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Hello to all our friends,
When I was 10 years old, my 60-year-old Grandma Garcia took my best friend and I to the World’s Fair in Flushing, NY. At the time, I didn’t understand why my grandma kept telling us how special this was. She wanted us to remember this experience. She wanted us to know that life goes quickly, and we needed to savor these moments together. I also remember her saying that before we knew it, we would be her age, if we were blessed to live long enough.
Today is January 12, 2024, and it is a Friday. Understanding my grandma’s perspective now, I certainly have been blessed! I will be turning 70 years old 5 weeks from today. Thinking back, my grandma was so correct when she said, before I knew it, I would be her age. It took me longer than her to realize it, but it seems to me that 35 years of treating patients in the South Bend area, happened in a blink!
When I started serving the South Bend Community, I was in an 815 sq ft space in the basement of the 416 Monroe St. building downtown South Bend. It was a Thursday and raining very hard. I remember that day clearly because I had no employees and only one patient the entire day. The patient was a great person, and at the end of his treatment, he asked me if I needed to get paid. I replied that that would be nice! Unfortunately, he had forgotten his checkbook, so he asked me what I had planned for the rest of the day. I answered, “nothing,” since he was my only patient that entire day. He suggested I follow him to his company where he could pay me. I closed up for the day, drove to his office, talked some Notre Dame Football, got paid, and drove home.
I remember that day and the name of that patient. I still have the calendar and schedule book from that time of my life. I can honestly say, I had no idea what I was getting into, but did believe that I could help elevate physical therapy care and maybe even affect healthcare in this area in a positive way.
I had visited 2 orthopedic surgeons before I started and asked them to send me patients they had performed surgery on, and who had been to physical therapy already, but were not improving. I told them that if I couldn’t get them better, I would go out of business, but if I could turn them around and get them back, could they please send me more patients and tell the other orthopedic surgeons. Two of the patients who were not regaining their motion while with their previous PT providers, were a 62-year-old woman, 5 months after her rotator cuff surgery and a high school football player with an anterior cruciate repair. In both of these cases, I got them better, and the surgeons actually called me to find out what I had done. After sharing what I did, they were very positive, and said they would talk about me to the other surgeons.
Lucky for me, these surgeons and our successful patients did spread the word among their peers, and more and more physicians started sending patients to us. Our growth over the first 3 years was a result of physicians referring to the new physical therapy clinic in town because they noticed a difference in our success with patients and wanted their patients to experience this success as well. The rest is history.
Currently and throughout these past 35 years, we continue to answer our phones in person, get our patients in on time and advocate for them as they journey through their physical, emotional and sometimes spiritual challenges. I have chosen not to sell out, though we have had and continue to have many offers. Why, at 70 years old wouldn’t I just sell out? Because I still strongly believe the unique way we operate and the personal, high-quality evaluations and follow up care we give, remains important to our community.
As corporate and hospital physical therapy models take over, and patient care is determined by scheduling systems more than patients’ well-being, patients are sometimes forced to wait up to 6 weeks to get in for physical therapy. Often, they are in severe pain or in need of post-surgical care. This is not the fault of the physical therapists, but the fault of the healthcare systems and corporations. If the physical therapists in these settings had more control they would, most likely, do what it takes to get patients in as soon as possible.
Honoring the memory of my grandma’s advice, I would like to savor this moment in time and thank all of the patients and physicians who have made us their physical therapy provider. Without you, we would not have made it. I am so blessed to still be doing what I love doing! We will continue to do our best to overcome the challenges that arise as more years pass. We will continue to work on upgrading your personal experience with us as you try to find ways to improve your health in the years to come.
Here's to a healthy and Joyful 2024,
Fran McDonald President/CEO
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