Husker Rehabilitation and Wellness Centers is the only clinic that can serve all of southeast Nebraska with four permanent clinics in three different cities. This allows Husker Rehab to serve physicians and their patients with unique, highly-intensive, highly-customized rehabilitation, wellness and preventive care therapies that make a real difference in people’s lives. Their meticulous expert therapeutic methods, along with a fun, positive atmosphere, plus devotion to patients and their individual needs, has earned them a reputation as the area’s most dependable rehab solution, with well-documented customer satisfaction ratings of 98%.
How long have you been in Lincoln?
Partner Greg Cromer was operating as Husker Rehab in Fairbury and in 1999 merged with Michael Zalman to create Husker Rehabilitation and Wellness, PC. The original North 27th & Superior clinic opened in March of 1999, a Beatrice clinic was opened in March of 2001 and then Husker Rehab expanded to our newest location in Lincoln of 70th and Van Dorn in June of 2010.
Who are the owners/important executives?
Michael Zalman and Gregory Cromer started Husker Rehabilitation and Wellness Centers in 1999. Michael oversees the Lincoln clinics and Greg oversees the Fairbury clinic. In 2009, Ryan Wade purchased 1/3rd interest in the company and became a full partner overseeing the Beatrice clinic.
What do you think makes you different from other companies similar to yours?
Everything is customizable and we don’t place you in a ‘system’ assuming you have the same needs as everyone else. If a patient comes in that is an avid bicyclist we don’t tell him that they can never ride a bike like they used to again. We rehab them to get them back to their life prior to their health problem and we encourage them to go out and hit the trails. We take pride in giving them the ability to do just that.
What kind of community organizations/groups are you involved with?
We take a lot of pride getting involved in all the communities that we are in. Some that we have helped out in regards to dollars or time include: Clinic with a Heart; People’s City Mission; Northeast High School Summer Basketball League; Lincoln West Sertoma Club; NET Foundation for Television; Lancaster County Fair; Campbell Elementary Walk-a-Thon; Friends of the Lied Center; Sponsorships of numerous baseball, basketball and soccer clubs; Malcom High School Yearbook advertising; St. Peter Fall Festival.
Do you have a business philosophy?
We treat the body holistically, like a builder builds a house. If the pieces don’t work together correctly, it weakens the structure and causes problems. We treat posture first, like a builder pours a foundation first. Only then do we perform traditional, trusted therapies to methodically coax a body back to normal. We re-evaluate often and make adjustments as we go, then teach patients how to maintain their newfound health at home—how to establish good habits and build a foundation of wellness, so pain is less likely to become a problem later in life.
What changes have you seen in the industry and your company in the past few years?
Insurance guidelines have really changed over the last few years in regards to how they limit Physical Therapy visits along with deductibles that are becoming higher and higher. This forces us to become more aware of what our clients go through and become more efficient in everything that we do.
The second big change has been the advancement of social media and everything moving online. The use of the web to find information has exploded and therefore we have to focus on becoming the expert leaders online in order to meet the information needs of our current and prospective clients.
What has been your most important achievement as a business?
Developing relationships with clients that will last a lifetime. We want everyone to get the highest quality of care we can offer.
We treat every patient as if they are family and that shows in our satisfaction rates, which is 98% since 1999. We love it when patients drop us a note or send a Christmas card because we then know that we have made a difference in their lives.
What was the biggest turning point in your business?
When we started getting referrals based on our outcomes. We try to educate our referral sources on our results and when we continue to get referrals in return because of what we do, then we knew we were on the right track. This is an ongoing process for our business and we continue to try to do it better.
What is the most unique or interesting thing about your business that most people don’t know?
The influence that posture has on so many aspects of our lives. We treat a number of different issues that posture is the primary source and cause of the patient’s symptoms. So many times we hear clients say, “I had no idea how important my posture is in my everyday activities and how I have been doing things wrong for so long.” In treating everything from the neck and feet to the pelvic floor, posture plays a key role and must be addressed first. We can see someone in the clinic everyday for exercise, but if we don’t address the things they are doing wrong with their everyday lives, we will not be successful in treating their problem.
Another unique thing about our business is our Physical Therapist Michelle Spicka who specializes in pelvic therapy. Majority of people coming in state they didn’t know how Physical Therapy was going to help their problems. Michelle is so respected in this field that she was recently asked to join a national think tank to review current research in pelvic physical therapy and publish ideas for applying the research.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
We would like to thank the many friends and family that have supported us along the way. Without them, we would not be as successful today.
What is the best way to reach you?
Visit us at any one of our four locations, call 402.261.4739 or see us online at http://www.huskerrehab.com/