Terry Streetman (Host): Welcome back to Well Within Reach, presented by Riverside Healthcare. I'm Terry Streetman, Marketing and Communications representative, and we're here today with Mitch Cronk, Outpatient Rehab Manager. We're going to talk about how our rehabilitation and therapy team collaborates with our other Riverside Services.

Thanks for joining us, Mitch.

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah, thank you for having me.

Host: Absolutely. Before we jump in, we're going to take a quick break for a message about MyChart.

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Host: We're back. Mitch, you are an old pro here. You've been on one of these before, right? So, in case our listeners forgot, can you remind them about your background and your role?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah, absolutely. I am the Riverside Outpatient Rehab Manager. There's actually two of us, but, I'm located at the Orthopedic and Spine Center. I've been with the Riverside for 13 years. PT by background and happy to be here.

Host: Awesome. Well, we're happy to have you both on the podcast and here at Riverside. So our Riverside and like our rehabilitation and therapy services, we have locations across four counties. Is that right?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: That is correct.

Host: Okay. And why is it so important to us then to have so many of these locations throughout the community?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah, it's that access to care piece, right? Healthcare is growing and the need is growing for individuals across these four counties. Nobody wants to travel miles and miles to see a doctor or go to therapy. So as we continue to grow, we are looking at our rural communities and to have a presence with them to just improve that access piece and make it more convenient to the patients that need the care.

Host: Awesome. Well, it's good to have that out there and kind of stick to that care close to home or well within reach, if you will, for the folks in our community. So with these different locations then, what kinds of treatments and services can people expect there? And does that vary by location?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Sure. So just to start, we do offer physical, occupational and speech therapy services. That does vary by location. Looking at more of our rural locations, those typically tend to be PT focused. Those services there, it's a little bit of a jack of all trades. Again, more so for the reason that they can see a multitude of problems in these communities.

And so we are trained and prepped to see those variety of conditions. When you come back here locally, around the hospital a little more specialization tends to focus here more. So we have things like pelvic health and pediatric rehab. We have aquatic therapy, work conditioning, things like that.

Some of those therapists in those rural communities can do the same. Again, it's more specialized per therapist, but, that is the type of service we can do. And then from an age group standpoint, we can see anybody as newborn up to 90 - 100 years old, and we see all kinds of conditions. The field continues to grow in what we can see.

But again, if you've been through therapy before, you know, there's general approaches and then there's these specialties.

Host: Okay. Well that just kind of covers the whole gamut, which is great. So then, for us here at Riverside, how does being part of Riverside Healthcare sort of set our PT and rehab programs apart from some of the other options in the community?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: We have a luxury of being a part of a hospital system and a large hospital system. And so we can access charts and files, images, labs, your medical history, essentially, to get an idea of what you've been through, and where you're going. You know, so we can see those things that you've been through, the doctor's notes on what they're reporting.

Not all places have that advantage, right? So let's say I'm a private practice owner and you show up to my doorstep and you want therapy. I'm not going to be able to access those files very easily, so I might not get that full picture right away. I'm a skilled licensed therapist. I'm going to know what questions to ask to paint the picture, but it just puts me that much more at an advantage when you come to me and I can see those things and partner with the team of Riverside.

Host: Okay. Well that yeah, gives you that seamless approach, kind of simplifies things for you. Because if you're in pain or whatever, you don't want to deal with all of the phone calls and faxes. That kind of keeps it simple for you.

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Correct. Yeah.

Host: All right. So sort of to that point then, what impact does that backing of the Riverside Healthcare system have on patient experiences and outcomes? I imagine, like you said, that kind of simplifies things. Can you expand on that?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah, absolutely. So with the hospital backing us, we do have a little bit more of that flexibility to program build. And so the hospital, not only is big on the access to care piece, but it's that quality piece as well as how can we elevate the value of care that we are providing?

What's the community need, what's the physicians that these patients are seeing, saying they need to get the answers and we take that back to our staff and say, we're looking for a running program. Everybody's out there running a 5K right now, right? We need somebody that specializes in running.

And so with that, we go to work. We find out what kind of education that we need. The hospital supports us in full and we build that program or train that therapist to make sure we are filling the need for that patient or that physician on what's being looked for.

Host: Oh, that's awesome. Having that community approach and folks who are in the community and understand the needs of the community.

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Right.

