In this week’s episode of the Healthy Wealthy and Smart podcast, I speak with Ali Schoos, a private practice outpatient orthopedic and sports medicine physical therapist out of Bellevue, Washington. Ali joins me to discuss why her goal is to change the current PT mindset from episode based care to full lifespan primary care and why this change could be fundamental to your practice.

In this episode, we talk about:

-What is a primary care physical therapist

-Why we should treat every patient like a direct access patient

-How to incorporate patient education in your treatment plan

-How physical therapists can impact the growing Alzheimer's population

-The benefits of exercise on body and brain longevity

-And so much more!

Currently, about 5.4 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's and will ultimately die from the disease because there is no cure. By 2050, it is projected that 13.8 million people age 65 and older will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's and the associated costs are expected to grow to over 1 trillion dollars.

Physical therapists are uniquely qualified to help provide the care needed for this patient population through preventative education and exercise-based treatments. Ultimately, we can help reduce future healthcare costs, improve quality of life for our patients, and slow the progression of the disease.

For more information, be sure to check out the Alzheimer's Association for great informative resources.

You can find more from Ali on twitter and check out her website here!

If you would like to learn more about the Graham Sessions, check out this podcast with Steve Anderson!

Thank you for listening and subscribing to the show! If you like what you're hearing, I would greatly appreciate you leaving a rating and/or a review on iTunes.

Stay Healthy Wealthy and Smart!

Xo Karen