February 2019 PULSE

FEBRUARY 2019

- COMING UP THIS MONTH Saturday, February 2nd from 5 - 7 pm Groton at Groton Senior Center Souper Bowl Wednesday, February 20th at 1 pm Joe Allen presenting at “Mindfulness and Your Physical Health” at Newington Senior & Disabled Center

-50 DEGREES our friends from Minnesota

In late January five leaders from OSI Physical Therapy in Minnesota came to Connecticut to visit and learn more about PTSMC. The group – which included owner Jim Hoyme, CEO Jody Hahn and managers Greg, Mike and Katie – spent two days with us.

I met Jim several years ago at a Private Practice Section (PPS) meeting. Shortly thereafter, Mike Durand and I found ourselves in Minneapolis quizzing Jim about how his practice uses BMS and WebPT. The education helped us improve and raise expectations with our common billing and collections vendor.

There have been a few trips back and forth since then.

This most recent visit was at Jim’s request; he and I have had many conversations about PTSMC’s business model and he wanted to bring some of his leaders here to “see it in action.”

Mike Durand and I spent a few hours with the group doing a “deep dive” on the partner model. We shared performance measures and growth plans, and perhaps more importantly, we shared PTSMC’s mission and values. We spoke of our “PT for Life” culture and explained how our people have embraced customer service and customer experience as a primary focus of our care – how it inspires everyone at PTSMC to build lifelong relationships with those we serve.

On Friday I escorted Greg, Katie and Mike to two of PTSMC’s clinics. Brian Vo and Travis Lytle were kind enough to take a few minutes to tour their spaces, brag about their teams and share some of their personal perspectives on how and why we do what we do.

During my road trip, Sandy Wickman Mason, Mike Durand, Kristen Forster, Tina Boccialetti and Jenn

Sunday, February 24th from 10:30 am - 3 pm Plainville and Southington at Healthy Family Fun Fest Tuesday, February 26th from 9 - 10 am Naugatuck at Naugatuck High School Career Day

!

Detlefsen spent time with Jody Hahn discussing best practices for front desk operations. They learned OSI uses a centralized concierge service for scheduling, verification and authorization. Interesting fact: only 12% of their incoming calls to the concierge service need to be handled at the clinic level. In turn, PTSMC shared our Front Desk Incentive program, as OSI currently does not have such a program.

The OSI visit culminated Friday night at “our house” in West Hartford. The OSI clinical crew wanted to meet a few of our partners to explore what life in our world might be like. Erin Walsh, Drew Gallagher, Brian Vo, Scott Olmstead and Tom Kassan joined Sands, Mike and me at the Admin office for an informal information session (see: pizza and adult beverages) with the OSI crew. A good time was had by all!

I am not sure what Jim and his crew will do differently once it’s safe to go outside again in Minnesota, however, I am confident in a few things. I am confident that PTSMC has an amazing group of people, and I am confident that we take great pride in who we are and what we do.

The meeting for me felt like two straight days of being the “Proud Papa!” As each session concluded, I could not have been prouder of our people, our systems, our programs and our care delivery model. At every turn there was affirmation that at PTSMC we do improve the quality of people’s lives in so many ways.

Thanks,

Welcome to PTSMC Essex!

PTSMC Essex opened its doors on January 2nd.

With Essex, we increase our already strong footprint along the Connecticut shoreline and are able to offer our world-class PT to even more people and communities in CT. We are excited to welcome the director Craig Katko and the rest of the team. Thank you to everyone for making this transition as seamless as possible! Meet the team on page 5!

NEW

Learn more about PTSMC’s new Wellness Program on page 7! Get ready for the #GetMoving Challenge as part of the program.

World class NPS Scores!

We’re very proud that our overall NPS score for 2018 was a World Class rating of 90%! Of the 5,279 respondents, 92% were promoters, 6% were passives, and only 2% were detractors!

Great job everyone!

