Dr. Jill Murphy was very happy with the first decade of her career, having had an opportunity to practice as a physical therapist, licensed athletic trainer, and strength and conditioning specialist, and then "retire" to practicing as just a physical therapist in a friendly, hospital out-patient department when the first baby came along. However, practicing part time without the ability to have a direct impact on changing and improving the care her patients received on a daily basis became a limitation. Faced with the decision to continue with the status quo or move up into middle management and no longer treat patients hands-on, Dr. Murphy had to find another option that allowed for continuous improvement of the patient experience while still treating patients on a daily basis.
While treating for ten years in several hospital systems' out-patient physical therapy departments, Dr. Murphy recognized that physical therapists could offer so much more to patients if not restrained by bureaucratic red tape that serves as a barrier to change in larger insitutions. Things like being open early to treat patients at a time that won't make them late to work or force patients to use vacation time or lunch time to attend physical therapy. Private treatment rooms and comforts like dimmer switches in rooms where patients are lying on their back staring into bright lights when being treated for things like migraines and chronic pain. Care provided by one physical therapist for the whole visit and throughout the continuum of care, without pressure to hand off patients to other providers with less training and experience. And what if a patient couldn't make it to the clinic on a weekday but needed to be seen? What if the patient experience could be enhanced, with spa-like surroundings, relaxing music selected by the patient, and a play area too keep kids occupied if needed during mom or dad's visit?
Better yet, what if the general public could learn more about what physical therapists have to offer? What if moms knew that physical therapy could help eradicate daily headaches they have been suffering with for years? What if the general public knew that physical therapists provide a complete treatment plan for low back pain and neck pain, providing symptomatic relief and long-term solutions with manual therapy AND stabilization exercises and prescriptive exercises designed to correct movement dysfunction to get rid of pain and keep it from coming back? What if people knew that physical therapits can treat TMJ dysfunction, balance issues, and vertigo, offering quick symptom relief and long term solutions? What if a physical therapy clinic could offer an urgent headache care clinic to give patients with headaches and migraines a valid alternative to the "administer drugs and get patients out before the headache returns" approach of emergency rooms?
So many little things, little changes, that could make physical therapy more available, accessible, and comfortable for patients - changes that just could not get done in larger physical therapy institutions - are what drove Dr. Murphy to create a new pardigm for physical therapy. In a small, physical therapist owned private out-patient physical therapy practice, Dr. Murphy was able to improve access to care with initial appointments in 24 hours, enable marketing of unique services direct to consumers, and provide physical therapy in a comfortable environment specifically designed to promote healing- all while ensuring that every patient received the highest quality physical therapy services available in the Fox Valley. At the same time, she also made many job shadowing and physical therapy student internships available for students wishing to learn more about the sports medicine and physical therapy profession. Dr. Murphy's philosophy in business is to ask "Why not?" or "Why can't we?" instead of finding excuses for not improving patient care. Recognizing that pursuing excellence in care is an on-going endeavor, MotionWorks Physical Therapy is open to change and making continuous improvements to continue meeting our patients' highest expectations for their physical therapy care.
Five years later, the Fox Valley community has discovered the unique, patient-centered physical therapy services that MotionWorks has to offer, recommending MotionWorks to friends and family, neighbors and co-workers, making MotionWorks Physical Therapy a resounding success. MotionWorks Physical Therapy patients love their physical therapy care and look forward to physical therapy visits, knowing they are trusting their care to the right hands and being treated in the right place. Our physical therapists work every day to live up to these high expectations of individualized patient care and tailored treatments that go well beyond a simple protocol, making Dr. Murphy's idealistic dream of what physical therapy could be a workable reality right here in Neenah. Thank you to our patients for entrusting us with the physical therapy needs for themselves and their families, and to the physicians who have discovered our high quality, personalized approach to patient care and and refer their patients, friends, and family for our unique physical therapy services.