Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivy Schantz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
After graduate school, I got my first job as a Pediatric Speech Therapist at a wonderful outpatient pediatric hospital. While I loved the patients that I worked with and learned so much from the other professionals there, I did not like working on the policies and high productivity requirements of the hospital.
I felt like it impacted my ability to offer the children and families that I worked with the personal attention and level of care that they deserved. This is what motivated me to ultimately start my own private practice, Wellesley Pediatric Speech Therapy.
When I started the practice, I drove all over Boston and it’s surrounding suburbs to evaluate and treat children at their homes. My car trunk was filled with games and toys for use during therapy and I bought every new speech therapy app that came out.
I spent my days in the homes of my clients and my nights trying to figure out all of the information necessary to submit claims to insurance companies, building a website, and figuring out how to use accounting software.
Although this was a very stressful and exhausting time, I learned so much and made such strong relationships with these children and their families, some of which I still work with today. From doing home visits, I was able to save up enough money and build up a large enough caseload to afford office space in Wellesley; it was the perfect central location for all of the clients that I had been treating in their homes.
Over the last 7 years, we have outgrown our office space twice and started working with some wonderful occupational therapists that allow us to offer both Speech and Occupational therapy to our clients.
I have been so fortunate to work with such amazing therapists in our practice who truly love what they do and have even become good friends of mine. Wellesley Pediatric Speech Therapy has grown and helped more children and families than I ever would have anticipated,
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Providing therapy and working with children and their families always came easy to me, but learning how to run a business was much more challenging.
Over the years I have spent endless hours learning the ins and outs of a variety of health insurance companies. No two companies are the same and there are so many different plans within one insurance company.
I always worked hard to get therapy covered for my clients or at the very least provide families with all the information they need to know about getting their child’s therapy covered.
Also, selecting and learning electronic medical record, practice management, credit card processing, and accounting software programs were always confusing and challenging for me.
I wanted to make sure that we were using high-quality products that helped our business run smoothly and efficiently. Reading about these products and their contracts was like reading a foreign language for me.
Lastly, I have been so fortunate to work with such amazing therapists and staff over the years, but it was never easy going through the interview, hiring, and contract signing process.
Again, I wanted to make sure that I was making the right decisions for myself, the practice, and our clients.
Please tell us about Wellesley Pediatric Speech Therapy.
We are a private pediatric speech therapy practice. We offer evaluations, individual treatment, and group treatment. We specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of toddlers, preschool, elementary, middle school and high school children with speech, language, articulation and social/pragmatic delays and disorders. Each child will receive individual treatment plans to meet their needs and goals.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I am the oldest of 4 kids, and after having 2 younger brothers, I was beyond thrilled when my baby sister was born. I remember always wanting to take care of her.
I would read her books, sing her songs and when she was old enough I would dress her up and do her hair. I always loved playing with and caring for children. It is a major reason that I chose to work in pediatrics for my career.
Contact Info:
- Address: 65 Walnut Street Suite 580 Wellesley, MA 02481
- Website: wellesleyspeech.com
- Phone: 617-489-3697
- Email: ivy.schantz@wellesleyspeech.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Wellesley-Pediatric-Speech-Therapy-179567885430506/?ref=bookmarks
Image Credit:
SLY Photography
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