Avon Branford East Hampton Groton Guilford Middletown Naugatuck New Haven New London New Milford Newington Orange Plainville Southbury Southington Wallingford Waterbury Watertown Westbrook Windsor

89% 89% 92% 91% 90% 95% 87% 86% 97% 95% 90% 93% 87% 90% 89% 96% 85% 90% 87% 87%

CLINICIAN’S CORNER

BY ERIC HORNE, PT, DPT OF AVON

Pitcher’s Elbow: Medial Elbow Pain in Overhead-Throwing Athletes Overhead throwing requires extreme skill coupled with intricate movement. This combination places extraordinary demands on a throwing athlete’s shoulder and elbow. These extraordinary demands tend to lead to a significant amount of valgus stresses throughout the throwing cycle which may lead to the dreaded general diagnosis of “pitcher’s elbow.” As the number of cases of this injury steadily rises, it is important as clinicians to establish a well-structured rehabilitation program to restore functions that are limited by “pitcher’s elbow.” This program should be a multiphase approach with emphasis on controlling inflammation, restoring muscle imbalances, improving soft tissue flexibility, enhancing proprioception/neuromuscular control, and returning the patient to competitive throwing.

Since baseball has been rising in popularity with younger athletes, the incidence rate of “pitcher’s elbow” has increased significantly. Due to the complexity of both the elbow anatomy and of the athlete’s throwing mechanics, a clinician should have a working knowledge of both to be able to accurately diagnose and effectively treat impairments. We will review the anatomy first, then proceed to throwing biomechanics.

The ulnar collateral ligament is the main stabilizer against valgus forces, as it experiences the highest level of valgus stress between 30-120 degrees of flexion during overhead throwing.1,2 The common flexors comprised of the pronator teres, flexor carpi radialis, palmaris longus, flexor carpi ulnaris, and flexor digitorum superficialis all originate from the medial epicondyle and are primary stabilizers to valgus forces. The last important medial structure is the ulnar nerve which passes through the cubital tunnel and is near the UCL and common flexors. Compression, inflammation, or subluxation of the ulnar nerve can lead to pain, numbness, and weakness distally. Lateral stability is provided by the radial collateral ligament and common extensors, however, these structures are less commonly injured in overhead athletes.3 Throwing mechanics has been widely studied and is comprised of five main phases.

The first phase is “the windup” which involves initial preparation to throw as the elbow flexes and the forearm is slightly pronated. Phase II is called “early cocking”.

Shoulder abduction and external rotation are initiated at this phase. Phase III, “late cocking”, is characterized by further shoulder abduction and maximum external rotation. At this phase, the elbow should flex between 90 to 120 degrees and the forearm pronate to 90 degrees. Phase IV is known as “rapid acceleration”, and involves the throwing athlete generating a large forward-directed force on the extremity which ends with rapid elbow extension as the ball leaves the thrower’s hand. This is the stage in which a tremendous valgus stress is generated over the UCL and on the flexor-pronator musculature of the elbow. Finally, there is Phase V, “follow-through”,

which involves the distribution of all remaining kinetic energy as the elbow reaches full extension.3 The forces that are produced during throwing leave the elbow joint more susceptible to injury. The typical injury resulting from throwing is created by repetitive microtrauma or chronic stress. The injury that is becoming more and more common is UCL deficiency, resulting in valgus instability of the elbow. Injury to the UCL can result in pain, loss of throwing velocity, lack of throwing endurance, and general instability at the elbow. The most affected population for this injury is high school throwing athletes.3 As physical therapists, how do we diagnosis this? First, the patient will usually describe a “popping” sensation with sudden onset of pain with throwing. As the injury becomes more chronic, patients will describe worsening pain at late cocking or early acceleration phases. After we rule out the shoulder and scapula, we should then examine the affected elbow in a flexed position. The flexed position unlocks the olecranon from its fossa therefore allowing isolated testing of the UCL. Palpate the UCL, then provide a valgus stress to test any medial joint space opening which indicates UCL laxity. Another special test, known as the Milking Maneuver can help rule in UCL injury. In the Milking Maneuver, the clinician positions the shoulder at 90 degrees of abduction, the elbow is flexed greater than 90 degrees, and the forearm is supinated. In this position, the clinician will then pull the patient’s thumb posteriorly. The test is positive if there is pain or laxity at the affected UCL. Of course, the gold standard for diagnostic imagining of the injury is the MRI. Now we know what it is, so how do we treat it? The main focus should be eliminating the aggravating factor, which is throwing for an extended period. Once the aggravating factor is eliminated, a clinician should focus on maintaining elbow range of motion and strengthening flexor-pronator musculature. A clinician should also provide additional exercises for the core, shoulder, and scapular to minimize forces across the elbow and optimize neuromuscular control of the extremity. Once the elbow becomes pain free with general strengthening, then it is appropriate to transition to a more sports specific strengthening program coupled with a well supervised return to throwing program.

