Mobile physical therapist turns firing into business opportunity

Since opening during the heart of the coronavirus pandemic, Northwest Mobile Physical Therapy Specialists has expanded its unique practice to a second location in Spokane Valley – not counting the living rooms of patients.

After getting laid off during the pandemic, founder Trey Nichols is having the most fun he has had in his career.

“Getting laid off is the best thing that could have happened to me professionally. I enjoyed my work before, but I didn’t know physical therapy, or this career, could be this fun,” Nichols said.

As a mobile clinic, Nichols visits patients at their home, if not at one of their offices.

The home visits may lend insight to a patient’s behavior in their everyday environment and gives him an opportunity to design wellness continuity plans catered to the patient’s living conditions.

Nichols will visit patients at their home even if their are not homebound.

Though home visits account for more than a third of all appointments, Nichols attributes much of the fun of his practice to its cash-based business model.

Also known as an out-of-network provider, patients of the clinic foot the bill on their own with cash, checks, credit cards, or health savings accounts – with no help from their insurance.

Nichols still treats patients with injuries or chronic pain who are covered by their insurance, but the model opens the doors to see patients for many reasons.

“It allows us to work with and for patients – not their insurance. That lets us take the patient wherever they want to go,” Nichols said.

Previous patients include a woman who hoped to keep up with her kids without feeling pain; a man who wanted to summit Mount Kilimanjaro; patients who wanted to get ready for ski season; and a man in his 80s who simply wanted to stay fit, according to Nichols.

Patients with such goals are often highly motivated to achieve them which Nichols finds contagious.

Patient treatment is spent one-on-one with Nichols, which he says is dissimilar from many other clinics.

“It is pretty unique in the (physical therapy) industry, but that’s how we do it. That’s how we see our patients having the most success.”

Since patients first opened their doors to Nichols during the pandemic, his company has seen steady growth.

At first, five to 10 patient visits in one week w ere worthy of celebration. That figure is up to 30 every week.

In addition to opening two clinics since then, Northwest Mobile Physical Therapy has added two employees, physical therapist Christy Frazier and patient care coordinator Amber Sands.

Nichols is proud of his company’s success, but claims he had no other choice because there were no available jobs in the industry.

“There’s certainly a risk to jump ship and build your own practice, but I had to. I got pushed off that ship,” Nichols said.

Nichols is unsure what continued growth will look like, but has some ideas.

He hopes to get Sands more involved by expanding to other areas of treatment.

The two have considered offering pelvic floor therapy to increase the physical capability of prenatal and postnatal mothers – but that is still in the works.

Eventually, Nichols hopes to reach more patients by hiring additional therapists.

“It would be fun to grow beyond me and let other (physical therapists) get in on the fun,” Nichols said.