From Shutdown to Thriving | The Real Cost of Poor Communication

Private practice physical therapy leaders and clinic owners: how do you lead through crisis, pivot to telehealth, and keep your team intact? This episode breaks down real-world clinic growth, communication strategy, and behavior change inside a 200+ employee PT organization.

Michelle Collie shares how Performance Physical Therapy shut its doors in March 2020, went 100% telehealth in 48 hours, retained 40% of caseload without guaranteed reimbursement, and rebuilt safely — without furloughing clinicians.

This matters because leadership isn’t about titles. It’s about behavior.
And communication is not “soft skills.” It’s your most measurable KPI.

If you want to grow your clinic, strengthen referral relationships, improve payer conversations, and develop PTs who act like musculoskeletal experts — this is required listening.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction & Context
02:10 Why PTs Must Lead
08:00 Onboarding & Mentorship Systems
14:30 Marketing vs Philanthropy
18:45 Telehealth Pivot Decision
31:00 Communication During Crisis
43:00 Biggest Failure & Success
56:00 Be Brave Message