1. Morrey BF, Tanaka S, An KN. Valgus stability of the elbow: a definition of primary and secondary constraints. Clin Orthop. 1991;265:187–95.

2. Fleisig GS, Andrews JR, Dillman CJ, et al. Kinetics of baseball pitching with implications about injury mechanisms. Am J Sports Med. 1995;23:233–9.

3. Rossy WH, Oh LS. Pitcher's elbow: medial elbow pain in the overhead-throwing athlete. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2016;9(2):207-14.

Audit Updates from Emily hansen

Hello Clinicians! For 2019 the audit team has made three changes to the audit spreadsheet. These changes will be seen on Quarter 2 Audits because these audits are for charts started after January 2019.

1. The Initial Evaluation, Progress Note and Discharge sections now include items ensuring that all patients have a completed and updated outcome measure.

2. In the KX section there are now 3 items for all patients who require the use of the KX modifier: A. The KX was applied when necessary B. There is a justification statement in every note after the KX modifier was added C. The justification statement was well written to justify continued care 3. The completion of notes should be done within 48 hours of DOS. Feel free to reach out to Emily at Emily.hansen@ptsmc.com with any questions!

STUDENT PROGRAM UPDATE

Melissa Lembo will host Nick Pisnaelli (UHart) for his final affiliation beginning February 18th.

Sam McMullen (URI) will present on ‘HIVAMAT For Edema Reduction’ on February 5th at 12:30pm in Groton followed by a demonstration on how to use the machine by a representative from Performance Health. Sam’s CI is Steven de Castro. His affiliation ends on February 8th.

Tyler Naef (SHU) concludes his time with Ted Raczka in Branford on February 8th. He is creating a series of patient information sheets on injury prevention, vestibular therapy, concussions, and TMJ.

2019 Courses Email coned@ptsmc.com to attend

Genius is 1% inspiration and 99%

perspiration - Thomas Edison

March 2-3 PTSMC Wallingford Graston M1 Clinicians $550, Students $400 coned@ptsmc.com to register MarchEmail 8-10 Sacred Heart University Myopain TDN 1 Clinicians $995

May 17-19 Sacred Heart University Myopain TDN 2 Clinicians $995

September 28-29 PTSMC Guilford Therapeutic Neuroscience Education: Teaching People About Pain Clinicians $475 October 12-14 Sacred Heart University Myopain TDN 3 Clinicians $1,095 * Cost is subject to number of participants, meals and any additional instructor expenses

Continuing Education Q&A Q: Can I sign up for any or all courses?

A: Internal, YES. External, must be approved by your clinical Partner/Director.

Q: Internal courses are typically during the work week, so how do I arrange my schedule?

A: There are 3 ways to adjust your schedule: 1.

Work your regular shift if it is 7 am - 3:30 pm, and then attend the course 2.

Work 4 hours on the day of the course, and use 4 hours of your continued education time 3.

Work 4 hours on the day of the course, and make up 4 hours during the work week

Q: What is the difference between Internal & PTSMC External courses and External courses?

A: PTSMC hosts both Internal and External courses. Internal are taught by a PTSMC employee, and the course cost does not go towards your continuing education budget. PTSMC External courses are taught by an outside instructor or company that PTSMC brings to one of our clinics. External courses are courses that individual PTSMC clinicians attend on their own. Both PTSMC External and other External course costs go towards your continuing education budget. The typical annual budget for clinicians is $1,000.

Q: How much have I “spent” of my Continuing Education budget?

A: Once you complete a course the finalized costs can be found in Paychex HR Custom Fields. The course name is abbreviated with amount following. Any course that goes towards your budget will be listed under the year you took it.

Q: In order to better plan my Continuing Education expenses, are the course costs available before hand?

A: The course costs will now be available in the Pulse and on the Continuing Education Google Doc. Please be aware that each course cost is unique, so what you will originally see is the course cost. The final cost depends on many factors and likely to change post course. In a few cases the cost could go down if it is a contract with a fixed group cost divided between the number of participants. In other cases the cost will go slightly up based on additional instructor expenses, meals, or lack of participants.

Q: I am worried about going over my budget but there is a course that would be very beneficial to me.

A: PTSMC has a commitment to clinical excellence and our clinicians being the “Best clinician you can be”, so if cost is a concern, please talk to your Partner/Director.

