In the four years since CAO officially launched, we have expanded our headcount by more than 40 percent. New providers, staff and care centers have been eager to join our mission of providing high-quality private practice care, and we have been able to serve our patients better than ever before.

Please join us in welcoming our newest employee, Grace Lee, as Director of Therapy Services at the Montgomery Orthopaedics care center. We sat down to talk about the efficiencies she’s bringing to the care center, her specialties as a therapist and how her own injuries led her to a career in physical therapy:

Let’s chat about your new position as Director of Therapy Services. How are you working to improve patient care?

I’m overseeing all our physical therapists, occupational therapists and support staff, and it’s my priority to make this a great environment for patients. That often starts with backend work, like implementing our new electronic medical records system or identifying and streamlining inefficiencies.

I’d like to get patients in our office as soon as possible, and have developed a cancellation policy to assist with schedule management. When patients aren’t able to make an appointment, they know to call ahead because we might have a wait list for that spot. Now we can be more customer-service oriented and put patients on a wait list instead of saying there are no appointments immediately available. We’ll call them ASAP when a spot opens up and often we can get people into the office quicker.

With my experience owning my own clinic – Physio Pro, P.C. in Colorado – and serving as the director of physical therapy for two other clinics, I’ve worked on optimizing patient flow and can bring a new set of eyes to our practice. We’ve added new treatment tables and changed the placement of some items in the office to maximize the space for the patients.

How long have you worked in physical therapy?

I’ve been a physical therapist for 17 years, and I’m still first and foremost a treating therapist. I’ve had a lot of management experience – and even bought the Physio Pro, P.C. practice with two colleagues in 2007 – but the majority of my hours have been spent working directly with patients, which is still true here at Montgomery Orthopaedics. I think that’s helpful, because I can relate to my therapists and I understand their concern and needs. And, I really enjoy treating patients!

Tell us about your areas of expertise.

As a competitive gymnast through college, I spent many hours rehabbing my injuries. That’s actually how I found physical therapy as a career. I love working with young gymnasts because I can relate to them and speak their lingo.

I’m board-certified in orthopaedics, and my work tends to be focused on sports medicine injuries in general. In addition to gymnastics, I’m especially familiar with ski and snowboarding injuries from my years in Colorado. I also have expertise working with post-op arthroscopic hip patients.

What is something you love about physical therapy?

As physical therapists, we have more one-on-one time to get to know a patient. If you tear your ACL, the surgeon will see you for a pre-op appointment, perform the surgery, and then see you a few times after the surgery. When you are the PT, you’ll be seeing them a few times a week for months during their rehab. 

What has it been like to join The Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics?

I’m excited to see the direction this organization is going, and to join CAO early in the process. It’s such a large organization with so much room to grow. I love getting to be part of the process and helping to mold it into what it will become.