Joey Wahler (Host): It's a new merger, so we're the partnership between Discovery
Physical Therapy and Jefferson Healthcare.
Our guest is Amy Irene Lynch.
She's a physical therapist and owner of Discovery Physical.
Therapy, This is To Your Health from Jefferson Healthcare.
Thanks for joining us.
I am Joey Wahler.
Amy Irene.
Hi there.
Welcome.
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: Thank you for having me.
I'm glad to be here.
Joey Wahler (Host): great to have you with us to talk about this partnership.
So first, the new venture is being called Jefferson Healthcare
Discovery Rehabilitation.
So how did this partnership happen?
What was the, the impetus for it?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: Well, I think that, as the owner of Discovery
Physical Therapy, I was ready to be able to expand and grow our services
to better suit our community.
And I knew that, uh.
Joining up with Jefferson Healthcare would allow us to be able to do that.
And so we began talking together and they felt the same way.
They felt like they wanted to be able to be out in the county
increasing access to the members of our community that live outside of
town, which is where we're located.
And together, we would be able to do that.
Joey Wahler (Host): So just to take a quick step back, how did you get started
with your business in the first place?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: Yes, I've owned Discovery Physical Therapy for 18 years
and prior to owning it, I actually worked here for the previous owner, who
mentored me And we partnered together for me to take over her business and
she worked for me and eventually.
Retired And then I continued the business on, for over the last 18 years
serving our community through physical therapy and occupational therapy as
well over the years exercise classes.
also.
So it's been a really great journey.
Joey Wahler (Host): Yeah, it sounds like it.
So before we talk specifics in a moment or two, generally speaking, what does this
merger mean for East Jefferson County, your current patient's, and of course
Jefferson Healthcare patient's as well.
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: So our current patient's are still going to be coming to
our location and seeing the people that they've, come to, know and trust here.
The staff will be coming along and we're still gonna be, discovery
Physical Therapy, but now Jefferson Healthcare Discovery.
so it's gonna feel really familiar to the patient's who've
been coming to this clinic.
the benefit And what it means for our community is that with the
support And the partnership with Jefferson Healthcare, we will be,
better able to recruit more staff, more, clinical staff in particular
in order to decrease wait times.
and.
Also expand services, do even more services than we've been able to do with
the staffing that we've had, so that our community has access to more services,
more rehab services, closer to home.
Joey Wahler (Host): Speaking of services.
Services, exactly.
What specialties do you and yours offer and why is that so important
to those in East Jefferson County?
Would you say?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: so we offer wide variety of physical
therapy services right now.
we do.
Post-surgical rehabilitation after total knee replacements, total hip
replacements, total shoulder replacements, all kinds of orthopedic surgeries.
we work with people who have injured themselves in sports injuries, And
also working on the job, helping people get back to, work and being
able to provide for their families.
And we work with, Our members of our community who are struggling
with balance and vestibular issues.
So working on improving balance and safety and reducing fall risk.
And so we do all kinds of things for our community and have for a long time.
Our specialty services, would be, working with, women's health and pelvic health.
so we work with people who, of all genders and ages who are struggling
with bowel and bladder dysfunction, incontinence, constipation, pelvic
pain, and helping to restore function, to these really important areas in
these really important functions of our body that really, contribute
to an important quality of life.
Joey Wahler (Host): Gotcha.
So that certainly covers a lot of ground.
Let me ask you specifically about some of that.
First, you mentioned, post-surgical patient's.
In terms of rehab there, what are the things that generally are most
important when someone undergoes, for instance, a replacement of
a knee or a shoulder, et cetera?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: Yeah, when you begin physical therapy, hopefully you actually
meet us before you have surgery, so we can really help you prepare for what that
initial recovery time is gonna be like.
Because it can be really hard those first couple of weeks at home.
So helping people set up the right kind of support for themselves with family
and friends, And also expectations around what the experience is gonna be
like so that they don't feel scared.
And they realize that it's normal we usually see people within a few
days after surgery And in that first couple of weeks, it's really about
making sure that people can take care of themselves and they're safe and
they're doing the right things at home.
And then as we get further out, two weeks out, four, six, it goes further out, then
we're really restoring function, exercise.
Range of motion working on for the lower extremities, walking,
reducing the dependency on assistive devices and getting more functional,
independent, ultimately returning to all of the things that people
need to do in their daily lives.
for upper extremities, we're.
Progressing towards being able to use our arms in the ways that we
need to for everyday living, and it's a process over many weeks and a
progression that we help walk people through so they know what to do.
They have the best outcomes.
Joey Wahler (Host): Regarding sports injuries, they're of
course always a big part of pt.
So what are the more.
Common injuries you deal with and what's your response there?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: Yeah.
So, we see all kinds of injuries from ankle injuries, ankle foot
injuries, knee injuries, hip, low back.
I mean, really it's, depending on the sport, really kind of drives the injuries.
That happen.
I mean, lately we see a lot of pickleball injuries because so many
people are playing pickleball and it's become such a popular sport.
And, really as a physical therapist, we are wanting to keep people active.
We want people to be active.
We know that's good for their health the longevity And also just the
joy that we experience in life.
And so we are really trying to keep people.
In their sport, while we're rehabilitating them as much as possible and looking
at the potential joint restrictions, tightness that might exist in a joint
or the muscular tissue around to help restore flexibility, the strength
they need to be able to do it, any injury that may have damaged tissue,
and how to walk them through making sure that tissue heals completely so
that they can return to their sport.
And then just also how to return to the sport without reentering
themselves and how to continue playing.
In a way that they aren't, injuring themselves as well.
Joey Wahler (Host): Gotcha.
How about rehab?
For postpartum mothers,
what's involved there?
