Joshua Bailey, PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS
CPED PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER.
Practice location: Rehab Associates of Central Virginia, Lynchburg, Virginia, and surrounding communities.
Practice specifics: We have 11 clinics and a business center. The practice employs 110 people and has been in operation for 50 years!
What is the most influential book/person/event that enhanced your professional career and brief description of why? I think two books equally influenced me professionally.Good to Great by Jim Collins and ACBs of Leadership by Jason Bingham. Good to Great allowed me to realize how to take the next step in the business process and ACBs of Leadership taught me the impact business culture can and should have on your business.
Describe the flow of your average day. Do you treat patients and how many hours a day/week? When do you perform management tasks, answer emails, and market your business? I see patients only one day a week at this point. It is still a lot of fun for me as I see patients in conjunction with other therapists on our foot and ankle team. I have built my career around complex foot and ankle dysfunctions and this team allows me to impact a much larger number of patients with the highest quality of care. The remainder of the week is spent managing the clinical operations and the growth of the practice as well as developing alternative methods to deliver physical therapy.
Describe your essential business philosophy: I strive for win-win in every relationship. What are some of your best, worst, or toughest decisions? The best decision was to move into a group practice that focused on patient care.
What was the worst decision? I did not “release” employees soon enough so that they could pursue other jobs.
How do you motivate your employees? The real key to motivation is simply hiring the right people. I have learned that a truly good leader should spend a lot less time motivating people to do good things and a lot more time finding the right fit or providing the right opportunities to allow people to grow and perform to their capabilities. That being said, we have several profit-sharing programs and developmental programs to reward any staff member who consistently does extraordinary work.
How did you get your start in private practice? A few guys that are my current business partners called me to offer me a position when I was just a few months out of school. I had the good sense to say yes even though they called in the middle of a Monday Night Football game!
How do you stay ahead of the competition? I hope that we stay ahead of the competition by continuously focusing on one of the key pillars of our practice: Always put the patient first. Providing exceptional customer service with stellar outcomes in today’s health care market garners attention. Measuring those outcomes well and using them for marketing (particularly marketing directly to the consumer) has provided an advantage.
What are your best learning experience/s or mistakes since the inception of your practice? I learn something new every day. The greatest revelation was that I could not do it all myself. It sounds simple but I bet most everyone reading this has been there. I was working a ridiculous amount of hours and my schedule had a five-month waiting list. The more I worked, the more work I had to do. After meeting with a wise consultant, I was convinced that the best thing that my partners and I could do was restructure our business and transition me to a more management-based position. I will admit, I thought it was crazy and financially absurd, but it was the right answer in the long run.
What are the benefits of Private Practice Section (PPS) membership to your practice? PPS is awesome. The educational components are unique and always seem to be right in line with the information for which I am searching. The annual conference is, by far, my favorite conference each year as I am always invigorated with new and innovative ideas. Our management team knows that the plane ride home from the PPS conference is going to be full of new ideas to broaden our practice. There is always a copy of Impact magazine on my desk!
What is your life motto? Restlessness and discontent are requirements for success. I do not know many successful people who have not expanded their business in one way or another.
What worries you about the future of private practice/what are you optimistic about? I am worried about the unlevel playing field for private practice physical therapy. The increasing expansion of hospital-owned physical therapy services (HOPTS) and physician-owned physical therapy services (POPTS) make it difficult for the patient to have access to independent practices. I am optimistic that direct consumer marketing will continue to grow our market share as consumers become more informed about the management of their health.
What are some new opportunities you plan to pursue in the next year? Our practice plans to continue to expand our geographic footprint in Virginia. We also plan to play an integral role in Clinically Integrated Networks which will bring physical therapy to the patient center medical homes and directly to employers.
