Physical Therapy Provider Opens New Clinic in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Posted on: Thursday, 8 September 2005, 15:00 CDT
Sep. 7--In only a decade, BenchMark Physical Therapy has grown into the region's biggest provider of outpatient therapy for everything from back pain to stroke recovery.
From 41 locations stretching from Atlanta to Knoxville, the Ooltewah-based business now provides more than 3,500 patient treatment sessions every week by more than 130 therapists.
BenchMark will celebrate the addition of its newest clinic today from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. with free screenings, food and prizes at an open house at its office at the Velocity Sports Performance facility on Lee Highway.
Don Howe, one of the physical therapists who started BenchMark in a small Ooltewah office in 1995, said most of the company's growth has come by opening clinics in overlooked locations around East Tennessee, North Georgia and western North Carolina.
"We've been able to bring Chattanooga more convenience for physical therapy," Mr. Howe said. "Before we got started, patients had to drive downtown or to hospitals and walk great distances from parking lots for physical therapy. We were sort of pioneers in helping expand the availability and accessibility of physical therapy and elevate the profession."
The company brags that it provides physical therapy "located where you need it most," usually by local clinicians.
Dr. Samuel Olsen, an internal medicine physician who relocated last month from Birmingham, Ala., to Etowah, said he was "pleasantly surprised" to find a BenchMark clinic with a board-certified orthopedic clinical specialty therapist in the small McMinn County town.
"I worked with some great therapists in Birmingham, but I frankly didn't expect to have that same quality in a place like Etowah," he said.
David Van Eaton, regional director for BenchMark, said the business has typically been adding three to five clinics a year in towns like Etowah and he expects that growth pace to continue.
"But we're not trying to grow just for growth's sake," he said.
An aging population and shorter hospital stays are pushing up demand for outpatient physical therapy, Mr. Van Eaton said.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that the demand for physical therapists will increase "much faster than average" job growth over the next decade, "reflecting the growing number of individuals with disabilities or limited function and the increasing use of physical therapist assistants to reduce the cost of therapeutic services."
BenchMark has more than 225 employees "and we continue to look for more physical therapists," according to Jeff Londis, a member of the BenchMark management team.
The clinic opening today will be staffed by licensed clinicians with experience in working with athletes. BenchMark, which already provides athletic trainers for eight local high schools and colleges and the World Basketball Association's Cleveland Magic, is teaming with Velocity to treat athletes with muscoloskeletal injuries.
BenchMark's clinic at Velocity is being headed by Katie Lunn, a physical therapist who lettered in soccer, track and cross country at Florida State University and is a member of the Baylor School athletic hall of fame.
To meet other patient needs, BenchMark also has specialty programs in aquatics, osteoporosis, brain injury, lymphedema treatment and pre- and post-pregnancy therapy, Mr. Londis said.
"We have six orthopedic certified specialists, a certified hand therapist and one of only three certified neurological therapists" in Tennessee, he said.
But leaders of the employee-owned BenchMark insist the key to their success remains delivering quality care for patients and their physicians. More than 300 area physicians refer patients to BenchMark, which averages nine treatment sessions per patient.
Karren Douglas, a 59-year-old East Brainerd resident who had a knee replacement in June, said she has been at BenchMark facilities for three separate medical conditions in the past decade.
"The people here take the time to really work with you, even when it gets hard," she said.
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Source: Chattanooga Times/Free Press
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