University of New England

Nexus
UNE PT Grads
2 + 9 Clinics = Great Care for Southern Maine

by Danielle Vayenas

When Kurt Jepson and Larry Risigo graduated from UNE’s Physical Therapy program in 1985, they never dreamed they’d be the co-founders of a growing Physical Therapy empire in southern Maine. Jepson and Risigo, however, hardly fi t the big business empire-builder stereotype. Low key and relaxed, they both spoke about how they got started.

Kurt Jepson, 2nd from right, poses with Olympic athletes in Turin. Jepson and Mike Hersey '99 helped U.S. Olympians go for the Gold. More ...

Risigo, who is from Connecticut, and Jepson, who is from Caribou and “a Mainiac through and through,” realized fairly soon after working in others’ clinics, that they could do it better themselves. They spent only around $5,000 on equipment, even building some of it themselves. Th ey still have their very first stationary bike, which as Risigo said, “cost $99 at Service Merchandise,” and they built their own plinths (treatment tables) out of pine, foam and naugahyde (they eventually donated them to a local high school).

Starting a Small Business
Jepson spoke about the challenge of starting a small business – “we both did fill-in work on the side, at nursing homes and so on. We learned marketing as we went along – although, there is a limit to what you can do to market health care – it’s more subtle, more word of mouth.” Risigo added, “I can remember sitting out in the 90-degree heat waiting for patients to come through the door.”

Eventually, however, the patients that did come liked what they found, and began to pass along recommendations, and little by little, they increased their practice. They now have clinics located in Brunswick, Kennebunk, Saco, South Portland, Standish, Windham, York, and within the Beacon Occupational Health Clinic near the Maine Mall and the Scarborough Spine Center. Most of their work is done with outpatient, orthopedic “walk-in” patients. Jepson is a boardcertifi ed sports physical therapy specialist (one of approximately 500 nationwide) and his specialty is biomechanical evaluation.  Risigo completed a two-year advanced orthopaedic manual therapy residency program at the Institute of Manual Th erapy in Woburn, Mass., and he specializes in treating spinal disorders.

Although they are the co-founders, and serve as directors for two of the clinics, Jepson and Risigo still spend 60 percent of their time as clinicians and the remaining 40 percent is devoted to administration. Jepson said, “we have a practice manager to handle the insurance contracts and so on, and we have 70 employees in total – many of whom are UNE graduates.”

UNE's Internship Program
UNE’s internship program has been a great resource for recruiting new therapists. Risigo said, “it allows us to really get a sense of who they are, and if they’ll fi t in well with our practice, but also allows them to discover if Saco Bay is a good fit for them as well.”

Both Jepson and Risigo feel that physical therapy has made a big circle, going from more basic therapy, to more computerized technology, and now back again to the basics, such as balls, rubber bands, and good solid exercise therapy. Jepson said, “insurance being what it is – it doesn’t cover a lot of fancy toys – in fact, these days, insurance usually only covers about six visits on average.”

However, even with dealing with shrinking insurance reimbursement and the rising cost of business, they feel strongly that remaining therapistowned is the key to success. Jepson said, “we’d rather go down with the ship than sell to a large, non-PT owned corporation.” Th ey continue to see more and more patients and, like any successful small business, they remain flexible and react well to changes in the environment.

“With a greater public awareness of physical therapy and what it can offer,” said Jepson, “I don’t think the need will ever decrease.”

As they both refl ected on how far they’ve come, Jepson and Risigo said they were in the right place at the right time. As Risigo put it, “it was mostly just dumb luck” and Jepson added “a lot of trial and error.”

Yet most who’ve worked with them or been treated at their clinics would say their success is due to a lot of hard work, outstanding clinical skills and great patient outcomes.

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