Memorandum

Date: Re: To: CC: 5/30/2012 Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers Business Plan Eric Warner, CEO Cara McSherry, Facility Manager; Elizabeth Wolfe, Staff Physical Therapist

From: Selina Sepulveda

While interning with Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers, I was fortunate to observe a company where their physical therapists truly value the quality of treatment and health their patients receive. Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers is a physical therapist owned and run rehabilitation company. So naturally the founder, Randolph Frieser, was also a physical therapist and he started the business in Chicago in 1989. Today the company has seen an amazing growth, having a network of over 200 outpatient rehabilitation centers throughout the Midwest and Arizona (Accelerated). Accelerated brings forth a broad assortment of programs and specialized services to help patients restore and maintain their physical strength, performance skills, and levels of function (Accelerated). Their mission is to provide all patients with the best and personalized health care. They are dedicated to always doing the right thing, resulting in the utmost trust in and respect for their patients, employees, and customers (Accelerated). Accelerated thrives over the competitor outpatient private practices with personally embodying the passion for building a PT/patient relationship thus providing a positive, supportive, family-oriented environment (Accelerated). They take initiative to build relationships within their neighborhoods and have a strong sense of social responsibility. This company financially contributes and volunteers in organizations that empower lives of young people like Chicago Hope Academy, Girls in the Game, and HighSight, to name a few (Accelerated). This company is also fortunate to work with a broad range of patients from the nations top athletes, to business professionals to high schools students, but keeping a steady rate of patient flow can be difficult all year round for some locations. The Accelerated location I have been so grateful to intern at is a brand new facility, but it is also fairly small in size and with its clientele list. By working during this facilitys first year I have noticed firsthand the constant struggle and pressure physical therapists undergo in order to reach their budget goal each month. This business financially depends on insurance reimbursement from each patient visit for its source of revenue. And patients can only start a session with a physical therapist after receiving a prescription from a medical doctor. In general, this facility has to financially rely on both the doctors authority to refer patients to seek physical therapy treatment and then to recommend this location to patients. In order to increase these doctor referrals this facility needs to improve their advertisement and marketing strategies to focus more on building strong relationships with new medical doctors and new patients. There needs to be educational seminars set up where the PTs can become acquainted with the local physicians. Perhaps this Accelerated could rent out a room at the local hospital or at a medical office to host the seminars

May 30, 2012 and offer all medical careers to learn about a health topic over a free lunch. This will welcome a comfortable setting for casual networking. Perhaps this facility could also reach out to the people of the community at local festivals or at workout centers. The Accelerated staff could offer free injury screenings to promote their own facility along with promoting a better health for the person. Or maybe the staff could hold an informational booth at the local libraries providing pamphlets and games to win Accelerated merchandise like t-shirts. The internet could also be a great outlet to market as well. Creating a company blog can generate possible contacts with local businesses and community leaders. The blog would consist of daily activities or tips; information that will keep patients coming back for information on general health, physical therapy, and injury prevention (Chhoda). Then Accelerateds staff needs to make comments on other fitness or medical blogs with linking back to the companys blog, creating more traffic to Accelerateds blog (Chhoda).This will act as another great networking tool. I would like to see a bigger development of this facilitys marketing skills in order to increase the patient flow thus lessening the stress of maintaining monthly budgets. Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers already has the heart and education for caring for patients; they just need more marketing opportunities in order for the outside world to see their potential. .

Works Cited

May 30, 2012

Chhoda, Nitin. "Instant Physical Therapy Marketing." PT: Magazine Of Physical Therapy 17.5 (2009): 40-43. Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition. Web. 2 May 2012. "Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers: Physical Therapy, Sports Medicine and Occupational Therapy." Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers: Physical Therapy, Sports Medicine and Occupational Therapy. Accelerated Rehabilitation Centers, 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2012. <http://acceleratedrehab.com/index.cfm>.