One of the largest providers of physical therapy in the state is opening a location in Ooltewah on Monday.
"We don't go into a community until we find the right person," said Marty Blair, partner with STAR Physical Therapy, based in Franklin, Tenn. "Our business model has been successful based on finding the right person."
STAR Physical Therapy runs about 65 clinics in Tennessee. It launched its first clinic in Franklin in 1997.
James Gose will be the director and sole practitioner of the Ooltewah clinic. The location, 5572 Little Debbie Pkwy., will have one other employee, an office manager. STAR hopes Gose's clinic will increase to three or four practitioners, Blair said.
Gose has been a licensed physical therapist for 25 years and holds a doctorate degree and a bachelor's degree in physical therapy, as well as a bachelor's degree in human physiology from the University of Tennessee, according to a biography supplied by STAR.
Gose, who lives in Ooltewah, had worked with Life Care and "wanted to branch out on his own," Blair said. Gose was out of the country and unreachable for comment on Wednesday.
STAR's business model calls for its 11 partners (all of whom are physical therapists, except Blair) to have ownership stakes in the clinics and for directors to own part of their own clinics, Blair said. Generally, physical therapists seek out STAR instead of STAR recruiting them, he said.
STAR helps open the clinics, and then handles all administrative matters for each location -- legal, human resources, billing -- so that practitioners can focus on caring for patients. The financial terms for locations differ, Blair said.
According to STAR's own research, it is the largest provider of physical therapy in Tennessee when measured by number of practitioners and clinics. The company employs close to 300 people. The company also said it's the largest provider of athletic trainers to colleges and high schools in the state.
The closest STAR location to Chattanooga now is in Manchester.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406. Follow her on Twitter @MitraMalek.