Physical Therapy & Sports Medicine Centers has a simple four-word slogan that it has kept for 24 years.
“PT is for life.”
The Connecticut-based health care company, with 32 locations across the state, offers a range of outpatient physical therapy services. Started by President Alan Balavender in 2000 with an original location in Waterbury, it has grown steadily over the past two decades. The company is planning two additional locations in Manchester and Hamden.
“PT for life is the thread of our culture,” said PTSMC President Alan Balavender. “Years ago we started talking about the idea that physical therapy was often a commodity. People would go to one physical therapist for a shoulder injury, then go to another one for a knee injury. There was a real concern that physical therapy was just six visits and a T-shirt for most people.”
“That really isn’t the way physical therapy should be. Instead, we wanted PT for life to mean if you come to us for physical therapy, we want you to feel comfortable and that you can come to us for all your physical therapy needs. You don’t go to your dentist for one tooth and then go see another dentist for another tooth. We take it as a customer centered approach to everything we do. It’s about living your best life.”
The company has been named one of Greater Hartford’s Top Workplaces in the Courant program for the 14th year. The recognition is based on employee surveys conducted by Energage, as well as information about employee programs and benefits.
PTSMC took first place in the midsize category with 443 employees statewide. The company has 19 locations and 231 employees in the Greater Hartford region.
“What we’re trying to communicate to the communities we serve is that we’re here for you,” Balavender said. “Whether it’s back pain, concern about your endurance or you’re just not moving the way you use to a few years ago, we want to be inclusive and let people know that if we can help you, we will do our very best.”
Balavender, a Connecticut native who grew up in New Britain, said he got his entrepreneurial spirit from him parents. His father owned a small auto repair facility on the same corner for 42 years, while his mother owned and operated a small real estate sales business.
“Together they taught me some valuable life and business fundamentals,” Balavender said. “Two of my older brothers are both physical therapists. I had the experience of playing sports as a kid and ending up in my brother’s clinic as an injured athlete on a couple occasions. So I got to see firsthand the benefits of it and I fell in love with physical therapy as a field.”
Balavender has three guiding life and businesses principals that he said make up the foundation of the company’s culture.
They are:
- Go above and beyond for those you serve.
- Surround yourself with the best and brightest you can find.
- Understand the value of relationships
“I began to put these fundamentals into practice in 2000 when I purchased a single practice, and these life lessons are the foundation of every PTSMC facility. Our mission is to improve the quality of people’s lives by providing unmatched experiences, clinical excellence and lifelong relationships,” Balavender said.
The company has a partnership model in an effort to support physical therapy ownership. Balavender said each office is a separate LLC and allows physical therapists and physical therapy assistants to have an equity stake. The model also limits the risk associated with having a business in the extremely competitive health care environment.
“We create the opportunity for a leader in each office to create an equity position if they choose to, so they can have an ownership position,” Balavender said. “I had sketched out the model on some paper back in 1999. The second clinic we had in Guilford was our first partner clinic and the rest has gone from there.”
The company also has a yearlong Leadership and Management Development Program that helps physical therapists develop skills in leadership, practice management and business acumen. The program’s objective is to develop the skills necessary to be a successful practice owner.
“At the end of the day, what this company does really well is invest in its people,” said PTSMC physical therapist Conner Gavin. “This place is like family, if you talk to anyone at this company there’s this kind of this connection. We’re all working on the same team here.”
Gavin said he’s been working at PTSMC for three years after first training at the company during school. He said working for the company was a “no brainer” after seeing the culture up-close during school.
“This job is all about people and our interactions with them,” Gavin said. “We always make sure our patients are heard. It’s not just you’re better and here’s the door. We very much take great pride in helping patients live their best lives.”
Stephen Underwood can be reached at sunderwood@courant.com