Host: That's huge. And just to kind of expand on that a little bit too, when patients come in, they're in pain, whatever it is, do you find with sort of the emotional side of it and that kind of thing, that that helps them feel better and more confident in their care?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah, I would say they feel more supported because they know those notes are going to be able to be sent and viewed by their physician. There's a collaboration and ease. You know, we have things going on behind the scenes where communication can be done through the medical record. It can be done through a simple message to that provider that they're going to be seeing. For example, maybe you had a total knee replacement and it's looking a little red.

Maybe just something doesn't look right. Working within our ortho building, our orthopedic doctors are right upstairs. Hey, let me go talk to your physician or the nurse. Let's take a look at this. Let's make sure nothing's wrong. We'll get you taken care of. And again, that's that umbrella of the hospital where we're all able to work together to meet the greater need of the patient.

Host: That's great. I'm sure that's very reassuring for people. So before we move on, then we will take a moment to talk about the importance of primary care.

Consistency is being able to count on someone to be there when you need them. At Riverside Healthcare, your primary care provider is dedicated to being in your corner, helping you and your family stay healthy and thrive. Find the right primary care provider for you at myrhc.net/acceptingnew. From annual screenings to well-checks and everything in between, having a primary care provider that you can trust makes all the difference.

Okay, we're back. You talked about that coordinating of care and for instance, if somebody had a knee replacement, let's take a different example here. Let's say a patient has suffered a stroke and they've been receiving treatment from our Brain and Spine Institute. How does PT and rehab fit into that stroke recovery and that coordination, like what does that look like between the different sort of departments?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah, so a stroke is a serious medical event, right? So the moment that you have that, you're probably going to the ED at that point getting treatment. And then we're determining what needs to happen from there within the healthcare system. So if the stroke is severe enough and there are impairments from that event, you most likely are going to be admitted and, probably eventually finding your way into our fourth rehab unit.

So this is kind of where the journey for rehab begins and where we begin to have touchpoints with other people within the healthcare system. So we call this inpatient rehab where it's intensive therapy to get you back to as close to your previous level of function as possible, if not just safe to return home.

 Through that process, we're working with your nursing team on fourth rehab with social workers. We're working with your doctors. We're collaborating to determine what the best approach is as you're going through that therapy process. So there is a ton of collaboration going on, in that scenario in the beginning.

So let's say you graduate from that inpatient rehab program. You did physical, occupational, and speech therapy. You met the requirements and now we need to deem where you go next, right? I'm good. I can go home and safely, but I still have lingering impairments I need to continue on.

So this is where those post-acute services come in. I need to go to outpatient rehab. Or maybe take a different route. Maybe you're not safe to return home yet and you need to go to like a skilled nursing facility like Miller. There is rehab there as well. So you're going to get your next checkpoint of rehab somewhere at some point if you have lingering impairments.

 And I also have to say home health as well. So maybe you can go there, but you aren't quite able to get out to the clinic yet. We can come to you. So since I'm outpatient by trade, we'll go the outpatient rehab route. You've made it in, you've got your referral in from your doctor. Hopefully at this point you've had a check in with your primary care physician to get an update and adjust medications, give them the update on where you're doing and what you're working towards. And then you come for your evaluation. So we evaluate you, we determine those impairments, and then, we develop what is called a plan of care. So basically our plan of attack. What kind of goals are we looking to accomplish? Are you a person that was working? Do you need to get back to a job? Are you retired and it's more low key for your life right now, but you have some common hobbies you like to do?

Identifying those things and then again, communicating it back to that primary care physician. Also along the way, if you had a stroke, you're probably seeing a cardiologist in there, like you said, you're seeing a brain specialist, you have to do that. If you have a, dietician needs, you can be seeing an endocrinologist potentially.

So we are communicating this to these doctors and it's all under that one umbrella of Riverside, where it's all within Epic, and they can see those notes. And so when there are questions or concerns or something doesn't look right, we point those out. More times than not though, things go accordingly.

We're able to make progress and then you get discharged from rehab again, communicating with your providers along the way. And offering resources within the community, such as maybe the fitness center to continue on your journey, giving you a home program and then, as pending things go well with that, you're just back to your normal life.

 It can be a long process, it can be a short process. Everybody's different, but there are so many different touch points, through that.

Host: Yeah. That's really, sort of with them every step along the journey to getting back to that. And I guess, we can ask about maybe a less alarming example. Let's say, you talked about, you know, do you have any hobbies? What are you trying to get back to? Let's say somebody is really into pickleball. Because it seems like everybody is. And they have sort of a nagging injury from playing pickleball. They talk to their primary care provider about it.

