May 2018 PULSE

MAY 2018

-COMING UP THIS MONTHWednesday, May 2 Human Resources Dept at UCONN Career Fair Saturday, May 5 10:00 am Avon, Newington, Plainville, Southington & Windsor at Walk Against Hunger in Hartford

PEER TO PEER SUMMIT 2018 Year two of my Peer to Peer group (P2P) is in the books!

The class of 2017 is comprised of about forty private practices from across the country, and in order to participate you must be the owner or CEO of the business. The class was broken down into smaller “peer” groups two years ago, with my group consisting of seven practices spanning the country, from California, Wyoming, Iowa(2), New Jersey and, of course, Connecticut. The businesses represented are incredibly diverse in scale, ranging from a California practice with 350 employees to an Iowa practice with just around 20.

Our P2P group attempts to meet six times per year – twice in person and the remainder via teleconferencing.

We shared eight hours of meeting time on April 26 and 27, in addition to a group dinner near APTA headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia. In our “structured” time the agenda included: • An Opportunity Outline presented by each member.

This is a formal tool used to present an overview of a business opportunity being undertaken in the year ahead.

• A KPI discussion (Key Performance Indicators): A review of a standard set of measures indicating the health of a physical therapy business.

• Marketing overview.

• Organizational structure and key positions; who and how is the work getting done.

• Growth. What does the year ahead hold? Challenges and opportunities.

PTSMC Organizational Inservice

Tuesday, May 15

The WoodWinds in Branford

Heading into the meeting, we laughed about trying to fill the time once we completed the agenda in the first two hours. In the end, we ran out of time!

Our group has evolved from seven relative strangers to a team that genuinely cares for each other personally and professionally. Within the first six months of formation, every conversation has lead to a deeper trust and understanding of each other and our practices. We share everything from our proudest moments to the biggest mistakes we have made.

I have participated in many business groups in my career. This group experience has been rewarding and gratifying. I am confident this participation is challenging me to be a better leader, and a better person.

Great experience! I am presently pain free. Joe and his staff were excellent. Joe is a magician! -Newington

Wednesday, May 9 7:00 pm Juliann Chacko presenting “Back Out of Whack” at the Orange Community Center Wednesday, May 16 10:00am New Haven and Orange clinics at JCC of Woodbridge Senior Health Fair Saturday, May 19 10:30 am Plainville Family Fest at Linden Street School Sunday, May 20 9:00 am Newington Library 5K Road Race

PTSMC launches new website

I plan to incorporate some of my learnings in the organizational inservice on May 15th. Taking a deeper look at PTSMC with trusted colleagues has reinforced many of the “things we do right.” An intentional focus on opportunity and “the road ahead” excites me about who we are and inspires me about what we can become.

I look forward to seeing everyone in a couple weeks!

Thanks for all you do!

7:00 am Breakfast - 7:30 am Program start Attendees will enjoy a full breakfast buffet, with options to fit all dietary needs. French toast, eggs, sausage, bacon, belgian waffles, fruit and lots more will be available! Don’t forget: arrive on time and wear your NEW shirt that will be arriving in all clinics ahead of the event.

StriveHub Fab 5

Steven took the time to listen to my daughter and work through her injury patiently. Very thorough and knowledgeable. -Groton

Monday, May 7 6:00 pm Mike Gans at Old Saybrook soundRUNNER for Gait Analysis and Injury Prevention presentation

I feel like my issue is clearly understood and is being treated in a way that is super helpful and the goals for improvement are clear without leaving me on my own.

- Plainville

Everyone at PTSMC is friendly, professional, helpful and Katy helped with my confidence in knowing I was able to patient! They are always happy and outgoing! They truly make PT enjoyable! - Southington do more with my bad foot than I would let myself! Katy used a different approach to PT exercises than I was given when I initially broke my leg/lower foot! - Orange

PTSMC.com has a new look! PTSMC launched the site after months of research, development, and content management. Site visitors are now better able to find the topics, locations and people they are looking for.

