Peaking at the right time
Peak Performance Physical Therapy has developed a
reputation for its skilled staff and friendly atmosphere.
When Tal Henderson pulls into the parking lot of the Peak Performance Physical Therapy clinic in Centralia, he usually is not in a good mood.
In April, Henderson underwent knee surgery that left him aching and unable to walk. His physical therapy sessions exercise his joints in uncomfortable ways, and he is facing months of treatment. Despite this, Henderson said he always leaves Peak Performance with a smile.
"When I have come into their office, I have each and every time been met with a smiling face that transfers to me and starts each session with a positive outlook," he said. "I have come in in pain with a sour expression because of this process, but at the end, they have put a smile on my face because I know they care."
Henderson receives treatment at one of the 11 Peak Performance clinics in Mid-Missouri. The business was founded by therapists and trainers looking to serve smaller populations overlooked by larger companies.
In April 1999, Peak Performance Physical Therapy debuted with clinics in Columbia, Jefferson City and Fulton. On Monday, the business will open the doors of its newest facility, next to the new Providence Urgent Care clinic on Nifong Boulevard.
"We want to be the place to turn to in Mid-Missouri," said Mark Dempsey, an athletic trainer and co-founder of Peak Performance.
Dempsey and several co-workers worked as therapists and trainers at HealthSouth in the late 1990s. While treating patients, they began to take note of their patients' long commutes, sometimes two-hour round trips to receive therapy in Columbia.
"We all saw that in the industry smaller communities were getting cut back on," Dempsey said. "We knew, for example, there was a demand in Centralia," but HealthSouth wouldn't be interested in opening a clinic there.
The group had mixed emotions about leaving the company, Dempsey said, but in 1999, they decided the timing was right to break away and start their own clinics.
"What pushed us to start Peak was that the demand was there, we knew we could do it," Dempsey said.
Less than a year after opening the first three clinics, one of the former HealthSouth group, Peak Performance co-founder Bob Schaal, opened an office in Centralia in January 2000. Schaal had worked as the pediatric physical therapist for the Centralia school district and knew there was demand for services there. That fall, clinics in Fayette and California opened, and facilities in Marshall and Ashland followed in 2001.
The next year, Peak expanded beyond rehab and added a sports performance component to the business by purchasing the Frappier Acceleration Sports Training program and running it in the Columbia market.
In 2004, Schaal became president of the physical therapy division of Nueterra Healthcare, and Shaon Fry and Todd Ankenman became full partners of the Peak Performance franchise.
Dempsey said the partners knew they likely would expand into Centralia soon after opening the first three clinics, but after that they just followed demand.
"We'll never say ‘no' to anything," he said. "We'll at least take a look at it. It depends on the area and the marketplace. … If the demand and the desire is there, we can do whatever we need to do. Sean, Todd and I, we'll three of us sit down and decide whether to do it. The group of three is working well."
Fry spent his first six years with Peak at the Jefferson City clinic but often would travel to fill in where needed. Fry has been treating injured backs, ankles, wrists and shoulders since he received a bachelor's degree in physical therapy from the University of Missouri.
As a wrestler in high school and college, Fry grew up in gyms, surrounded by athletic trainers.
"I've been around training rooms, and that piqued my interest in the field," he said. "I'm also kind of a workout guy, so it all went hand in hand."
After graduation, he worked in Kansas City for a few years, but he made his way back to Columbia and began to treat patients at HealthSouth before helping to start up Peak Performance.
Now, he often will come into a new clinic to get it up and running. Fry will be the point person for the new clinic sharing a building with the urgent care clinic.
When emergency physicians Jason Zerrer and Scott Schultz decided to establish the urgent care center to treat people with injuries and illnesses that weren't serious enough for the emergency room, they decided to look for a physical therapy business to share space in their building.
It's against Missouri law for a doctor and physical therapy business to be financially connected, but Schultz said having a nearby therapy business would be a plus for the urgent care center.
"Pain, back sprains, acute illnesses, that will be our bread and butter, and" physical therapy "fits into that," Shultz said. "It's been proven in multiple papers that physical therapy for back or joint pain gets you feeling better quicker."
Schultz said he did some research around town to seek out a clinic partner and Peak Performance came in at the top of the list. "Peak offered the best services in town," he said.
Patients from his clinic can go anywhere for therapy once he writes a prescription, Schultz said, but one of his recommendations will be to see Fry at Peak Performance.
"Shaon will be working there, and he can tell me how things are going," he said. "We will be working closely to get our patients better quicker."
Schultz said he has never heard a complaint about the technical skills of Peak Performance therapists, and he sees the outlying clinics as a bonus for his patients who might not live in Columbia.
"They are just good people," Schultz said. "They are friendly, nice and get things done quickly."
With several hospitals, medical centers and health-related courses at local universities and colleges, the competition in the physical therapy market is tough.
Dempsey said Peak attracts patients through word-of-mouth, repeat business and physician referrals.
"My job is to make you want to come see us, not force you to come," he said. "That's my driving thing when I am out in public, and I like to think a percentage of our business comes that way, too."
Maggie Rush has suffered two injuries that needed physical therapy. She decided on Peak because of the positive experience her son had after a high school baseball injury.
Rush lives in Holts Summit but works in Jefferson City. She said either the Fulton or Jefferson City clinics would have been convenient for her, but she chose the Jefferson City location.
"When I had a torn rotator cuff, that's who I went to to get therapy," Rush said. "They are very friendly people, really personable, and they cared about you as a patient."
Therapy was sometimes painful, Rush said, but the therapists were encouraging and supportive. "The motivation was there," she said. "You go through it three or four times a week, and you're going to see results out of this."
Reach Sara Semelka at 573-815-1717 or e-mail ssemelka@columbiatribune.com.
This article was published on page A9 of the Saturday, August 1, 2009 edition of The Columbia Daily Tribune.
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