Whether it is the warm colors and fireplace at one location or the large commercial surroundings of the 7,000 square foot specialty clinic which offers physical therapy, occupational therapy, ATC, Return to Work and hand therapy, you immediately know your physical therapy treatment with Capstone Physical Therapy is going to be something special. “Our model at Capstone Physical Therapy is just a little bit different,” says CEO Greg Penner as he describes how he and his wife, Jeannett, have taken a passion for patients and literally created a movement of care that has grown to five locations in Whatcom County.
Leveraging Greg’s entrepreneurial spirit and business acumen with Jeannett’s expertise in physical therapy across a number of settings, they have built what has become Whatcom County’s largest private physical therapy practice.
“Capstone has allowed us to direct our skills, passion and purpose towards a common goal,” says Greg. “Many people spend more time at work than at home. Being able to work together has allowed us to be more interested and engaged in each other’s work days.”
Greg goes on to say that working as a husband and wife team has been one of the most rewarding experiences in their careers. However, balancing raising a family and growing a therapy practice is a challenge.
“Our goal in building Capstone was to deliver the best patient care experience and outcomes possible,” Greg says. We built a team of expert therapists that are committed to providing the best patient care and delivering a five-star customer service experience.”
Capstone began with one location and has grown to five locations with two satellite locations. In recognition of that success, Capstone Physical Therapy was awarded the Start Up Business of the Year by the Whatcom Business Alliance in 2015. “We have built a great team,” Greg says.
Greg describes their four value areas of focus as the four C’s: Care, Customer, Culture and Community. These areas define their model, their team and their interaction with their patients and the community. “All of our patients are treated with value and care regardless of their background or circumstances,” describes Greg.
“Capstone tracks patient outcomes and patient satisfaction and compares them against national standards,” Greg says. “In our most recent survey we received a 95 percent patient satisfaction score across five categories. A 95 is a very high rating in the medical field but we see it as a challenge for improvement.”
With several unique programs, Capstone Physical Therapy offers patients incredible opportunities for true care and rehabilitation. The diversity of care is what also makes Capstone special. From specialized hand therapy to focused women’s care, the team meets the individualized needs of each patient they see.
With the only anti-gravity treadmills north of Seattle, Capstone Physical Therapy is able to offer advanced rehabilitation and training options that are often limited to professional and university sports teams. In fact, the majority of NFL, NBA and MLB teams are AlterG owners. The AlterG is not just for professional athletes, it can benefit anyone recovering from surgery, inflicted with Parkinson’s disease, strokes or other neurological disorders as well. The special treadmill uses NASA’s innovative differential air-pressure technology to unweight athletes with precision. Users can achieve up to 80 percent reduction of full body weight impact, adjustable in as little as 1 percent increments, providing a truly customized and dialed-in work out or rehab experience.
“We want our patients to succeed and get back to enjoying the things they love,” says Jeannett. She goes on to explain that their therapists are committed to a process of continued improvement that includes diligently participating in continuing education. This creates a culture of teamwork with a focus on the delivery of excellent care.
The team of physical therapists at Capstone Physical Therapy all have doctorate degrees in their field of study. Most hold additional certifications such as Board Certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist. They have a large team that allows them to focus on a variety of specialty areas including prevention, post surgical rehabilitation, women’s health and sports rehabilitation and conditioning.
Education is a large part of the approach at Capstone Physical Therapy, not only through continuing education for the therapists, but also for patients. As a patient, you truly understand how your body functions and how it may respond to different types of therapy.
And when it comes to connecting and getting involved in the community, Greg and Jeannett have set a tone of teamwork, compassion and support. Each clinic gets involved with their local community throughout the year. On a broader scale, Capstone Physical Therapy supports local high school and youth sports programs, Relay for life and various community projects. “As a local business it is important to us that we invest back in the community that we care about,” Greg says. “We want to support our local kids and recreation. Supporting and being a part of the local community is important.”
In 2015 Capstone Physical Therapy opened a new location in Barkley Village for adult outpatient therapy services and designated a single room for pediatric therapy. In a very short time, three rooms were being used to provide pediatric physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy and the waitlist for children grew to over 100. As the wait list continued to grow, the team realized that offering pediatric services in a clinic designed to serve adults was limiting the care for the kids. It was clear that the children needed a specialized clinic just for them.
In May of 2016, Greg and Jeannett Penner started Kornerstone Kids, a non-profit therapy center designed to meet the needs of children with special health care needs. The initial team consisted of five board members, one Physical Therapist, one Occupational Therapist and one Speech Therapist. In less than one year the team more than doubled in size. There are currently two Physical Therapists, two Occupational Therapists, two Speech Therapists and one Physical Therapy Assistant. In the first three quarters of 2017 the Kornerstone therapy team provided 6,939 appointments for children with special health care needs. The current waitlist has over 200 children waiting for services and it continues to grow.
Greg explains that the need for pediatric therapy was far beyond what they ever imagined. They are currently in the process of building even more space for the now separate non-profit entity.
With their innovative ideas, the Penners have found growth professionally and personally. Through their commitment to doing the right thing, they have found success in business and personally rewarding work.
Capstone Physical Therapy and Kornerstone Kids represent a team commitment to treat everyone with the best quality of care and compassion in even the most challenging of circumstances. As a result, Capstone is now one of the most well-known names in the county for physical therapy and community connection.
“We ended up landing exactly where we’re supposed to be, doing what we’re supposed to be doing,” says Greg.
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