Business Spotlight: Experience wellness at Ascent’s new location

Great minds think alike, often sharing a similar vision.

That’s one reason why Ascent Physical Therapy owners Kevin and Tammie Bigley decided to moved their successful practice into a shared spaced owned by Victoria Melhuish, M.D., of Sierra Foot and Ankle in South Carson City.

“We knew Vicky both professionally and in social circles,” Kevin Bigley said. “When we were looking, we heard that she was looking also, so we contacted her, had some conversations, and it ended up working out for both of us.”

Bigley said Ascent Physical Therapy’s focus on patient wellness is consistent with Dr. Melhuish’s vision of treatment, too. So both practices existing under the same roof just seemed like an obvious fit.

“That’s where we really want to grow is in the wellness area,” he said. “Being here with Vicky that allows us to do this, because that’s an area she wants to grow into as well.”

The Bigleys moved their practice to 2350 South Carson Street in April of this year, leaving behind a space in the North Town Plaza off North Carson Street where they had been for about 13 years.

Kevin Bigley said the decision to move had most to do with controlling the practice’s overhead costs, which were increasing because of new health care laws and declining reimbursement.

It didn’t help that traffic in the North Town Plaza shopping center had slowed considerably in recent years, he said.

“We were looking at ways to try and control our overhead, and have the flexibility to manage changes in the current health care system, especially declining reimbursement," he said. “Our overhead was increasing over there, and it didn’t have the same traffic flows as it had in its earlier years.”

Bigley said changes in the law and insurance practices have made it hard to provide the sort of one-on-one care that Ascent Physical Therapy has aspired to while operating in Carson City.

But sharing a 6,200 square foot space owned by Sierra Foot and Ankle affords the Bigleys the flexibility they need to keep their focus on wellness and 1:1 patient care.

“To really have that one on one with the patient, we needed to control our overhead costs,” Kevin Bigley said. “This gives us the flexibility to practice the way we want to practice, which is one-on-one hands-on care.”

Ascent Physical Therapy rents out three treatment rooms from Sierra Foot and Ankle, he said, and also utilizes an upstairs space for its rehabilitation services. A studio off the main floor gives Ascent the space to hold yoga, core line and other classes, too.

Ascent Physical Therapy offers diversified services within its practice, all part of its focus on patient wellness, a three-part approach to service, Bigley said.

There’s rehab, of course, that promotes healing. But there’s also nutrition, massage therapy and exercise classes that help patients stay well.

“Get well, stay well, live well. That’s the continuity of care that we want to stick with,” Bigley said. “Get well is when someone comes in with an injury and we work on fixing them. We also want to provide services for them to stay healthy, like the classes, the nutrition, the massage therapy. That’s the stay well part.”

The Bigleys also actively promote and put on trail running events around the area, he said, encouraging people to participate in the live well dynamic of their wellness program.

“The live well part provides them the opportunity to go out and live a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

This wellness dynamic, which increases the care a patient receives and also helps reduce the risks of the need for chronic medical attention, is not a model commonly practiced by physical therapy clinics, by and large, Bigley said.

“Usually in a physical therapy practice, you fix somebody and then they’re out the door,” he said. “The idea is to get them not to come back to us in the get well stage again.”

Bigley said physical therapy practices are now beginning to move in the direction of wellness, but it’s still not a concept widely used yet.

“Some clinics are starting to move in this direction, but we’ve been doing this for 2-3 years now and we’re always trying to expand the services that we have,” he said. “We’re ahead of the curve on that.”

Ascent Physical Therapy offers a formalized wellness program to its clients, Bigley said.

An annual membership gives them access to one-on-one care from a physical therapist, opportunities to participate in a range of exercise classes held in the on-site studio, nutrition services, as well as discounts on massage therapy performed on location, too.

“We’re all about helping people get well and stay healthy,” he said. “It’s always rewarding to get somebody better. But it’s even more rewarding helping them stay better, and to be there as that guidance or reference for the patient once they move beyond their injuries.”

For more information about the services offered at Ascent Physical Therapy, visit its web site here, or call 775-885-9965.