Your Healthcare Connection: Olympia Orthoapedic Associates Physical Therapy Gets your Life in Motion

Olympia Orthopaedic Associates
The PT team at the Westside clinic is led by director Kate Sisco (pictured third from the left front row). Photo credit: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates

The field of Physical Therapy has changed and evolved over time in response to changing medical procedures, and patient needs. Whether you are rehabilitating post-surgery, strengthening muscles in preparation for surgery or simply needing therapeutic stretching and flexibility work, the Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Physical Therapy clinics are ready for you. The group’s number one goal? Helping you get your “Life in Motion”.

Spread throughout nearby Thurston County, OOA’s three clinics offer comprehensive service for patients being seen within the orthopaedic group or not. The Westside Clinic, near Capital Medical Center, the Eastside Clinic near Providence Saint Peter Hospital and the newest clinic, located in Hawks Prairie area of Lacey, all provide full PT services.

Olympia Orthopaedic Associates
Working in tandem with OOA’s surgeons and staff, the PT team members can be responsive to changing patient needs.
Photo credit: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates

The new Lacey clinic is adjacent to the new Rapid Orthopaedic Clinic, or ROC, which serves walk-in, acute orthopaedic injuries. The connection between the two clinics is fluid and offers acute injury patients the option of on-the-spot PT services.

The Westside location is run by Kate Sisco, clinic director and skilled hand therapist. In her role, Sisco ensures a patient’s care team are all on the same page, from the surgical team to a primary care physician to the therapist themselves. “I serve as a liaison between the surgeons here at Oly Ortho and a patient’s therapist, even if they are not within one of our clinics,” Sisco says. “We can provide the best quality of care with consistent protocols because we are all in communication all the time.”

OOA’s unique structure of surgeons and therapists all under one roof allows coordination, consultation and adjustment to individual care plans when needed. Patients feel the difference of the clear and efficient communication resulting in specific and efficient therapy sessions.

Sisco shares the root of OOA PT’s mission is to provide the most convenient care, no matter the location. “We offer what is most convenient for the patient, whether it’s at the Eastside, Westside or Lacey clinic or in a physical therapy clinic outside the OOA family.” A focus on clear communication ensures the best care no matter where the patient is arriving from.

Olympia Orthopaedic Associates
The team at the Eastside OOA Physical Therapy clinic is ready to get your life “Back in Motion”. Photo credit: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates

Lisa Bowling, Clinic Director at the Eastside clinic, agrees. After 38 years in the physical therapy field, she understands the benefits of the OOA structure of physical therapy located within their orthopaedic clinics. “The ultimate benefit is that our therapists are on the front end of the knowledge base. We have direct access to the surgeons and doctors which eases the pathway to more information for concerns related to a patient, developing custom therapy protocols or asking questions on existing protocols. We keep on the front end of their specialty.”

The three clinics are excited about new processes and protocols now in place. The Hawks Prairie clinic is an example of expanding therapy services throughout the county with plans for south county clinics in the works.

Sisco and Bowling team with their PTs to meet all patient needs, including accommodating walk-up patients from the physicians within their own clinics. While some days are jam-packed in the PT department, the therapists work diligently to try and see patients with acute, same-day needs whenever possible.

Within the full Olympia Orthopaedic Associates organization “Centers of Excellence” are being established.  These include Foot and Ankle, Hand and Upper Extremity, Neurosurgery, Spine, Joint Replacement and Sports Medicine.

Specialized equipment partners with highly trained PTs to meet patient's therapy needs. Photo courtesy: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates. Photo credit: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates
Specialized equipment partners with highly trained PTs to meet patient’s therapy needs. Photo courtesy: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates.
Photo credit: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates

“We are hiring specialists,” explains Sisco, “to match with our Centers of Excellence.” These include hand therapy experts as well as a developing team of foot and ankle therapy specialists to match the high-level surgical procedures being offered at the Foot and Ankle Center. “By having PTs with foot and ankle expertise, the therapists can follow post-operative care more precisely and the surgeons and the specialized therapists create close working relationships – real partnerships – within their specialty teams.”

Through their focus on teamwork, the OOA clinics set themselves apart. “It sets us apart from other clinics,” shares Sisco. “If a situation arises with their care, it can be easily addressed. Complications that arise from time to time can be discussed face-to-face with the patient’s surgeon who is usually just down the hall.”

The Westside clinic’s outpatient surgery center is also a plus for the onsite PT clinic. “The PT department has been involved in the Oly Ortho same-day joint replacement program from the get go,” Bowling says. “It’s a real change from the typical rehabilitation after surgery to pre-habilitation model. We are now educating patients and caregivers before their surgery, teaching exercises, training their ‘coach’ or family member, and preparing equipment before-hand.”

Olympia Orthopaedic Associates.
The newest clinic in the OOA physical therapy family is located adjacent to the ROC in Hawks Prairie. Photo courtesy: Olympia Orthopaedic Associates.

Throughout the Olympia Orthopaedic Associates physical Therapy clinics you’ll find therapist who partner with surgical and medical teams to benefit patient care. “We are really proud of the staff we’ve hired for our clinic,” says Bowling. “We have therapists ranging from new graduates to people like me who have been at it for 36 years, all bringing a great diversity of experience that is shared among the team. If we run into an obstacle, we pull together and work as a team. Our communication as a team is one of our strengths and results in the best outcomes for our patients.”

To learn more about Olympia Orthopaedic Associates Physical Therapy, visit them online or call  800-936-3386.