The

Extra MILE

By Alison Pearce, Customer Experience Coordinator

Vacation Requests

Employees may submit a vacation request at any time during the year. However, the submission and approval deadline for June, July and August requests is as follows: Submission Deadline March 15th

Director Approval Deadline March 25th

The approval considerations for prime-time vacation requests are as follows:

All time off requests are to be submitted through Paychex Flex Time and Attendance.

• Click on the Time Off Icon • Click on Request Time Off located in the top left-hand corner • Complete your request & be sure to enter the correct hours per day Once your request has been approved, partially approved or denied you will receive an email and this can be viewed under your Time off Icon. Your approved vacation request will automatically be posted to your timesheet, and you will not need to enter the vacation time when it occurs.

Reminder to all eligible employees if you have not done so please sign up for one of the Open Enrollment GoTo meetings listed below.

Monday, February 4, 2019 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Wednesday, February 6, 2019 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Thursday, February 7, 2019 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Employees who would like to make a change to their 401(k) biweekly contributions for the 2nd quarter of 2019 must complete the request by Friday, March 15, 2019 to be effective with the April 10, 2019 payroll. It only takes 3 quick steps to change your contributions.

1. Login www.jhancockpensions.com 2. Click on Manage and contributions 3. Your current Before Tax and/or Roth contributions will be displayed. Click on the arrows to adjust your percentage then click continue at the bottom of the page.

• Time available • Seniority • Length of time requested (preference given to extended time vs. one day) • Appropriate staffing levels maintained

Open Enrollment GoTo Meetings

GOING THE EXTRA MILE WITH A SMILE

401(k)

• Under the Type dropdown select “Holiday “and complete the remainder of your request with date and hours being requested.

By Jim Hungerford, CPA

Patient Services Coordinator Naugatuck West Hartford

Physical Therapy Aide New Haven Orange Southbury Southington Westbrook

Physical Therapist Assistant Southington Check PTSMC.com for our most up to date postings and feel free to share! We’re always interested in connecting with referrals of colleagues and friends.

Congratulations to the following employees who have achieved the attendance reward for the 3rd and 4th quarters of 2018!

Bryan Baker Kasey Bascetta Meaghan Battige Nancy Chilson Mary Clark Ally Condo

Joanna Fisher Sue Ginsburg Eric Horne Miranda Jasienowski Kristina Lipeika Michael Lynch

I saw this quote and instantly thought of everyone at PTSMC. Every day, I see staff arriving to work with a smile on their face and a cheery attitude when greeting and assisting patients.

Quite often, when patients leave a 5-star review, they enthuse about their entire experience from the front desk to the clinicians. For example, Jennifer from Southington said, “The people that do the office scheduling, the assistants, everyone plays a role in your experience there, and it is short of exceptional. Plus they are all friendly and Sandra Boccialetti will be notified of the change and nothing can always be counted on for a good laugh.” it will be effective with the April 10, 2019 payroll.

I visit our clinics nearly every day and hear patients laughing 2019 Holiday Policy Reminder PTSMC recognizes six (6) national holidays and one and sharing photos and stories with our staff. I hear patients saying, “Thank you for listening”, “I appreciate your help” and (1) employee personal day in which eligible “Thank you for taking time for me”. These are a clear employees are provided with paid time off. indication that we are giving our patients so much more. We Eligible employees must request their Personal Day are showing them we care about them. using the holiday selection: It’s important to remember every day that something as • Click on Time Off icon simple as a smile and friendly greeting can have a huge impact on someone’s day. Thank you for taking the time to make our patients feel welcomed. This is one of the reasons in Off • Click on Request Time why we have a World Class NPS score of 90%! Keep up the the left corner GREAT work!

CURRENT JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT PTSMC Physical Therapist Avon Newington (part-time) Southington

“Without great employees you can never have great customer service.” ~ Richard F. Gerson

Joe Mabry Lauren Mariotti Cara McEvoy Allyson Melillo Kaitlyn Pearson Ellie Ramsey

Daniel Rosati Daniel Scott Jason Smutnick Katy Sullivan Ariel Toth

Tax reform legislation that went into effect in 2018 may have impacted your finances. The New Year is an ideal time to assess your overall strategy to both prepare for your taxes and potentially boost your bottom line. Here are four steps to take now: 1. Revisit your tax withholding: Did you receive a tax refund this past year? Double-check your tax withholding and submit a new Form W-4 to HR if you’d rather take home more money throughout the year. The Internal Revenue Service offers a Withholding Calculator to perform a “paycheck checkup” at irs.gov/individuals/irs-withholding-calculator. Have your pay stub and most recent tax return handy.

