Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Akincilar.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elizabeth. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Spurred on by our desire to make a difference in the arena of pelvic floor physical therapy, my business partner, Stephanie Prendergast, and I opened the doors to the first location of the Pelvic Health and Rehabilitation Center (PHRC) in San Francisco in July 2006. Today, over the last 10 years we have been heavily involved in teaching nationally and internationally to medical professionals and the community about pelvic floor disorders, we’ve contributed to several medical journals and medical text books, and have written our own book, Pelvic Pain Explained. As a company we’ve grown quite a bit. With lots of hard work, business education, and lots of mistakes, we’ve grown from a company of 2 people in one location to 19 in 5 locations. PHRC now has five locations in San Francisco, Berkeley, Los Gatos, Los Angeles and Lexington, MA with 8 pelvic floor physical therapists.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The lack of business education in physical therapy school really put us at a disadvantage as we opened our private practice. We knew how to treat our patients but had no idea how to run a business, manage people, or market our skills. We had to make a lot of mistakes before committing to seeking our own business education with a business coach.
Pelvic Health And Rehab Center – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
One of the things that makes our clinic unique is that as physical therapists we focus solely on the pelvic floor and pelvic girdle muscles. The benefit of our focus is that it has allowed us to establish a deep well of experience that we are able to draw from when treating this complex part of the anatomy.
Another thing that sets us apart is the multidisciplinary treatment approach we embrace. Gynecologists, urologists, gastroenterologists, orthopedists, pain management specialists, psychologists, acupuncturists, among others, are all specialists that have a role to play in treating the pelvic floor. So when developing a treatment plan for a patient, our therapists draw from all appropriate medical disciplines.
Through the years we have worked hard at PHRC to foster relationships with providers throughout the country who treat pelvic floor dysfunction. As a result, when developing a treatment plan for our patients, we are able to include these providers.
Once a patient’s treatment team is in place, we embrace the role of “CEO” of the team. In this role, we communicate and coordinate with the other members of the team. The reason we take on this role is that we believe that in order for a multidisciplinary treatment plan to be successful, there must be one provider at the helm of the ship. And since we are the provider who will spend the most time with the patient, it makes sense for us to tackle the job!
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Excellent patient care, contributing to our field of medicine, providing a positive and satisfying work environment for myself and my employees and maintaining a healthy work life balance.
Contact Info:
- Address: 33 Bedford St Ste 3
Lexington MA 02420 - Website: Www.pelvicpainrehab.com
- Phone: 7818625222
- Email: elizabeth@pelvicpainrehab.com
- Instagram: @pelvichealth
- Facebook: @pelvicpainphysicaltherapy
- Twitter: @pelvichealth
- Other: Pelvicpainrehab.com/blog
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