The road from Hammond to Zachary was winding and narrow, and I was glad to emerge from a tiring drive into a quaint small city. I easily found Lane Regional Medical Center on Main St., and it was a three story hospital that offered more than its facade allowed.
My friend Amanda Weilbaecher Partin, PT was a couple of years behind me in PT school. She and her husband Jason, who worked with me at LSUHSC-Sh and also was a couple of years behind me in PT school are now residing in Zachary and raising their 2 young sons. They both accompanied me to the wedding of a mutual friend in Pennsylvania the week before.
Amanda works in acute care at Lane and she is now PRN there, but usually works close to 40 hours a week. I met her on the third floor and she was documenting on computer patient care from the day, but graciously took me on the grand tour of this 137 bed hospital. She helps cover acute care with another PRN PT and a full-time PTA.
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| Jason and Amanda Partin |
We walked across the parking lot to the outpatient clinic where I met Joy Petty, PT; Delois Brent, PT; and Bruce Williams who is an experienced tech. Those two therapists were PRN in outpatient, and are from Zachary. Neither were members, but Delois told me she was going to join that very evening. (I hope she did.) Amanda and Jason have let their membership drop and I encouraged at least one of them to re-join to help them in their practices.
In another building separate from the hospital, Amanda took me to the rehab unit where I met Jessica Davis, PT and a speech and occupational therapist. Jessica said she recognized me from the Facebook page, but is not a member. Again I encouraged membership.
Next stop on our walking tour was husband Jason Partin, PT's clinic, which is a POPTS that is fairly new in Zachary. Jason works there with Kathleen Neal, PT and that afternoon they were not too busy. Jason tells me that the orthopedist group out of Baton Rouge that owns this clinic does not refer every patient to this clinic. He is guaranteed a salary and for him this is working right now. They utilize e-documentation from Therapy Source and he likes the program.
After I'd had the full tour of this area handing out informational sheets and promoting membership, I did have a couple of clinics in Zachary I wanted to visit as well. But, it was a Friday afternoon in a small town, and I found both Moreau Physical Therapy and Kleinpeter Physical Therapy closed for the afternoon. I left an info sheet and my card in the door of those 2 clinics and hoped they got them after the weekend.
I drove back to Shreveport as darkness fell. Thinking about my whirlwind week in New Orleans and the Northshore, I realized how many therapists and assistants there are serving the public in our great state. Clinics differ, hospitals are different sizes and have different amenities, communities span the gamut from indigent to wealthy, but there we are in all these communities, working, practicing our craft, serving. People need us to help them out of bed the first time after open heart surgery, educating them on sternal precautions and ensuring that they remain physiologically stable for their first walk. People need us when their back hurts so bad they cannot work or move, to educate them on pain reduction exercises and to place hands on to heal. Babies need us to work on feeding and positioning, educating mothers and fathers on proper techniques to help baby grow and thrive. The elderly need us to help them adapt to the changes the body goes through as it ages, to keep them safe from falling and to care for them at home.
Our profession is unique and we as therapists need to own that distinctiveness. What we do is rare, special, and healing. We are one of a kind, and without fail, I have seen evidence of that on my travels across the state so far. I am blessed beyond measure to be serving you for the next three years. I hope I can rise to the challenge!
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