2.Examine your paycheck: You may have noticed a little more money in your paycheck. View your pay stub from last year and compare it with a current one. If you are taking home more money, you can use it to pay down credit card debt, add it to your rainy-day fund, or consider increasing your contribution to your 401(k) plan.

3. When filing your taxes, consider the standard deduction: The new legislation nearly doubled the standard deduction for individuals ($12,000) and married couples filing jointly ($24,000).

With the standard deduction, many of you will have an easier time filing your taxes. Unfortunately, in some cases, your tax bill may actually increase since the standard deduction may have been lower than what you itemized in the past. If you do owe money, rather than paying a lump sum at tax time, you can adjust your withholding upward to have small amounts taken out each paycheck to make up for the difference.

4. Explore Roth options: Since income tax brackets are at historic lows for most people, it may be time to consider Roth retirement accounts. Some tax experts suggest rates will never be lower with the ever-growing federal deficit. With a Roth, you contribute post tax earnings now, in exchange for tax-free income in the future when rates may be higher. A Roth IRA has income limits, so you may not be eligible to contribute if you meet or exceed certain income thresholds. However, everyone can contribute to PTSMC’s Roth 401(k). If you still prefer the upfront tax deduction of the traditional 401(k), you might consider splitting your contributions between the two types.

Life Beat

What’s your love language?

NEW EMPLOYEES

Welcome to PTSMC. We’re so happy to have you!

Valentine’s Day is around the corner--the perfect time to dive deeper into how we share love. Gary Chapman (famous for his books, lessons and expertise on love) considers love its own language. And there’s not just one, there’s 5! The 5 Love Languages are all about what forms of expression make you feel loved. It is important to know what love language your significant other, child, family, or friends “speak” simply because it can be very different from your own.

The 5 Love Languages are...

Words of Affirmation: If this is their love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to them. Hearing the words “I love you” are important- hearing the reasons behind that love sends spirits soaring. Insults are shattering and not easily forgotten or forgiven. Kind, encouraging and positive words are truly life-giving. As in any language, these words can also be written.

Acts of Service: For these people, actions speak louder than words. Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love?

Absolutely! Anything you do to ease their burden of responsibility. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.” Laziness, broken commitments and making more work for them tells speakers of this language their feelings do not matter. Finding ways to serve speaks volumes to the recipients of these acts: assisting with chores/projects, picking up or making dinner, etc.

Receiving Gifts: For some, what makes them feel most loved is to receive a gift. Do not mistake this for materialism; the receiver of gifts enjoys the love, thoughtfulness and effort behind the gift. To this individual, the perfect gift or gesture shows that they are known, cared for, and mean more than whatever was sacrificed to give it. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous. Gifts are visual representations of love and are treasured greatly.

Justin Delgado

Alyssa Pilkington

Guilford PT Aide

Middletown PT Aide

Abigail Dunsing Orange PSC

Maria Grice

Southbury PSC

Welcome Essex!

Kelley Cahill Essex PTA

Patrick Drabowski Essex PT Aide

Ann Hall

Essex PT

Quality Time: This language is all about giving the other person your undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there- TV off, fork and knife down, personal tasks on hold, phone away- makes your significant other feel truly loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or failure to listen can be especially hurtful. Quality time means sharing quality conversation and quality activities.

Physical Touch: To this person, nothing speaks more deeply than appropriate touch (it isn’t all 50 shades of you know what). Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial!

Neglect and absence can be unforgivable and destructive.

Physical touch fosters a sense of security and belonging in any relationship.

Sharon Hallahan Essex PT

This February pay close attention to the ways in which important members of your life react to these 5 categories, and what language they need to feel loved. To really be an expert on love this month use Chapman’s quiz for yourself and the person you love, so you can communicate in each other’s love language: https://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/

Kara Larson Essex PSC

Kristin Hotchkiss

Craig Katko

Essex PT Aide

Essex Director

Caitlin Lehane

Alyson Whelan

Essex PT Aide

Essex PT

PTSMC Happenings

Southington had an accidental twin day when Cindi and Kasey (left) and Rob and Danielle showed up as twins!

Avon took a staff outing to Pine & Iron Axe Throwing.

Miranda Jasienowki and Lauren Paladeau from Groton attended the APTA CSM in Washington DC!

Westbrook threw a baby shower for PT Meagan Hoffman.

Social Media Sensation!

