Today we’d like to introduce you to Emma Faulkner.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Emma. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I’ve been a practicing physical therapist in Atlanta for five years. I had been working at some prominent clinics in the city, but was constantly frustrated with commercial insurances and limitations from higher up the corporate ladder. I didn’t feel like I was able to give my patients the very best care within these constraints. Before TriHealth, I never considered being a business owner. Even in PT school I had been adamant that I would not ever own my own clinic because my goal was to become the physical therapist for a professional ballet company. I started TriHealth as an out-of-network, concierge, practice that provided in-home, in-studio or in-theater care for my clients, many of whom were dancers. I chose to open my business as an out-of-network practice because I did not want to be limited by insurances while trying to provide my clients exactly what they needed. I did this for a little over a year which juggling multiple other PT jobs until finally my client base had grown to the point that traveling to clients all over the metro was taking up too much of my productive time and I was not able to see the amount of people that I wanted. I started looking for a commercial space to become TriHealth’s permanent home and happened upon this quirky little spot in Downtown Decatur. I was less than two miles from four different dance organizations and was the perfect spot to set myself up for easy accessibility. I’ve also been able to be a contract physical therapist for Atlanta Ballet, Staibdance, and other companies/studios in the city. Now I’m working out of my own space and able to take the one-one-one time with my clients like I always wanted.
Has it been a smooth road?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road! There have been many bumps, potholes, and even a few giant craters that have made it a challenge. Luckily, I have a wonderful group of mentors in the PT world that have also gone through the process of opening a private practice and they were there to support me every step of the way. I was unable to stop my other jobs of being a PT and teaching to go directly into a full private practice, so initially it was a challenge to schedule TriHealth patients around my other jobs. For the first year I was frequently working 12 hours days and working seven days a week. Once I found my permanent home, I thought things would become simpler. Unfortunately, I opened my office just a month prior to the onslaught of COVID-19 and the city shutting down. Being a manual therapist, meaning frequently being hands on with my clients, I felt it the safest decision to close my doors and protect my clients. This definitely took a toll on my business, as well as my sanity! Things are looking up now, and my doors are back open. I’m ready to see where this adventure goes from here!
Please tell us about the company.
TriHealth Physical Therapy is an out-of-network, private physical therapy practice that specializes in treating dancers and performing artists, myofascial pain and musculoskeletal injuries. Mostly, I’m known my being one of the few physical therapists in the area that are highly trained in dance medicine. I was a dancer for over 25 years and had some significant injuries that were detrimental to my dance career. I’ve made it my professional mission to help other dancers not end up having an injury derail their dance career. As a company, I am proud of each one of my dancers and clients that get back to their goals and lives. Each time I see a dancer back on stage following an injury, it gives me the “proud mama” feeling. It’s incredible to see what each person I treat can accomplish with a little knowledge about their body, understanding of their injuries and quality physical rehabilitation. TriHealth is proud of offer one-on-one physical therapy and completely individualized treatment plans. I also have a huge network of resources I work with to make sure that my clients are able to get, not only the PT care they require, but also medical care, psychological care, and continued exercise and personal training once they’ve completed the rehab process.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Success to me is simple, it’s an achievement of a goal. It can be a small goal or a large goal. So many people feel that success is some grandiose thing that difficult to obtain. I think if we put “success” on such a high pedestal it’s going to impossible for most people to recognize their success when it’s right in front of them. I used to see success like this, something you must suffer to achieve and something barely one notch below perfection. Using this definition, I never felt successful! I looked around at all the people in my life that I consider successful and saw that they were not reaching for perfection but just reaching for their next goal. I started to measure successes as they came instead of making it my end goal. Now I set small goals, medium goals, and larger, long-term goals so that I can see the successes as they happen. I teach my patients to do the same thing. Sometimes it’s hard to see how far you’ve come and how much you’ve achieved if you are using success as just an end point.
Pricing:
- Initial Evaluation $150
- Hour one-one-one session $140
Contact Info:
- Address: 215 Church Street Suite 101
Decatur, GA 30030 - Website: trihealthphysicaltherapy.com
- Phone: (404) 594-2022
- Email: emma@
trihealthphysicaltherapy.com - Instagram: trihealthpt
- Facebook: facebook.com/TriHealthPT
Image Credit:
Synapse Photography
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