We don't hear as much about that.
Right.
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: I think it's good.
We're hearing a lot more about that, these days.
So, our awareness about the importance of, rehabilitation
during and after pregnancy, that awareness is definitely rising.
So we work with women during pregnancy to help with common.
Body, pain issues that happen in pregnancy, low back pain, for example,
is so common and very treatable.
if a woman has low back pain during pregnancy and it isn't addressed,
they're much more likely to have back pain after pregnancy that lasts
in the time when they need to be able to take care of their infants.
So addressing it during pregnancy and resolving it with exercise and.
Body mechanics, retraining, how we move, how we sit, how we sleep, and
keeping ourselves strong when the body's changing so much, is so important.
and these issues are very treatable.
Then after the babies are born, helping women to know how to get their
bodies restore form and function.
So strengthening again, bringing form back so that the body can do
all the things that are necessary in motherhood, taking care of our
children without injury or pain.
We also work, with the pelvic floor and pelvic floor musculature, to restore
bowel, bladder function, intimacy, return to intimacy without pain.
Super important.
And there's a big role, that we serve for women during that time,
to help them with all those things.
Joey Wahler (Host): You touched on this one earlier, but just to expand a bit, you
also do rehab for patient's with balanced disorders, so what can they expect?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: balance is really interesting and fun to work
with because our brain creates our balance through many different systems.
The inner ear is in a very important part of it, as well as the ability
to feel in the body And the strength to recover from a loss of balance.
And so when people come and see us, they're often really surprised.
By all the different ways that we are addressing their balance, by challenging
their vestibular system, for example.
And then working on strength and flexibility so that they get off
balance, they can catch themselves before they fall, for example.
so there's just a lot of ways that we can challenge them dynamically.
Where, you know, you're standing on balance foam, for example, maybe your,
eyes are focused on something And then you're moving your head side to side.
So we're really challenging your inner ear so that when you're on the sand,
we live near water here in our town, and when you're walking on the sand
and you turn your head to talk to your friend, that you don't fall over.
Right.
This is a very common thing that happens.
so, there's a lot of ways that we can work to improve that by increasing the
function of those systems so that when you are walking on the beach with your
friend or in the woods and you have to turn your head to look for something
that you see, that you don't fall over.
And if you do stumble over that root or over that rock, that you have the
strength and flexibility to catch yourself and balance yourself in that next step
and not fall down and hurt yourself.
Joey Wahler (Host): How about for existing PT patient's, either with discovery or
with Jefferson, anything they should know about potential changes to their care?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: So, the transition is gonna happen in stages, the first
step is that Jefferson Healthcare will be acquiring Discovery physical
therapy at the end of this year.
But there's a lot of.
Steps for them to put in place their systems that they need
in order to function as a hospital here in this location.
so discovery physical therapy will actually be continuing to function for
the patient as it always has for at least three months while the hospital put.
Things in place to be able to take over all of the operations
and functions that we do here.
So for at least a little while, it's gonna feel really similar.
then come, end of March, there will be access on MyChart,
say to your physical therapy.
summaries.
Your visit summaries, right?
So now there'll be this connection.
Between the hospital And the services that there are provided
here that they haven't had before.
Will they be able to communicate with us, with their physicians, see
their visit summaries, ask questions all through that platform, because
we will all be on there together.
I think those would be the things patient's will notice is that the
communication, is gonna be smoother between, Jefferson Healthcare And the,
And the services they receive here.
Joey Wahler (Host): A couple of other things.
One being, would you say there is an.
New advancement in the world of physical therapy that you're most interested in.
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: Oh gosh.
there's always advancements where I think that's one of the fun
things about working in medicine is that things are always changing.
Right?
I think that, one thing that we do is pelvic PTs is we're using
real-time ultrasound imaging.
So we have ultrasound imaging that when you come here, we actually
can show you what your pelvic floor muscles look like inside your body.
And when you tighten them, you can see them lift your bladder.
And lower your bladder down.
So for patient's who have pelvic organ prolapse or leakage where they're
really working on trying to control that, it's a really great way to see
muscles that you can't normally see.
And that's something that physical therapists are using more recently,
as well as that technology for other muscles as well, like the abdominals,
postpartum, working on getting abdominal muscles to work better.
Joey Wahler (Host): It seems like nowadays there are more clear and
better images of things throughout the medical world than ever before.
Finally, in summary here, what's most exciting about this for you?
You've obviously.
Really grown your business to the point where it's so highly thought
of that all of this could come about.
What to you is most exciting as you begin this new journey here?
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: I'm really excited about the growth
opportunities to serve our community.
working together with Jefferson Healthcare, that we're gonna
be able to really expand.
and offer more services here And that I'll be able to be a part of that.
I've been able to be here as a part of it as owning this business, but as a part
of Jefferson Healthcare, we're gonna be able to grow beyond what I've been able
to do as a smaller business, being a part of a bigger organization and working
together because Jefferson Healthcare has.
A really good and important mission for our community and serving our community.
I share that mission and I share those goals.
And so being able to have a larger impact on our community and serve
in a bigger way really excites me.
Joey Wahler (Host): It certainly sounds as though it's a
win-win for everyone involved.
Folks, we trust you are now more familiar with Jefferson Healthcare Discovery.
Rehabil.
Amy, Irene, congratulations on getting to this point.
It sounds like what's to come will be even bigger and better.
Keep up all your great work.
I hope we can do it again, and thanks so much for being with us.
Amy Irene Lynch, PT: Thank you so much for having me.
Joey Wahler (Host): Absolutely.
And for more information, please visit jefferson healthcare.org.
If you found this podcast helpful, please do share it on your social media
and thanks again for being part of Two Year Health from Jefferson Healthcare.