Date opened: Excel Rehab and Sports' North Shore clinic opened in September 2017, followed by the Hixson location in June 2018.
Background: Jeremy Shook, owner of Excel's Chattanooga clinics, spent nearly 20 years working as a physical therapist for corporate clinics in Chattanooga. "They were not allowing me to treat the way I wanted to treat, with corporate pressures to make a lot of money," he said of his previous employers. Shook's college roommate, who opened the first Excel 11 years ago in Clemson, South Carolina, invited him to work at one of his now three Clemson clinics. Instead, Shook decided to open his own Excel clinics in Chattanooga.
What makes Excel unique: "Every decision" - from the frequency in which patients come in for therapy, to when they are discharged, to what equipment is purchased for the clinic - is based solely on patient need rather than the company's bottom line, said Shook. Patients also see the same therapist at each visit, whereas many clinics will put patients with whomever's available at the time, he added. "The ultimate goal is for our patients to get back to life as quickly as possible and as cost effectively as possible," Shook said.
Quality of care: Only physical therapists treat patients at Excel, as opposed to allowing physical therapy assistants to treat patients as is common in many clinics, he said. Unlike physical therapy assistants, licensed physical therapists can make modifications to a patient's plan of care and do evaluations.
Each clinic is currently staffed by two physical therapists, and a third will join the North Shore location at the beginning of 2019, said Shook. Three out of the four therapists currently working at Excel clinics are certified in manual therapy, including Shook, who also holds an orthopedic clinical specialist certification. Only 13 percent of physical therapists nationwide are certified in that area, and only 6 percent hold two certifications, he said.
Future plans: Shook, a resident of the Highway 58 area, hopes to open at least one more clinic in the Chattanooga area, which will likely be in East Brainerd or Ooltewah.
More information: The North Shore clinic is at 313 Manufacturers Road, Suite C 215, and the Hixson clinic is at 2 Northgate Park, 2158 Northgate Park Lane, Suite 200. Both can be reached at 254-5461.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com