Perhaps the most exciting and important fuction of the site is our focus on promoting Direct Access, with multiple avenues of requesting appointments with all of our clinics online. PTSMC Director of Marketing, Peter Decoteau, shared his excitement for the new site by saying, “The improved look and layout of our website provides users with a much friendlier experience. The opportunities for us to highlight our organization, our people, and our skills is better than ever.” Be sure to check it out!

CLINICIAN’S CORNER

BY DREW GALLAGHER, PT, MBA

PAIN MANAGEMENT

15 Years of Explaining Pain: the past, present and future Pain is a primary focus of many of our patients – the reason most people come through our doors for the first time. Over recent years we’ve started to see developments in our understanding of the causes and treatment of pain and how to better educate patients in order to improve their quality of life. The pain field has long advocated for the importance of teaching people how to live well with pain, yet as therapists, we would argue that we can help people live well without pain.

Butler’s article provides insight into these developments, breaking out our understanding of pain into three segments – past, present and future – to show progress and offer some useful information regarding how we approach the topic with our patients.

The Past: Our understanding of pain was grounded in a biopsychosocial model focused on the impact of pain on the sufferer and those around them. Psychosocial factors impacting pain were recognized, and psychological interventions, such as operant conditioning, were employed to assist people in changing the focus of behaviors that were consistent with being well rather than those consistent with suffering.

The Present: Modern theory has combined the behavioral principles with cognitive theory, commonly referred to as cognitive behavioral theory. The basis for this theory has been in teaching people how to live well with pain – how to manage pain rather than treat it.

The Future: Explain pain (EP) refers to “a range of educational interventions that aim to change someone’s understanding of what pain actually is, what function it serves and what biological processes are thought to underpin it.” This approach utilizes educational psychology, health psychology and pain-related neuroimmune sciences. The main tenets of EP are focused on “shifting one’s conceptualization of pain from that of a marker of tissue damage or pathology, to that of a marker of the perceived need to protect body tissue.”

The use of EP requires a new understanding and understanding of pain, from a biomedical or structural-pathology framework to true biopsychosocial thinking. EP could play a part in preventing acute episodic pain from morphing into chronic issues. There needs to be further exploration and understanding of EP and its role with other interventions in order to fully grasp its effectiveness in the clinic.

Our patients present with all kinds of sources of complaints, and our ability to understand and then educate them is paramount to successful treatment. We see patients with acute onset of pain from a particular injury, new insidious onset of pain, and chronic pain that lasts well after physiological tissue healing has realistically occurred. All of these patients handle their pain differently. Having a manageable source of material to educate each of these individuals on how to respond and react to their particular symptoms can be helpful.

In light of the recent focus on our nation’s opioid crisis and the growing validity of PT as an effective alternative to medication, I feel that it is of great importance that we continue to strive toward a more comprehensive understanding of the experience of pain, and use our knowledge of pain to educate our patients to help improve the quality of their lives.

Moseley GL, Butler DS, 15 Years of Explaining Pain - The Past, Present and Future, Journal of Pain (2015), doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2015.05.005.

UPCOMING COURSE:

Examination and Treatment of the Lower Extremity Tuesday, May 8 from 4-8 pm Location: PTSMC Newington Instructor: Joe Allen, PT, DPT, OCS The course will be lecture/lab focusing on the foot/ankle, knee, and hip. It will include use of the Foot Posture Index, gait and running analysis, taping beyond just low dye, review of revised clinical practice guidelines, mobilizations, manipulations, and case discussion. If you want a great lower extremity course to prime you for our foot and ankle specific course with Rob Martin this fall, please attend! This course is open to all PTSMC employees.

Email Con.Ed@ptsmc.com to register.

STUDENT PROGRAM UPDATE Welcome back! Kevin Howard, former Orange PT aide and current American International College DPT student, will be starting his clinical affiliation in Avon with Laura Gallant.

STUDENT PROGRAM UPDATE

Welcome to the following DPT students starting their clinical affiliations with PTSMC in May: Jason LaPage from Quinnipiac University will be with Danielle Dunn and Michelle Kijewski in Wallingford.

Cailyn McDonnell from the University of Hartford will be with Kevin Connellan in Plainville.

Laura Smith from Sacred Heart University will be with Emily Searle in Branford.

