Have you ever had to go to physical therapy? For many of us, the answer is yes. Often the reason relates to surgery – strengthening an area of your body to avoid surgery, building muscle in preparation for surgery or rehabilitating after surgery. Sometimes your goal is to build range of motion and flexibility. No matter the desired outcome, Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Physical Therapy clinics can help you feel, and move, better.
Spread throughout Thurston County, OOA has three PT clinics. The Westside Clinic near Capital Medical Center is the largest and works closely with the on-site outpatient surgery center. The second can be found farther north inside OOA’s Eastside Clinic near Providence Saint Peter Hospital. And the third, the newest, is located in Lacey, adjacent to the new Rapid Orthopaedic Clinic, or ROC, a walk-in clinic for acute orthopaedic injuries.
Lisa Bowling and Kate Sisco serve as the clinic directors at the Eastside and Westside locations respectively. The director’s job is to coordinate care throughout a patient’s care team from the surgical team to their primary care physician to the acting therapist themselves. “I serve as a liaison between the surgeons here at Oly Ortho and a patient’s therapist, even if they are not within one of our clinics,” Sisco shares. “We can provide the best quality of care with consistent protocols because we are all in communication all the time.”
With the surgeons and therapists all under one roof, the communication within OOA is exceptional. Internal care teams can coordinate, consult and modify a care plan in response to changing outcomes for individual patients. Therapy sessions, as a result, are efficient and responsive to a variety of variables.
Sisco explains, “The root of our mission is to provide what is most is convenient for the patient, whether it’s at the Eastside, Westside or Lacey clinic or in a physical therapy clinic outside the OOA family.” This open communication ensures the best care for patients.
Lisa Bowling agrees. Her 38 years of experience give her the knowledge to help train teams and implement best practices. “The ultimate benefit [of housing PT departments within an orthopaedic clinic] is that our therapists are on the front end of the knowledge base. We have direct access to the surgeons and doctors which eases the pathway to more information for concerns related to a patient, developing custom therapy protocols or asking questions on existing protocols. We keep on the front end of their specialty.”
The new Hawks Prairie clinic is an example of the expanding therapy services and revamped physical therapy department at OOA. The Lacey clinic allows ROC patients to walk next-door for immediate care as well as offers a convenient option for north county residents. When injuries are acute, the immediate care from a PT can be critical. At both Eastside and Westside clinics, Sisco and Bowling also aim to accommodate walk-up patients. While some days are jam-packed in the PT department, the therapists work diligently to try and see patients with acute, same-day needs whenever possible.
Throughout Olympia Orthopaedic Associates, “Centers of Excellence” are forming within the group. OOA’s Centers of Excellence include Foot and Ankle, Hand and Upper Extremity, Neurosurgery, Spine, Joint Replacement and Sports Medicine.
“We are hiring specialists,” shares Sisco, “to match with our Centers of Excellence.” These include hand therapy experts as well as a developing team of foot and ankle therapy specialists to match the high-level surgical procedures being offered at the Foot and Ankle Center. “By having PTs with foot and ankle expertise, the therapists can follow post-operative care more precisely and the surgeons and the specialized therapists create close working relationships – real partnerships – within their specialty teams.”
Partnership with surgeons and proximity to patients’ full care teams makes OOA PT unique. “It sets us apart from other clinics,” explains Sisco. “If a situation arises with their care, it can be easily addressed. Complications that arise from time to time can be discussed face-to-face with the patient’s surgeon who is usually just down the hall.” PTs can also see surgical procedures first-hand in the outpatient surgery center expanding their understanding of patient needs.
Bowling adds, “The PT department has been involved in the Oly Ortho same-day joint replacement program from the get go. It’s a real change from the typical rehabilitation after surgery to pre-habilitation model. We are now educating patients and caregivers before their surgery, teaching exercises, training their ‘coach’ or family member, and preparing equipment before-hand.”
As a result of this team approach and pre-planning, the need for extensive post-operative care has dropped. “It’s great to feel proactive and get ahead of a problem instead of always working after the fact. We are giving patients the power to be able to manage and understand their care and what they are dealing with. And, compliance with protocols is better because patients really feel like they know what to do and why.”
Whether you visit the Westside, Eastside or Lacey physical therapy clinic, you’ll receive cutting edge care by PTs who partner closely with surgeons and primary care doctors to optimize results. “We are really proud of the staff we’ve hired for our clinic,” says Bowling. “We have therapists ranging from new graduates to people like me who have been at it for 36 years, all bringing a great diversity of experience that is shared among the team. If we run into an obstacle, we pull together and work as a team. Our communication as a team is one of our strengths and results in the best outcomes for our patients.”
To learn more about Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Physical Therapy, visit them online or call 800-936-3386.
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