Field Sparrow Physical Therapy

     I was born and raised in rural upstate NY, and as a result, my heart is really with the independent and hard-working people of Chenango county. I formed Field Sparrow PT in an attempt to help meet some of the specific needs of this area. The vision is to be able to rent space by the hour in various places throughout the county where the location would otherwise require the person a long commute time to access care.

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     My approach to physical therapy emphasizes education and helping people to grow an understanding of how they can work to care for their own body and be a very active participant in regaining function and quality of life.

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      Exercise is definitely a main part and retraining how to use the body is common. I do use manual therapy skills to loosen up muscles and joints, and occasionally I will use pain relief modalities such as e-stim. But at the heart of it all is the education, so that a person can become fully capable of caring for and maintaining their own body.

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     It is also a cash-based practice; I do not work with any insurance companies. This is initially extremely alarming for people. It’s true that not all health care can be accessed without insurance; you simply can’t pay for a stay in the ICU from May until October. But what I have seen again and again with physical therapy is a patient being told that PT is covered by their insurance. . .only to be shocked to then receive a bill after a month of PT, where the patient was billed $45-$50 every visit for a “specialist co-pay.” This practically covers the full cost of PT already, and in the meantime, the patient is frustrated by having their care mediated by a third party with its own restrictions, red-tape and hoop-jumping. After long consideration, my current conclusion is that it is more beneficial in the long run to be able to have up-front, frank, and direct negotiation with people regarding their care, its cost, and solutions that are effective for both parties.

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     I realize this means that Field Sparrow PT is not for everyone. That’s okay – I’m only one clinician, and I can’t be there for everyone, in any event. But for the people that I can help, I want to be creative, dynamic and dedicated in helping them achieve the level of activity, participation and function that is most meaningful for them.