Whether you’re an entry-level physical therapist or a seasoned professional in the PT industry, growing throughout your career is an important priority for many individuals, which is why you should choose to set roots down in an organization that will invest in you and gives you ample amount of opportunities to increase your skill set and progress throughout your physical therapy career.

At Upstream Rehabilitation, we’re committed to investing in our associates and committed to your personal and professional growth. Take a look at some of these inspiring stories and see how Upstream Rehabilitation is addressing gender gaps within the physical therapy industry for compensation, actively working towards leadership diversity, and hear from our PTs on the things they love about working at Upstream and their ability to progress within the organization.

Sam Gerding Story

Take a look at Sam’s inspiring story and see how he has progressed over the course of his physical therapy career and throughout his time with Upstream Rehabilitation.

“I initially was a PTA graduating in 2002 from San Jacinto College in Houston, TX. I left Houston to go back home to Louisville, KY after graduation. As I worked for several companies I became more interested in the operations side of things after working for a small private practice in Louisville, KY. I heard several changes were coming for the PTAs regarding reimbursement and went back to school at the University of Louisville for my Bachelor’s of Science and then onto Bellarmine University for my DPT in 2010.

“After graduating from PT school, I took on management positions in private practice outpatient clinics, an industrial medicine in-house clinic for Ford Motor, and then management for a hospital sports medicine facility. Each opportunity led to personal growth and understanding of aspects both on the clinical side [and] again more operational aspects that I felt [were] intriguing.

“By this time, due to seasonal allergies, I moved back down to Houston. I was familiar with Results Physiotherapy from former colleagues that worked for the company. In August 2020, I decided to join the team. What I loved about the company was that we had engagement from upper management to the clinic level on visibility of metrics and operational processes. The MSD (multi-site director) opportunity was offered in August 2022, [and] I was excited to get involved more on the operations side.

“I have been amazed in the short time in my leadership role. Teams are stepping up and engaging their referral sources and community. We coordinate a united game plan between various roles: CDs (Clinic Directors)/AM (Account Managers with the Marketing Team)/Recruiting. That support is shown with our swift acceptance of volunteering at a local college job fair, establishing local school liaisons, development of our RCEC (Regional Clinical Excellence Coordinator) role with senior therapist and the mentorship program, also signing up for CEUs that help support our physician referral requests (Pelvic health, TMJ, Vertigo). Our team is ready and willing to help one another and the community needs.

“I was fortunate enough to recently become promoted to Regional Vice President for the Houston Market on 3/20/2023. I can already see that the senior leadership of this company cares for their people and does the same thing I do at the local level. Encourage, Challenge, Support and Promote those that invest their time and energy into what is my true passion. Helping others get back to a quality life and outcome that everyone wants. To be independent and overcome obstacles.

“That is our passion and still after all this time in the profession, that is what I enjoy the most. Patient centered care by a Team focused on getting them there.”

Gender Pay Gap

Upstream Rehabilitation is also committed to making sure that we’re providing an equitable workplace. Upstream and our family of brands are leading the way when it comes to gender pay gaps. As the largest pure-play outpatient physical therapy provider in the nation, there is less than a one percent difference between the salary for male and female physical therapists. In addition, we created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) committee to help us actively work towards improving equity in four key areas: documents/compliance, social media, education/training, and outreach/recruiting.

Gender Diversity in Leadership Positions

Upstream is also committed to career advancement and leadership opportunities for all of our associates. In the last several years, Upstream has also hired and promoted women to fill positions of leadership including key positions for clinical, sales, recruiting, and growth functions.

Upstream Rehabilitation is committed to eliminating the gender gap that can be seen in the workforce.

770 Promotions in 2022

For physical therapy professionals who are passionate about joining an organization where they can grow, Upstream Rehabilitation is an organization that strives to give you opportunities to advance your career. In 2022, Upstream Rehabilitation had 770 promotions across the company.

Upstream Rehabilitation is the leading nationwide pure-play outpatient physical therapy provider and we continue to expand every year. With expansion comes an abundant amount of opportunities and career growth for those physical therapy professionals, both clinical and non-clinical, who are looking to grow throughout their career and advance in their company. With our career tracks, you can progress throughout your physical therapy career in areas that you’re passionate about.

Empower Your Physical Therapy Career with Upstream Rehabilitationn

Growing throughout your professional career is an important goal for many physical therapy professionals, which is why you should pursue a career with Upstream Rehabilitation and our family of brands. We’re committed to your growth and development as a physical therapy professional and at Upstream Rehabilitation, you can empower your career through industry-leading continuing education courses, structured clinical career tracks, personal growth, and leadership development opportunities.

Browse and apply to physical therapy roles with Upstream Rehabilitation and see why thousands of our associates have chosen Upstream Rehabilitation as their employer of choice as they look to empower their physical therapy career in the pursuit of clinical excellence.