 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
MEMO BLOG | |
Memo Calendar | Memo Pad | Business Memos | Loaves & Fishes | Letters | Home |
AMBER MCKENNA
THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
 |
| Stan Gorman, founder of Gateway Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic, recently opened his second clinic in Milwaukie. MEMO PHOTO: TIM CURRAN |
An east Portland native, Gorman started the clinic 10 years ago off Northeast Glisan Street, and today runs two clinics - one new, larger location off Southeast Stark and another in Milwaukie - as well as a staff of 24.
Gorman chalks his success up to a supportive community and “hands-on” treatment philosophy.
The Gateway Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic is distinct in that it has chiropractors, physical therapists, massage therapists and acupuncturists all on the same staff.
“No matter what (condition) walks through the door we've got someone to help them,” Gorman said. “No other clinic is doing what we're doing the way we're doing it.”
Gorman said his idea to combine a variety of practitioners in the same clinic has led to producing a quality product that meets a significant need.
“It's what sets us apart,” he said.
The friendly atmosphere of the clinic is apparent when one first walks in.
“We don't really wear ties or sterile lab coats,” Gorman said. “People can get cranky when they're in pain and we want them to look forward to coming here two or three times a week.”
With frequent visitors, the clinic stays busy and between the two locations sees 300 patients weekly.
Gorman said the most common aliments of clients are back and neck injuries.
“People need to be proactive and take care of those little aches and pains,” he said. “People don't need to walk around in pain, so we try to educate our patients.”
Kim MacQuarrie, physical therapist assistant and chiropractic assistant, has been working with Gorman since he first started the clinic 10 years ago.
“Stan and I had the same vision for the clinic separately,” MacQuarrie said.
She said starting the clinic from scratch was hard work, and at first it was a struggle to go against what everyone else is doing.
Gorman opened the Milwaukie location in July 2007 after realizing the need for such a clinic in the area.
After years of putting her “nose to the grind stone,” MacQuarrie said she is pleased to see the positive reputation and practice the clinic has built for itself.
Additionally, the clinic is heavily involved in the community. Gorman said that Gateway Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic sponsors about a dozen youth sports teams and annually provides free sports physicals to middle school athletes, as well as free injury assessments to high school and middle school students.
MacQuarrie said the clinic also visits local businesses to give free chair massages while educating about injury prevention and insurance benefits.
“We look at the whole person,” she said. “We focus a lot on education and trying to make the patient independent.”
Both Gorman and MacQuarrie said a main focus of the Gateway Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic is personalized attention.
“We know which soccer team people's kids are on. Our patients are more than just a 'neck in Room 3,' ” MacQuarrie said.
Gorman stated that patients always say, “I can't believe how much time you spend with us.”
“Our clients are a cross-section of people - student athletes, extreme fighters, auto- and work-related injuries,” he said. “I've had some patients who have been coming to me for a decade or more.”
With the hands-on approach and an upbeat atmosphere at Gateway Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinic, Gorman can be sure patients will be visiting the clinic for at least 10 more years.
 |
 |
 |
 |
MEMO Advertising | MEMO Archives | MEMO Web Neighbors | MEMO Staff | Home