MedStar Health Physical Therapy and Summit Physical Therapy Receive Top Awards at Ascend 2019
PHOENIX–(BUSINESS WIRE)–WebPT, the leading rehab therapy platform for enhancing patient care and fueling business growth, recently announced MedStar Health Physical Therapy as the winner of the 2019 Ascend Practice of the Year Award and Summit Physical Therapy as the winner of the inaugural Innovator of the Year Award. The practices were honored during the sixth-annual Ascend business summit, held Sept. 20–21 in Minneapolis.
“To be recognized as the Ascend Practice of the Year for outpatient therapy is such an honor — and to be recognized by esteemed colleagues from across the country is immensely satisfying,” said John Brickley, PT, MA, vice president of MedStar Health Physical Therapy’s outpatient physical therapy network. “We’ve worked relentlessly throughout the years to make positive changes within the physical, occupational and speech therapy landscape as well as the communities in which our patients and future patients call home. Our successes are attributable to our team’s determination to continue pushing the boundaries of rehab therapy to provide the best care for broad patient populations, as well as to our partners, like WebPT, who have been central to helping us discover new territories within our industry.”
MedStar Health was selected in part for its robust programming efforts aimed at forming partnerships and integrating services with physicians and other healthcare stakeholders. The group’s commitment to diversifying and expanding their programming efforts has helped them provide services across all patient populations and ensure that those patients who could benefit from physical therapy not only receive the opportunity to see a physical therapist, but also achieve the best possible outcomes.
MedStar Health also stood out from other applicants for its Environment of Learning (EOL) program, which provides continuing education and mentorship opportunities to elevate the proficiency and expertise of its therapists. The EOL has been instrumental in developing and enhancing MedStar Health’s programming efforts to revolutionize patient care and achieve high patient satisfaction and consistent year-over-year growth.
New to Ascend this year is the Innovator of the Year Award, which recognizes a standout practice that has executed on innovative and original ideas. Summit Physical Therapy was chosen for this award after adapting its business model and marketing strategies to overcome the clinic’s unique geographical, logistical and natural challenges. The Summit team also demonstrated considerable resourcefulness, using WebPT and other software to create patient charts and schedule appointments a month before opening — all the while logging extra hours to ensure the clinic was up to code and outfitted with the necessary equipment.
“To have garnered national recognition as Ascend’s Innovator of the Year has far exceeded our small clinic’s wildest hope,” said Jay Cherok, PT, DPT, Cert. MSKUS, president and COO of Summit Physical Therapy. “As a first-year, five-therapist clinic operating in a rural Alaskan town, we had our doubts. But we were able to hit the ground running with full case loads from day one thanks to WebPT. As a result, we’ve made a greater impact within our community than we had initially foreseen and proved to ourselves that we can enter into a competitive market and thrive.”
As Summit Physical Therapy approaches its one-year anniversary, it’s well within range of achieving its $1 million profit goal, which will enable the team to pursue new growth initiatives — including opening a second clinic in the underserved community of Seldovia, Alaska (which has a population of 300 and is only accessible via boat or small aircraft), as well as offering telehealth and virtual reality rehabilitation to patients.
“There is no shortage of physical therapy businesses out there who are making tremendous strides within our industry, which is why selecting just one to be the Ascend Practice of the Year is so challenging,” said Dr. Heidi Jannenga, PT, DPT, ATC, WebPT Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer. “We added the Innovator of the Year Award to also recognize trailblazers within our industry. MedStar Health Physical Therapy and Summit Physical Therapy were selected for these awards for many reasons; however, what really sets them apart is their steadfast commitment to their communities. This people-first, patient-centric approach to business helps demonstrate the value of physical therapy and the integral role it plays in health care.”
Those interested in receiving updates on applications for the 2020 Ascend Practice of the Year Award and Innovator of the Year Award can subscribe to the WebPT Blog at webpt.com/blog. For more information about Ascend, visit webpt.com/ascend.
About WebPT, Inc.
With a 40-percent market share, WebPT is the leading rehab therapy platform for enhancing patient care and fueling business growth. WebPT’s product suite provides a robust end-to-end solution covering the entire rehab therapy business cycle, from billing and managing a practice to delivering quality, evidence-based care. With a 99-percent retention rate and an uptime rate in excess of 99.9 percent across its entire platform, WebPT is the most-trusted and most-reliable solution in the industry, regardless of practice setting, specialty or size. WebPT’s growth has earned it a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing companies seven years in a row as well as inclusion on the 2018 Healthcare Informatics list of the top 100 U.S. healthcare IT vendors. Learn more at webpt.com.
About MedStar Health Physical Therapy
MedStar Health Physical Therapy, part of the MedStar National Rehabilitation Network, is a regional network providing outpatient services at more than 50 locations in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Northern Virginia. The network’s interdisciplinary team of therapy experts provides extensive services to help people recover as fully as possible following illness and injury. The network offers programs and services for the entire patent spectrum who could benefit from therapy including those with orthopedic and sports injuries, neurological disorders, back and neck injuries, hand injuries and post-surgical conditions, to name just a few. MedStar Health Physical Therapy is fully accredited by The Joint Commission.
MedStar Health Physical Therapy is a not-for-profit health system dedicated to caring for people within its region while advancing the practice of medicine through education, innovation, and research. MedStar Health’s 30,000 associates, 6,000 affiliated physicians, 10 hospitals, ambulatory care and urgent care centers, and the MedStar Health Research Institute are recognized regionally and nationally for excellence in medical care.
Visit MedStar National Rehabilitation Network online:
https://www.medstarhealth.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/MedStarHealth | https://twitter.com/MedStarHealth | https://www.linkedin.com/company/medstar-health/
About Summit Physical Therapy
Summit Physical Therapy, Inc. was founded in 2018 by Amanda J. Cherok, PT, DPT; Jay C. Cherok, PT, DPT, Cert. MSKUS; Christina A. De La Torre, PT, DPT; Kristin N. Oelschlegal, PT, DPT, OCS; and Joanna E. Riley, PT, DPT. Summit Physical Therapy, Inc. employs only the highest qualified clinicians to meet the needs of its patients by providing superior preventative and rehabilitative care. With 30 years of combined experience, Summit’s five full-time physical therapists — each of whom are doctors of physical therapy — help patients achieve their own individual goals by leveraging the most recent and effective evidence-based treatments available. Summit’s professional team shares an extensive background in manual therapy, orthopedics, ergonomic assessment, functional dry needling, neurological rehab, strength and conditioning, sports performance, craniosacral therapy, instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization, cupping with myofascial release, and gait training.
Visit Summit Physical Therapy online:
https://www.summitptalaska.com | https://www.facebook.com/summitptalaska | https://www.instagram.com/summitptalaska/
Contacts
Beth Cochran | Sarah Gray
beth@wiredprgroup.com | sarah@wiredprgroup.com
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