By Danielle Kutchel
2020 was a big year for Berwick Physiotherapy, and not in the ways you might expect.
The veteran allied health business celebrated its 40th anniversary and saw its growth continue despite the raging of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Berwick Physiotherapy was even able to grow its staff by around 10 per cent.
That’s not to say the year was without its challenges, as spokesperson Adam Joyce – a musculoskeletal physiotherapist and hand therapist – explained.
Requirements on businesses were subject to change quickly and often required interpretation, he said.
Berwick Physiotherapy quickly committed to providing telehealth services where available, however they were also one of the few allied health providers who remained open through all of Covid, he said.
Patients aches and pains fit with the times, as working from home and taking up new forms of exercise saw new injuries and bodily complaints.
“We saw our place as not only to help people continue their work but take on new leisure activities safely,” Mr Joyce said.
The clinic has also demonstrated leadership in another way by establishing a graduate training program.
Berwick Physiotherapy seeks out local physiotherapy students and mentors them over the duration of their course. These students are then given priority in the hiring process, and the majority of the company’s staff are or have been residents of the local area.
Berwick Physiotherapy was recently named as a finalist in the Business Leadership category of the 2021 Casey Business Awards and Mr Joyce said that’s a testament to the company’s place in the community.
“One of our strengths is that despite the challenges our mission as a group is to provide first class healthcare to everyone in the community, and once we saw in a practical sense how we could continue doing that it was pretty simple and everyone was very keen to continue doing what we do every day, which is see our patients and meet their needs and help them with what their health care goals are.”
It’s now onwards and upwards for Berwick Physiotherapy, which recently opened a new site in Clyde North to take advantage of client growth across Casey.
“We’ve been in the community for a long time … and as Cardinia and Casey have grown we’ve grown very much in the same way,” Mr Joyce said.
“One of our strengths has been being able to adapt and change with what the needs of the community are and Covid is no different.
“We see ourselves being a big part of the community over the next 40 years.”