How would PT and rehab work together with the primary care provider and other services to get the person back to that thing they love so much?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Sure. So if you're a person that loves pickleball, and you're great at it, and then you get injured or like you said, you have that nagging injury.

You've been to your physician once already. You've talked about it, it's just not going away. Right. So your physician is able to write us a referral that says, please look at Terry's knee, his knee is bothering him from playing pickleball. So then that's when you would get a phone call from us because that referral comes straight into our system.

And we call you. Now, if you're the proactive type and you're just like, Hey, I want to get this thing taken care of, you call us. You know, that's fine. It can go either way. PT actually has something now called direct access where, let's say, you just want to get in right away and just get checked.

Right? You come in, do the evaluation, and then we send that plan of care to your physician. And so there's always a communication. You're not going behind your physician's back in that scenario because they are being alerted with our evaluation and they do still have to sign off on that for us to be able to see you.

Again, it's improving the access piece and getting you that service sooner than later. Because it's a problem for your life and you're wanting to get answers. So it can go either way on that.

Host: Okay. Well, yeah, that phone call from the referral to me, super helpful for me as somebody who, is a bit forgetful sometimes.And doesn't remember to make that phone call. Alright, well, you touched on this kind of already. How should somebody get started then if they think they need PT or rehab?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah, I would say, talk to your doctor, start with your doctor, loop them in. Your doctor should always be aware of your medical concerns going on, whether that's your medications, orthopedic problems, things that are just weird, you know?

And then as therapists too, we are not medical doctors, but we are trained to kind of pick up on these red flags, right? Like what are some signs of cancer that might be there? What are some signs of people get drop foot randomly. You know, why is that happening? And so sometimes we have to ask those questions and we need to work with your referring provider, whether that's your primary care physician, that's an orthopedic, a neurosurgeon, whoever it is, and say, Hey, Terry's got some weird stuff going on.

I think we need to do a little more investigating. I'm going to go ahead and send it back to you and let's collaborate to make sure everything's clear. So a little bit of a tangent there, but how to get started on that is yes, start with your doctor or, give the clinic a call. And we're always happy to accommodate.

Host: Well, that's great to know that many people are looking out for you and keeping an eye on your care and making sure that you get what you need. So we're getting toward the end here. For people listening, what would you say is the biggest takeaway from the episode?

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah. I would say the biggest takeaway is always ask. Don't just assume you're stuck. I think sometimes people just feel like they're stuck with where they're at. Riverside has grown to be this large entity in the community. We are the leading healthcare providers in the community. There's more than enough access to care in some shape or form.

Whether it's just having a casual conversation or scheduling a formal appointment, start somewhere and go from there and try to be proactive.

Host: Awesome. Yeah. Well, before we wrap up then, anything else you want to add? It feels like you've covered a lot, but if there's anything else.

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: You know, we're always open to suggestions and advice, and I love the feedback from our patients and not just from patients, from coworkers and from physicians.

 We're constantly looking to push it and to grow. Kind of back to my point about programming and what does the community need. So always reach out, and leave that feedback. But other than that, that's all I got.

Host: Well, that's great. And I know we've seen some of those kind of things, some of those expansions into programs that people might be interested.

We've got the Titleist Performance Institute for golf rehab and that kind of thing. Yeah. So it's cool to see those things expanding and I would be remiss if I didn't bring up here, speaking of that feedback for people to leave reviews for the clinic that they go to, to let people know, you how their care was. Give that feedback, help us improve and help our providers know what a great job they're doing.

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah. We love that feedback, right? That's why we went into the field to serve the patient. We have a passion for it. So when somebody says to us, Hey, I feel good, or a good job, that's a big reward for us.

Host: Awesome.

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Because that's what we strive for.

Host: Yeah, absolutely. And y'all do a great job as somebody who has been a PT patient. Well thank you again for joining us, Mitch. We really appreciate you being here, sharing all this information.

Mitch Cronk, PT, DPT, CLT: Yeah. I appreciate you for having me.

Host: Absolutely. If people listening would like more information about Riverside Rehabilitation and Therapy, you can visit myrhc.net/rehabilitation.

Thank you for joining us today on the Well Within Reach podcast presented by Riverside Healthcare. You can take a moment to rate and leave a review for the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to learn more about Riverside Healthcare, visit riversidehealthcare.org.