360 Physical Therapy to soft reopen May 5 in new location with new precautions
VANCOUVER — The 360 Physical Therapy clinic has been a loyal part of the Salmon Creek community for 14 years, and now, it is reopening amid new precautions inside CrossFit Fort Vancouver.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always felt like I was meant to, to provide healing care,” said Dwight “Ike” Anunciado, owner and operator of 360 Physical Therapy. “If you don’t assess the right system, you’re not going to get the right results. The musculoskeletal system is just one system in the body. Our niche is those people who aren’t responding to traditional care … we can unwind the nervous system.”
Anunciado decided to make the move to the new location after the initial restrictions from COVID-19 caused closures and loss of income at his Salmon Creek location, but that the move had been a possibility before the pandemic.
The timing worked out perfectly for them, he said, with a small business loan and reducing equipment inventory and location size giving them enough funds to weather the storm and actually come out better than before.
“I’d probably say about 60 to 70 percent of our energies were just, especially in the last year, two years, just trying to make sure we got paid,” Anunciado said. “This move, and the pandemic, that was kind of the last straw. It’s actually been a blessing because it allowed us to be able to do all the improvements and to move really seamlessly from Salmon Creek to here. I can’t even imagine if the gym was still open and there’s like, hundreds of people come through there a day. It would have been just crazy.”
The clinic specializes in what is known as counterstrain methods of physical therapy. The goal is to help patients identify what is causing a reduction in their mobility and eliminate it through targeted stretching and exercises.
The clinic’s partnership with CrossFit Fort Vancouver allows them the added freedom of no longer managing and paying for gym space. Instead, many patients who are a part of CrossFit can simply walk over to 360 for their physical therapy after their workout.
Anunciado first developed a small presence at CrossFit Fort Vancouver in 2016, and now will host all his operations from there. The switch, while it is great for 360, is also a big change, Anunciado said. They will move from a facility of 3,500 square feet to one of less than 1,000. CrossFit as a whole has 10,000 square feet, however, and the partnership will allow cross-use.
“I’m excited about opening up. It was bittersweet closing up Salmon Creek, because, you know, that was my baby,” Anunciado said. “I’m really grateful the stimulus package, I was able to get the PPP, was just deposited into the bank. I was like, ‘How am I going to survive?’ I have not had income since the twenty third of March. So the timing has just been like, ‘Oh, praise the Lord.’”
Anunciado explained that he will no longer be dealing with insurance companies, with the exception of medicare, in lieu of a new out-of-pocket system which he says will actually give many patients a better deal.
“Most people have high deductibles with their insurance companies anywhere from $1,500 to $6,000,” he said. “When you get a bill, I am required to bill at an insurance rate. So my insurance rate is like $280 a visit. So until you fulfill your deductible, you’re having to pay that insurance rate. My out of pocket right now is $115. So $115 versus $280.”
In response to the ongoing pandemic, 360 Physical Therapy will be implementing staggered visits as well as the use of personal protective equipment (PPEs) like masks. The clinic also invested in an infrared thermometer to take the temperatures of all persons coming into the clinic before their appointments.
Scheduling of appointments is being done on a first-come-first-served basis. Patients can either call (360) 573 2266 or email info@360-pt.com. The phone will not be answered all the time, Anunciado said, so right now the email is the most reliable. For patients for already scheduled visits, they should receive emails soon.
