When Richard Falk needed in-home physical therapy, AIM was there to help him recover.
Falk, of Des Moines, recently completed a treatment program with physical therapist, Jeremiah Shelton, who specializes in home health. He is also one of the owners of the AIM clinics. Besides home health, AIM has three clinics around Pierce County, in Tacoma, DuPont and Puyallup.
“He (Shelton) is very pragmatic and very results-oriented. I have praise for what they do,” said Falk when reflecting on his home health care through AIM.
He said Shelton and another AIM therapist came to his house, completed a comprehensive evaluation and set up an exercise plan for his recovery, with both indoor or outdoor options.
“(AIM) provided thorough, specific and accurate reports. They asked dozens of questions that nobody has ever asked me. They are pretty sensible,” Falk, who has completed his physical therapy program, concluded.
Shelton, who specializes in home health, is one of the many highly qualified therapists at AIM. He has ten years of experience in treating orthopedics, geriatrics, sports and industrial rehabilitation. He uses an exercise-focused approach with manual therapy.
“Our company has been involved in home health since 2005. We work with several different agencies,” said Shelton, “I feel it’s a great way to get into the community.”
“When they can get back into the community themselves, we can often transition them into going into a clinic if there is further need,” Shelton added.
He said typically patients are independent when the home health is completed, but obviously some will not become independent because of bigger medical issues.
Shelton teams up with Jill Kingslien, also a home health physical therapist. Kingslien has over 18 years of physical therapy experience, working with patients across the treatment spectrum from an acute hospital setting to home health and outpatient rehabilitation.
At the Dupont AIM clinic, Laura Rosado, a physical therapist, also brings a wealth of experience. Along with experience in the outpatient orthopedic setting, Rosado treats a variety of musculoskeletal conditions including sports injuries, work conditioning, and post-operative patients. Because of the proximity to JBLM, her clinic works with many military families.
When she was looking for jobs, AIM really stood out as an employer.
“(AIM) was the most focused on education. I took seven interviews. They made a really big impression,” said Rosado. “What we get here (for continuing education) is above and beyond. We take eight, company-paid courses a year.” AIM provides a two-year residency program in Orthopedic Movement Integration/Developmental Kinesiology.
Rosado compliments the team environment and indicates that the clients are the ones that benefit.
“We are all focused on the same outcome. In our approach, everyone comes in and gets evaluated according to what they need. Everyone’s treatment is tailored to his or her specific impairment,” she said.
Kurt Moss, physical therapist and an AIM owner agrees. Moss works out of the Puyallup clinic. He said there is “consistency across-the-board” in how they provide services and educate their staff.
“I know exactly what they are doing with any patient in any clinic,” said Moss.
With over 25 years of physical therapy experience, Moss treats disorders of joints, muscles, movement impairment, and soft tissue. His focus of practice has been on tissue regeneration and medical exercise therapy, total joint replacement, motor vehicle accident, work related injury, and sports injury.
“You can go to any PT clinic. What makes people different at AIM is it’s all about movement,” said Moss, adding that the focus is on movement in proper patterns that stimulate the neurological system to respond appropriately.
Ethan Penton, a patient at the Puyallup clinic, said he has really benefitted from the therapy he has been receiving to recover from a torn Achilles tendon.
“This is really functional therapy. I am active. The things I do here help me with my running, biking, water sports and snowboarding,” said Penton who is working with Moss.
Physical therapist Elizabeth Lyter also works with Moss as one of two provideres specialized on women’s health. Lyter’s experience also includes a focus on athletic injuries and motor vehicle accidents. She has a strong manual therapy background.
Moving over to the Tacoma clinic, patients find another team of well trained staff.
Maria Bokor is a physical therapist specializing in women’s and children’s health. She brings 12 years of experience in outpatient, neuro rehab and pediatric care to both the Dupont and Tacoma offices.
Bokor has advanced training in pelvic floor physical therapy, lymphedema treatment, chronic pain treatment, and craniosacral therapy.
“Craniosacral therapy has grown tremendously in the past 20 years as a treatment choice. Some patients receiving CST notice improvements in all kinds of chronic problems that had not responded previously,” Bokor said when explaining this form of treatment.
Bokor combines her background in t’ai chi and yoga with Australian-Maitland manual therapy and exercise techniques to help patients achieve their full potential for health and return to recreational and work activities as quickly as possible.
Her focus on patient care includes convenient appointment times, including Saturdays.
Steve Sodorff, also a physical therapist in Tacoma, agrees that all the therapists work in a variety of disciplines. Sodorff specializes in kinesiotaping and McConnell Taping, joint stabilization, and custom orthotics.
He said the taping gives muscle neurological signals to “help you recruit the muscles better.”
Sodorff has over 35 years of extensive outpatient physical therapy experience and has consulted for a local physical therapy equipment manufacturer. He has also presented seminars on spinal rehabilitation and sports performance programs in the US and Asia. Sodorff also has experience in industrial rehabilitation, ergometric evaluations and equine and canine physical therapy. He specializes in neck and lower back pain.
Sodorff also uses the SmartSound technology, which is used exclusively in the Tacoma clinic. SmartSound is a hybrid ultrasound high-galvanic stimulator and infrared therapy that provides superior results over ultrasound therapies.
To learn more about AIM or the educational background of the physical therapists, click here.
