Timberline Physical Therapy

Leslie and I were married in June of 1992 and promptly flew off to Germany where I was stationed in the Army. This is where she learned she wanted to be a teacher and I learned I wanted to be a Physical Therapist. We returned from Germany late in 1995 and moved to Vancouver where we both attended Clark College. Leslie worked as the school director at Mill Plain Children’s Village Day School and I sold fishing equipment in Woodland. We moved to Spokane early in 1997 to attend Eastern Washington University.

We both worked full time (Leslie as a bookkeeper for a small trucking company and I as a manager for a fly fishing shop in Spokane). Leslie graduated in 2000 with her BA in education and went to work as a middle school English teacher and Reading Specialist in Spokane. I graduated from Eastern in 2001 with a BS in Biology and began Physical Therapy school that fall. During Physical Therapy school I was able to choose much of my clinical education experiences and focused on Orthopedics and private practice PT. While I was completing PT school (I graduated with my masters in Physical Therapy in 2003) Leslie began work on her Masters in Administration at Whitworth College which she completed in 2004. By the time we left Spokane Leslie had moved to the position of district reading and curriculum development specialist, a trainer of teachers in the Washington state assessment, as well as completed her Principal internship.

Upon graduation from PT school, we chose to move to Newport, Oregon where I managed the Physical Therapy department for a rehabilitation facility. I was also charged with developing an outpatient program for that facility which later became the model for their other 150+ facilities across northwest. At that facility I was able to grow an outpatient PT program from zero to 200+ patients per month in 6 months. Within the year I chose to pursue private practice and joined a small practice in Newport. I was hired to manage and grow the practice with an ultimate goal of taking over upon retirement of the owner. It was at this clinic where I was able to make the most administrative growth to that time. I was in charge of clinic management as well as marketing and recruitment of new therapy staff. Within a year I was able to grow the practice from 200 patient visits per month to 400+ and was also able to add on full time Physical Therapist. This growth was primarily due to marked increases in direct marketing to new and existing referral sources; as well as improving patient care and implementing a system of functional outcome and patient satisfaction measures. We went on to top 600 patients per month during the next six months and remained steady at that point (due to facility size and staffing limitations).

Professionally I was very happy and successful; personally we were feeling a bit out of touch with our family (which lives in the Portland metro area) due to the birth of our first child. In the winter of 2007 we sold our home and moved back to Vancouver, WA. We bought a home in the northern part of Vancouver, WA and spent the next six months deciding where to put our first clinic. While we were preparing to open the clinic I worked under contract for Peach Health in Longview, WA and also worked for a clinic in Orchards, WA which was for sale. During this time I determined that starting my own clinic was my path.

I am very confident that Timberline Rehabilitation services, PS will be the premiere provider of outpatient Physical Therapy and rehabilitation services in Clark County. By adhering to our mission to inspire, educate and motivate our clients and the community by promoting healing in an individualized, results driven, client centered environment which fosters integrity and respect, we will continue to be successful in our professional and personal endeavors.