Special thanks to Danielle Dunn and Michelle Kijewski for accepting a last-minute student! #PTforLife

Clinics Team Up to Knock Hunger

“Out of the Park” HOLIDAY & PERSONAL TIME

TIME OFF REFRESHER All time off accruals, balances, reset date and remaining accrual for the year are displayed in Time and Attendance under the Time off icon.

Just like vacation time, use it or lose it! Personal and Holiday hours are accrued each January 1st and must be used by December 31st each year or lose it.

401(k) VACATION TIME: USE IT OR LOSE IT! Employees will lose any unused accrued vacation hours by your reset date. Unused vacation hours will be deleted on the reset date.

Full time employees are allowed to use up to 40 hours vacation before the hours are actually accrued. Part time employees are allowed to use up to 20 hours vacation before the hours are actually accrued. Balances will be displayed as a negative. The system will not allow entry of vacation requests if hours will exceed -40 (full-time employees) or -20 (part-time employees).

Employees who would like to make a change to their 401(k) biweekly contributions for the 3rd quarter of 2018 must complete the request by Friday, June 15, 2018 to be effective with the July 3, 2018 payroll. It only takes 3 quick steps to change your contributions.

• Login www.jhancockpensions.com • Click on Manage and contributions • 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.

SICK TIME: ROLL IT OVER! Employees do not lose any unused sick hours. Sick hours will rollover each year to a maximum of 160 hours for (FT), 120 hours for PT (30) and 80 hours for PT (20) employees.

PTSMC is excited to be sponsoring and sending a full team to Foodshare’s 35th Annual Walk Against Hunger at Dunkin Donuts Park in Hartford on May 5!

We will have patients and staff from our Avon, Newington, Plainville, Southington and Windsor locations donating and/or walking to support this important cause.

The Foodshare Walk Against Hunger is the largest fundraiser and anti-hunger event in Connecticut.

Hunger exists in every one of the 42 towns and cities in Hartford and Tolland counties. People across the state are confronted with the difficult decisions of paying rent or heat or medicine, instead of buying food. One out of every eight people is food insecure, meaning they lack consistent access to enough food. This, no doubt, is affecting our neighbors and even some of our patients.

To join our walking team, or donate to the cause, visit http://ptsmc.com/fundraiser. Many thanks to Kristen Ludwig, for spearheading this event and registering the PTSMC team.

CURRENT JOB OPPORTUNITIES AT PTSMC Physical Therapist Guilford New London Westbrook Physical Therapy Aide Branford (Fall 2018) New Haven (Fall 2018) Westbrook

Patient Services Administrator (full-time) Guilford Patient Services Coordinator (part-time) Groton & Guilford 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.

ATTENDANCE REWARD

Congratulations to the following PTSMCers who had perfect attendance in Q4 2017 and Q1 2018: If a patient tells you that their insurance is “Multiplan/PHCS”, you will need to ask the patient for the provider telephone number on the back of their insurance card. Multiplan/PHCS is an umbrella insurance company that maintains a network of PPO, HMO, Physicians, Hospitals, etc. They do not give benefits for the individual insurance plan the patient has chosen through them. When verifying benefits, please ask for the complete claims billing address for smoother verification processes.

Show Us Some Signs of Spring

We want proof! It seems like spring is finally here and we’re looking for your help to catch spring fever. Whether it’s in your own backyard or around the state, send us the signs of spring you’re seeing! Email your photos or video to Christine.Rasile@ptsmc.com by Friday, May 18 to be entered to win a $20 gift card of your choosing! All submissions will be shared on PTSMC’s social media.

Nick Almonte Steve Berry Stefanie Cagno Kate Carlson Laura Gallant Mike Gans Kristin Gilbey Glen Gitterman

Chrys Grabowski Kathryn Flodquist Kelly Hoisl Liz Melvin Kristen Ludwig Danica Sadowski Jon Soderquist

Life Beat

Top 5 Best Hikes in CT

1) Rattlesnake Mountain:This hike is short, but it's steep and strenuous. The views from the top are well worth the trip to Farmington! Don't miss Will Warren's Den along the way.

2) Airline State Park Trail: This rails-to-trails trail is 50 miles long, starting in East Hampton and ends at the MA border. Hop on and hike any section you'd like. From Thompson to the state line is a popular section; at just 6.6 miles long, it's got some great views and terrain.

