insurance company and ask them “what are my out of network physical therapy benefits?” It’s usually a quick call to the number on the back of your card. Many times they may reimburse you for all or some of your PT services, especially if you have a PPO (instead of an HMO). We’ll give you all the information you need to get reimbursed.
This highlights a few of the ways we are aiming to change the traditional physical therapy model with the ultimate goal of better serving you. Click here to get more detailed information on our mission and values.
If you would like to get your journey started today and talk with as physical therapist you can schedule your free phone consultation or free discovery visit at 260-222-6157.
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