When Ashlee Roderick and her husband bought Healing Motion Physical Therapy in 2019, she had been working for four years as a physical therapist at its only location, in Philomath.
Her husband, Stephen, worked at Garmin Aviation in Salem.
The couple knew the owner was looking to sell the therapy practice. They wanted to prevent it from being sold to a large corporation and preserve the “small, private practice feel,” Roderick said.
At the time, Roderick wanted to better balance work with family life, and have schedule flexibility.
“If we did well with the business, then I could probably step away from some clinic care and have a lot more flexibility,” Roderick said.
Six years later, the couple plans to open their seventh clinic in Keizer by next March. The Keizer location of Healing Motion will be at 4710 N. River Road, where The Maze Consignment Shop used to be located.
Roderick described the business’s growth as thoughtful, for the “betterment of our current team” as well as providing leadership opportunities to those who will operate them. The couple considers demand, real estate opportunities, and where the person who will lead it is based when determining new locations.
She and her husband emphasize hiring the right person for the role, and have only moved forward with a new clinic after finding a suitable person to lead it. Individuals hired to run a clinic are either already on staff or found through mutual connections.
“I never want to be a big corporation. I’m very resistant to turning into this big corporation feeling, and so I’m always hesitant on growth,” Roderick said.
She recognizes the need to expand to allow those operating the clinics to have the opportunities to collaborate and grow.
The Keizer clinic will be run by physical therapist Brady Whetten, a Keizer resident who has practiced in Salem for his 17 years in the field. Whetten worked at Northwest Rehabilitation Associates prior to joining Healing Motion, and has been working at Healing Motion’s Salem location since October to learn the business before leading the new clinic.
“I’m excited to be able to really establish and grow this clinic in this community that I love, and to bring excellent care,” Whetten said.
Whetten believes Healing Motion is unique for allowing patients to work solely with their physical therapist during sessions, rather than going through exercises with assistants.
Initially, Whetten will be the only provider at the clinic, and other providers will be hired as client count grows.
Whetten has worked with a range of patients, from student athletes with concussions to the person with back pain.
He specializes in working with neurologic physical therapy, treating those needing assistance with balance, walking, dizziness or those that have had concussions, as well as geriatric patients.
“Those are some of my favorite individuals to work with,” Whetten said on working with older adults. “To work with them and provide some hope for a better day, a little better function, a little better quality of life.”
Whetten’s residency and connections in Keizer is part of the reason for choosing the city for a new clinic, Roderick said.
Healing Motion clinics are located in Corvallis, Albany, Philomath and Eugene.
Roderick said they hope to open Salem locations.
“It just builds synergy and allows us to serve a lot more people more effectively and makes the operators more successful,” Roderick said.
NEWS TIP? Contact reporter Krista Kroiss at [email protected].
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