Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Craigen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Emily. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I am a doctor of physical therapy with 11 years of experience working in an outpatient orthopedic setting. I started working for a smaller company 11 years ago when I first got out of school because I really valued a patient centered approach to treatment. Back then, health care was so different and we were able to provide a more personalized treatment session for our patients and do what the patient needed! Over the years, that company that I originally worked for transitioned through 2 different corporate mergers. Unfortunately, as the size of the company grew with the mergers the patient centered values fell to the side. Healthcare today has become so much more about volume and “the bottom line” and less about treating the patient. I just didn’t align myself with these ideals anymore and I wanted to find a way to provide a more patient centered approach for my patients. That is why in 2015, I started my personal journey to open my own physical therapy company. Crystal Lake Physical Therapy Inc. opened for business in May 2016 and was opened on one major premise… that we treat every patient the best way possible! We provide full 1 one on one treatment with each patient for a full hour and we only hire licensed physical therapists for our staff. We also accept all major medical insurance. As a result, our patients get better so much faster! I can now rest easy at night when I sleep, because no longer am I participating in a “herd like” volume maximizing mentality of health care that is so commonly embraced by the corporations of today, but instead I am providing my local community a place where they can receive physical therapy treatment that they deserve! Our community loves it too because we have grown so quickly that we actually opened our 2nd location and sister company Huntley Physical Therapy Inc. in August 2016!
Has it been a smooth road?
Honestly, the road has been bumpy at times but overall quite smooth. There were some issues in the beginning when the doors of Crystal Lake Physical Therapy Inc first opened because the large corporation that I originally worked for really wasn’t happy about our growing success. We became their local competition quite quickly and as a result they lashed out with some threats and attempts to file law suits without any grounds in hopes of scaring us enough that we might close our doors. I am happy to say that it didn’t work! I pride myself on treating patients the best way possible and also doing business the right way.
We have also been very blessed to have the support of our local community as well as other local physician referral sources. As it turns out, I believe that quite a few people also share the same feelings that I did… that the services in the physical therapy industry that were available to our community in Crystal Lake, IL just weren’t cutting it. They wanted better and now I am happy to say that we can provide it!
It was also a bit scary at the beginning of this journey! Being a mother of 2 young children (ages 5 and 8) and a wife, I already had quite a bit on my plate working full time as a staff physical therapist. So, taking the plunge to open my own facility was definitely a step outside of my comfort zone initially. However, the more footsteps I took towards the finish line of opening my clinic the better and “more right” it felt. The risks were definitely worth it!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Crystal Lake Physical Therapy story. Tell us more about the business.
Our company is called Crystal Lake Physical Therapy Inc. and we provide outpatient orthopedic physical therapy services to the community in Crystal Lake, IL. While we primarily see orthopedic diagnoses (pretty much anything from head to toe), we also provide specialty services regarding Men’s and Women’s health and pelvic floor physical therapy to address urinary incontinence and pelvic pain. We are different because we offer a full hour session for each of our patients with one on one attention the entire time from a licensed and skilled physical therapist. We don’t hire any unlicensed staff! As a result, we truly believe that our patients get better faster. We also provide our skilled services while still accepting all major medical insurance. I am one of 4 physical therapists that work in our Crystal Lake facility and we recently opened up another sister company called Huntley Physical Therapy Inc. in Huntley, IL. We currently have 1 physical therapist practicing there and are looking to expand our employee base soon as our volume continues to grow in our new location. We are known for providing excellent service, quality care and superior results to each of our patients.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Honestly, I see a big shift towards “getting smaller” in the industry. What I mean by that, is that the consumers of health care aren’t happy with the way things are going these days. Please want something better, especially when it comes to their personal health care. I see a gradual shift away from the big corporations and back towards the local “mom and pop” type facilities. Because that is where the best care will be provided. Insurance reimbursement is definitely the wild card in all of this though. As further monetary cuts and continued increases in restrictions are implemented across the board, accepting insurance as full payment for services may eventually become an issue in the years to come, however, we are planning on working with this current system as long as possible in order to provide the best care for our patients.
Pricing:
- Self pay rate if you don’t have insurance is $150
Contact Info:
- Address: Crystal Lake Physical Therapy Inc.
530 Rockland Rd., Ste 500
Crystal Lake, IL 60014 - Website: www.CrystalLakePT.com
- Phone: (815)893-8480
- Email: emily.craigen@crystallakept.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrystalLakePT/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crystal-lake-physical-therapy-crystal-lake?osq=Crystal+Lake+Physical+Therapy+Inc
- Other: www.HuntleyPT.com
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