Holyoke, Mass. - Being able to give patients one-on-one physical therapy is a priority for Dr. Katrina Banks. It’s a main reason she started her own physical therapy practice and through Venture X Holyoke Holyoke she’s able to continue to help patients recover.

Banks started Neurologic Optimal Wellness Physical Therapy in 2020 as a mobile practice, then opened a dedicated in-person clinic at Venture X Holyoke.  

“People can come to a very nice comfortable space, and I have more tools and modality in the clinic than I could have on the road,” she said. “Everybody raves about my space.”

By being a part of the Venture X Holyoke coworking facility, she’s able to have a gym area specifically for physical therapy, then a separate private office for paperwork and managerial tasks.  

“I don’t do any documentation in front of patients,” she said. “Any time I’m spending with them is their entire time.”

The separate private office is an ideal option by being a part of Venture X Holyoke as she can use the space for confidential meetings and private calls. It allows her office manager to contact insurance companies and have conversations away from patients. 

Banks has discovered that being a medical-focused practice surrounded by coworking businesses in other fields benefits everyone.

“It feels good to be amongst other business owners,” she said. “I like to be a part of that community. I know I’m not alone.”

Having the clinic gives her options beyond what she could provide with mobile physical therapy. She has more equipment to help patients and an ultrasound machine, and soon will offer infrared therapy.

Educating Patients

Banks believes in the importance of education and incorporates that into her physical therapy sessions, something that can be lacking in larger facilities when physical therapists may be seeing multiple patients during a session. Educating clients on preventative measures along with health and wellness can help them beyond the physical therapy.

She comes from a place of understanding the struggles to stay healthy. Once overweight and pre-diabetic, Banks changed her lifestyle to motivate others.

“I knew I had to be healthy in order to tell someone else to be healthy,” she said. “It motivates me to help others to regain their quality of life.”

Banks prefers to provide one-to-one care, which she feels makes a big difference as sometimes therapists can see up to four people in an hour.

“When I was working for another hospital, I didn’t have a lot of time to spend with people and educating them,” she said. “You get gypped out of that quality care.”

She is a licensed physical therapist, board certified neurological physical therapist, stroke rehabilitation specialist and certified as a Parkinsons’ Wellness Recovery therapist among other certifications.

Neurological Patient Focus

Education is of particular importance while working with patients whose lives were changed due to a neurologic event. It’s a reason Banks became a physical therapist from both a personal and professional perspective, starting when she watched her aunt in physical therapy after suffering a stroke.

“That got me thinking about the brain and how the brain works,” she said.

After being in the physical therapy world for more than a decade, she realized that those who were impacted by neurological events needed more continued care and special tools once they were discharged.  

With limited options of specialized care for these people, she opened NOW PT to give them this individualized care.

“I can teach them techniques right then and there, and I can correct them right then and there,” she said. Neurological disorders can impact memory, which makes this one-to-one attention critical.

One-to-one also gives her the opportunity to really get to know and understand each patient and focus on their specific goals.

“Whatever they want to get back to doing, I include it in their plan of care and we work on it in the clinic,” she said. “I make things very practical for them.”

Banks still offers a mobile option for patients, but those who transition to the clinic discover the benefits of her Venture X Holyoke location with easy accessibility and plenty of free parking in a light and welcoming facility.

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