Cathie Bonner
Cathie Bonner’s physical therapy practice is built around good relationships and going the extra mile. A physical therapist since 1983, she focuses on outpatient care and has primarily served the Greystone community for the past 10 years. But she didn’t grow up wanting to be a physical therapist.
“I originally thought I wanted to go to medical school,” she said. “In college, I did some volunteering at a local hospital and ended up in the physical therapy department. I decided that was a much better match for me. I had always enjoyed doing sports and was always involved in athletics, so physical therapy was a better fit.”
She now works with a lot of people who have sports-related injuries, as well as post-operative patients, stroke patients and people dealing with chronic pain.
Bonner said she loves working with patients.
“Our focus is spending time with patients and making sure they are doing the exercises correctly,” she said. “The most rewarding thing to me is working with people and seeing the progress they make — seeing them improve and get back to the things they love to do and their lifestyle.”
Bonner’s lifestyle includes balancing work with spending time with her husband and her children and their spouses.
“Family always needs to come first,” she said. “I try to get my paperwork done before I leave the office, no matter how long that takes, so I don’t have to take it home.”
TherapySouth is a private, therapist-owned practice that started in 2006 with a single clinic. It has grown now to 25 different clinic locations in Alabama and Georgia.
“Each clinic is set up with the concept of it being close to either your home or your work, so you don’t have to go very far to find a physical therapist,” Bonner said.
Bonner is the director of TherapySouth’s Greystone clinic, so in addition to patient care, she also handles marketing, physician communication and community appearances to talk about what PT is and how to get a referral.
Although TherapySouth is relatively new, Bonner has worked with its founder, Steve Foster, for more than 30 years.
“It really matters to me that I work for somebody who has good moral and ethical values,” Bonner said. “He never tries to take advantage of a patient or an insurance company. He wants us to develop ourselves, and he’s very supportive of that. [TherapySouth] provides for its employees and its patient community.”
Bonner said that to her, success is feeling like she has done a good job at the end of the day and having her patients think she’s doing a good job. The key to her success is going the extra mile.
“You are there to serve your clientele,” she said. “You have to be willing to go the extra mile to make it convenient, comfortable and a place they want to come back to. Building relationships and doing a little extra every time — that’s what it comes down to.”
► WHERE: 2823 Greystone Commercial Blvd.
► CALL: 408-1713
► WEBSITE: http://therapysouth.net/
Sponsored Content.
