Ready to Excel
As it extends its reach throughout the Delaware Valley, Excel Physical Therapy strengthens its commitment to helping patients overcome pain or injury, and return to the activities they love.
As the largest practice of its kind in the Delaware Valley, Excel Physical Therapy has the privilege of welcoming patients of all ages, with a wide range of problems, into its 38 locations. Such diversity makes for an interesting workday for Excel’s team of highly qualified clinicians, but it also presents opportunities to deliver exceptional results.
A young athlete strives to return to the court or the field after an injury. A middle-aged woman aims to get back to the gym after a persisting ailment. An elderly man needs to overcome lingering pain so he can get more enjoyment out of playing with his grandchildren. No matter the patient’s circumstances, the Excel staff finds great fulfillment in helping people resume the activities they enjoy most.
“We spend an inordinate amount of time with our patients compared to any other doctoral profession out there,” says Tim Brown, PT, DPT, clinic director at Excel’s Chalfont office. “We see patients anywhere from two to four hours a week, and they’re usually with us, on average, for eight weeks. We really get involved and take a vested interest in their lives. It makes us extremely happy for them that they get back to doing the things they love, and that we were a facilitator in that. It’s a very rewarding feeling.”
Helping patients return to normal life after injury has been the goal for Excel Physical Therapy since its founding more than 30 years ago. Excel’s influence has since extended to dozens of locations in eight different counties in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Excel added two new locations in Audubon and Springfield in the fall of 2021 to provide the same high-quality care to those communities.
The Excel Physical Therapy team recently partnered with Ivy Rehab Network, based out of White Plains, New York. Joining the Ivy Rehab Network will further empower the team to continue Excel’s mission to help people return to the activities they love, and to deliver high-quality care to the community. Excel looks forward to growing together with Ivy throughout southeast Pennsylvania in order to provide additional convenient clinic options for patients.
“The main goal is to always keep moving outward and upward, increasing the number of clinics but also increasing the area that those clinics impact,” says Dr. Brown. “Excel not only takes an interest inside the clinic, but we are really starting to push out and move out into more community work, whether it be at the Penn Relays or organizing fundraiser 5Ks or starting monthly balance screenings for local organizations and churches.
“We’re starting to branch out because we believe physical therapy slowly becomes a way of life,” he continues. “It’s not just about getting people better but also teaching them good living habits. Ultimately, we want people to become healthier overall.”
Patients are valued from the moment they walk in the door to an Excel location, when they receive an initial one-hour consultation with a Doctor of Physical Therapy and then begin treatment, usually with the same clinician. The team collaborates with the patient and his or her primary physician, and the lines of communication remain open even after treatment is completed.
“The big thing that makes Excel stand out amongst a lot of other companies is we really emphasize quality over quantity,” adds Dr. Brown. “We have what’s called a low-volume model of care where it’s not all about trying to shovel in as many patients as possible to turn a profit. We’re one of the only PT companies, as large as we are, that doesn’t employ the use of PT assistants or aides. All of the clinicians that the patients see for all of their treatment sessions have their doctorates in physical therapy.”
Dr. Brown joined Excel 10 years ago as a physical therapist. He eventually moved into a leadership position, and continues to see patients on a clinical level. He is excited to see what’s next for Excel as a part of the Ivy Rehab Network, an organization that constantly tries to reach new heights while keeping patient recovery at the center of its mission.
“Excel is, in my opinion, one of the top physical therapy companies out there just from a quality perspective, which is why I’ve been here for so long,” he says. “They strike a really good balance of creating a nice work environment where you have the autonomy to treat the patients in the best way you see fit to, while also making sure that you’re not giving up your quality of care to scratch another number off the scorecard.”
Dr. Brown believes Excel’s culture of professionalism and accountability has fueled the organization’s continued growth.
“Everybody here is trying to push in the same way: outward and upward,” he adds. “I love working here, and I love the position I have the honor of being in. Hopefully I’m able to inspire other therapists to keep growing themselves professionally, and keep finding proven ways to help patients get back to doing what they love.”
NecksLevel Thinking
Excel Physical Therapy is known not only for patient education and hands-on care, but also for its groundbreaking treatment. A prime example is NecksLevel, a therapy device created by Scott Dickenson, PT, DPT, one of the physical therapists on Excel’s staff. The world’s first all-in-one neck rehabilitation tool, NecksLevel helps to eliminate neck pain, build neck strength, and improve range of motion for patients. It has been adopted by clinics across the country, and is also being used by professional sports teams in the NFL and the NBA.
Excel Physical Therapy is known not only for patient education and hands-on care, but also for its groundbreaking treatment. A prime example is NecksLevel, a therapy device created by Scott Dickenson, PT, DPT, one of the physical therapists on Excel’s staff. The world’s first all-in-one neck rehabilitation tool, NecksLevel helps to eliminate neck pain, build neck strength, and improve range of motion for patients. It has been adopted by clinics across the country, and is also being used by professional sports teams in the NFL and the NBA.
“The NecksLevel is revolutionary but also simple, which is the beautiful thing about it,” says Excel’s Tim Brown. “In physical therapy we have a myriad of ways to strengthen body parts … but until now there hasn’t been a good, simple method of doing neck strengthening. The NecksLevel is an easy-to-use, easy-to-understand platform that creates a great, objective way of strengthening the neck in clinics for patients.”
Excel’s Chalfont location started using the NecksLevel exclusively for all cervical patients about a year ago. Dr. Brown says it has been so in demand that the office has requested additional therapeutic devices created by Dr. Dickenson.
Visit neckslevel.com for more information about how the NecksLevel works, clinics that incorporate it, and testimonials from patients and clinicians.
For more information on Excel Physical Therapy, including details on its 38 locations in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, visit excelphysicaltherapy.com. Visit ivyrehab.com/pa to learn more about the more than 80 convenient orthopedic and pediatric Ivy Rehab Network outpatient physical therapy locations in Pennsylvania.
Photograph by Nina Lea Photography
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, May 2022.