3) The Red Trail at Kent Falls State Park: Good for hikers of all ages! It's just a .8-mile loop, and it takes you to this stunning waterfall - one of the most beautiful in the state.

4) Heublein Tower Trail at Talcott Mountain State Park: This state park is located in Simsbury and has gorgeous views of the surrounding countryside.

The 1.25 mile hike takes you to Heublein Tower, which was built to withstand 100 mph winds.

5) Giant Steps Trail at East Rock Park: Located in New Haven, you will quickly learn how this trail got its name. A short, 20 minute hike takes you to the The Soldiers and Sailors Monument, and the views from the top are incredible. http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/connecticut/5-best-hikes-ct/

EMPLOYEE RECOGNITION

MAY BIRTHDAYS Michelle Gallerani Jen Evans Vicki Palmieri Kathryn Flodquist Briana Spadacenta Jenn Detlefsen John Galer Marilex Santiago Andrew Wolak Eli Rosen Traci Riviere Caroline Kelleher Drew Gallagher Emily Searle Jasmine Lumasag Ari Cote Karen Havlicek Jeff Daley Nicole Kowalski Ellen Chatfield Angie Scott Michael Behan Jackie Couillard

May 2 May 4 May 4 May 4 May 5 May 5 May 5 May 5 May 7 May 8 May 8 May 9 May 10 May 11 May 11 May 12 May 15 May 17 May 17 May 20 May 22 May 22 May 28

New London New Haven Wallingford Waterbury New London Admin Guilford Plainville New Haven Southbury New London New London Southbury Branford Orange Westbrook Admin New London Avon Admin Southbury Guilford Southbury

ANNIVERSARIES

Kristina Lipeika

Watertown Physical Therapist

HAPPY 1 YEAR

Zack Niziolek, Avon PT Aide Sam Donahue, Guilford Athletic Trainer Danica Sadowski, New Milford PT Aide Casey Anthony, Newington PT Aide Jasmine Lumasag, Orange PT Aide Cody Morrissey, Southbury PT Aide Chris Stankiewicz, Wallingford PT Aide Izzy Stowik, Wallingford PSC Derek Marinaro, Watertown PT Aide

PROMOTION NEWS

We are so excited to announce the selection and promotion of Alison Pearce to PTSMC’s first Clinical Experience Coordinator position. This new position will focus on delivering on PTSMC’s mission statement in the front desk position.

Delivering an Unmatched Experience includes delivering amazing customer-centric service at all times. Alison’s tenure in our Groton location for the past 5 ½ years surely prepares her for training in this area.

Alison’s ability to make the lives of our clinicians smoother and seamless in providing Clinical Excellence has always been one of her strengths.

Steven deCastro, Groton partner says, “In Groton, Alison’s focus on creating a ‘patient first’ environment carries over to her clinical colleagues. From scheduling, chart preparation, patient expectations and overall contagious positive attitude, Alison has been awesome for us in Groton. We wish her the best and know we will miss her immensely.”

Alison has been an integral member of the PSC training team for new hires, helping them in lifelong relationships.Couple that with her background in customer experience coaching, we know she will be a positive influence all of our front desk teams.

Congratulations, Alison!

NEW EMPLOYEES

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

Shelby Howe Avon PT Aide

Bianca Timpano New London PT Aide

Zach Ginsburg Guilford Office Assistant

Brian Greer Watertown Physical Therapist

Angie Scott Southbury PSC

Lida Fox Guilford PSC

PTSMC Happenings

Cheshire Half Marathon & 5K on April 29.

Branford and New Haven offices’ happy hour!

Plainville’s inaugural “Let’s Get Healthy”night.

The Guilford team loves a good pizza throwdown!

Dr. Gelber (top) and Dr. Kovacevic (right) presented to PTSMC clinicians in the month of April

#GetMoving Updates

The 2018 #getmoving crew is killin’ it! Here’s a sneak peek of what they’ve been up to the last few weeks! Can’t wait to see who will take home some of the top prizes at this year’s Inservice!!

PTSMC Groton got out to celebrate Bethany Grady’s NCAA bracket win!