New Haven PT Aide Mikayla Raffone, President of the CT chapter of HOSA, met with Senator Richard Blumenthal at a Naugatuck Valley Community College Conference on fostering the first tobacco-free generation!

Patient Success Story

After living with knee pain for 30 years, Paul had a total knee replacement and suffered intense post-op pain. He only had 7 weeks to return to work, and unfortunately ‘wasted’ two of those weeks at another PT group. After going to see Ted in Branford, Paul was ecstatic to be moving pain free and able to get back to work on time! Hear the rest of his story at ptsmc.com/videos

Lauren Paladeau & Miranda Jasienowski, Groton

Thank you to Lauren and Miranda from Groton for sending pictures of their trip to the APTA CSM in Washington DC! They found it to be a great experience and also enjoyed sightseeing in DC.

FEBRUARY BIRTHDAYS Channing Harwood Samantha Palicz Paulo Oliveira Anna Mayo Mickie Picheco Andrew Perazella Ashley Gugliotti Kelley Cahill Kaitlyn Murray Pete Catuccio Michael Laviolette Michael Sousa Jonathan Savona Kristin Hotchkiss Meaghan Cartier Ann Hall Danica Sadowski Russ Woodman Alex DeFrance

1 1 4 6 7 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 11 14 14 15 17 17 20

PTSMC WELLNESS PROGRAM

Plainville New Milford Waterbury Newington Southbury New Haven Watertown Essex Windsor Watertown Avon Southington Branford Essex Windsor Essex New Milford New Haven Middletown

Fletcher Comment Daniel Scott Molly Killeen Janet Tarasuk Jake Courtman

21 23 24 25 27

Westbrook Orange Watertown Admin Guilford

ANNIVERSARIES Ellie Ramsey Lori Dietz Mary Wojtowicz Sylwia Danowski

Branford Naugatuck Westbrook Newington

Introducing the PTSMC wellness program!

We are excited to induct this program into our company culture and begin really promoting health and wellness in the lives of all PTSMC employees. Although wellness is much more than physical activity, fitness will be a main focus of the PWP (PTSMC Wellness Program). Throughout the year there will be meet ups, challenges, and rewards centered around healthy habits. Examples include: the annual #GetMoving Challenge, hiking, running, sports, participating in races/walks, cycling etc.!

Additionally, the PWP will put out Pulse articles and emails dedicated to various health-related topics.

The PWP will also be giving insight on how to get the most out of your health insurance, and maybe catch a few breaks when you practice good health. In all, the PWP is an “employee-centric” program that will keep us connected and community-driven while simultaneously working on health! The official start date is March 1, 2019, so keep a lookout for emails and announcements. Mallory Mason will be spearheading this initiative, and if you would like to be a part of the program direction or have any great ideas revolving around wellness, please reach out to Mallory at mallory.mason@ptsmc.com!

PSC/PT Aide PT Aide Physical Therapist PT Aide

#GETMOVING The PTSMC Wellness Program is pumped to announce that the #GetMoving Challenge is back in action, March 20- May 1! This 6-week challenge gets us up and out of the house to shake off that winter fluff and participate in some good, old-fashioned friendly competition. Furthermore, Get Moving is an opportunity to highlight our commitment to physical activity through social media and hold you accountable to your goals! #ptsmcmemove There will be 3 big winners, so stay tuned to hear what you can win! More details in the March Pulse.

Stay healthy my friends!

Promotion News!

Michalina “Mickie” Picheco has been promoted to Patient Services Administrator in our Southbury clinic. Mickie started in our PT for LIFE clinic on opening day, joining Partner Drew Gallagher after knowing each other from a previous employment experience! Drew and Mickie worked together at a different PT clinic in Southbury, 11 years prior to PT for LIFE, a PTSMC affiliate in 2014. They obviously left a lasting impression on each other.

Reflecting on his hire and now promotion of Mickie, Drew commented that “Originally I was looking for someone who had a customer-centric approach to patient delivery and could manage all aspects of front office operations at a very high level. Mickie did that when we previously worked together, which is why I sought her out. Fast forward, 4+ years later, Southbury’s growth demands that I have someone in a leadership position. I am thrilled that Mickie is willing to step into this position to assist with front desk management of operations and people as well as assisting with staff schedule management and keeping me on task!”

Prior to her employment with us Mickie has spent her career in healthcare, 15 of those in physical therapy. To say Mickie understands the “business” is an understatement.