How to Support Local - Ireland Manual Physiotherapy Edition!

When I first spoke with Corey from Ireland Manual Physiotherapy, it was obvious right off the bat that she was an extremely passionate business woman! Corey has brought together an amazing team that gives us a warm and wonderful treatment experience! Here is what Corey had to say about the adjustment to living with social distancing:

Tell us about your business and why you decided to open.

Ireland Manual Physiotherapy is a physiotherapy clinic in Kingsville that opened in October 2018.  After having a baby of my own in 2017 my mindset really shifted.  If I was going to be away from my daughter (at work), everything needed to really matter and I needed to do something that was especially meaningful.  Nurturing is kind of my jam.  But the context in which we nurture matters too.  Being able to care for clients in our one-on-one model in private treatment rooms really allows the client and their physio to build a strong therapeutic alliance that results in great outcomes.  Having a welcoming environment with good culture, a positive vibe, and great people is all part of a great client experience that we really work hard to ensure.  I wanted to have a clinic that I would want to send my own family members to if they needed to be well taken care of.  I have cherry picked my team very carefully.  They are all exceptional in terms of the people  they are and the service they provide.  They are leaders in our field and have earned their esteemed reputations.  Providing high caliber care is a must and continues to be an active part of the clinic's mission and vision.

What business was like before COVID-19?

Before the pandemic started to impact our community, the clinic was operating on 12 cylinders and we were entertaining the idea of bringing another practitioner on.  Our primary challenge was trying to manage wait times so that our clients had timely access to us.  In full disclosure, I was having some difficulty achieving balance with work, exercise and family.  Finding adequate time (that wasn’t at 3:30 in the morning!) to work on the business was also a struggle for me.

What has business been like since the outbreak of COVID-19?

We were one of the first, if not the first, clinic in Windsor and Essex to decide to temporarily suspend in-person appointments.  This decision was difficult, but we made it as a team.  We agreed that this was the most important thing we could do to protect our clients, our own families, and our community.  This has obvious and immediate consequences from a business perspective; but, staying true to our values was more important.  We are navigating through the unknown, evolving, and pivoting to meet our clients’ needs differently.   It’s so important to us to still be able to answer the phones and respond to emails, and are continuing to do this.  We have set up a Physio Hotline that is completely complimentary for people to call and have their concerns addressed by a physiotherapist.  We have also implemented face time for physio so we can “see” our clients virtually.  The silver lining is that COVID-19 has afforded me time to work on the business and set the stage for growth in the future.

How will this impact your business long term?

With so many unknowns at this point, the long-term impact is difficult to predict at this point.  But what I know FOR SURE is that we will be so much stronger as a business as a result.  We have been working pretty tirelessly behind the scenes to implement and update operations to really enhance the experience of our clients.  It’s so important to us that we are able to take care of our clients well.  

How can people help?

The simple things are big things right now.  If people want to help us, they can follow us on our social pages (click here for Instagram), post recommendations on Facebook, leave us Google Reviews (when google opens this up again), or give us ideas for content they would like to see on our social pages or for webinars.  Even just calling or emailing to say hi would be great.  We really do miss our clients! 

You can also check our Ireland Manual Physiotherapy online by clicking here!