Axes PT doesn't pay their employees for patient no-shows. This policy caused me to be harmed by a passive-aggressive female therapist whom I shall call Sofia (not her real name).
Dr. Francis Dysarz,* a hand surgeon on Bellevue, referred me to the unseemly business Axes Physical Therapy (tagline: we'll chop off your faith in PT) following a complex fracture of my right forefinger, and I was assigned to Sofia, a recent PT graduate. I missed my second appointment because I overslept, a total accident. After that, trainee "Sofia" never spoke to me again, despite the fact that her trainer "Geoff" sat next to her every day. She microwaved the uncooked rice (which I was supposed to rub between my fingers) so that it was too hot to even touch. She also gave me a steamed towel that was too hot to touch. When I said, "This is too hot," she totally ignored me. When I performed my exercises, she gave me no feedback. Geoff just sat there like a goober, making no comment about what was going on. Maybe he thought she was shy. Maybe he didn't think at all. (Men! You need to be aware that certain insecure women use silence as passive aggression, especially toward women who are prettier than them.) Sofia made sure that the rice and hot towels were burning hot every time that I was there.
In addition to the questionably qualified Sofia, the tables were greasy and sticky, and the props were not sanitized between clients.
I dropped out of PT after 5 sessions due to Sofia's wretched job performance. My finger never healed properly.
Some takeaways:
1. The cheapskate owners of Axes PT might consider paying their therapists if the patient fails to show up, if only to avoid liability for the actions of emotionally disturbed therapists like Sofia trying to "get even" with patients. In turn, physical therapists might want to avoid taking jobs with PT companies that won't pay them for no-shows. Either way, patients should be informed that this is the policy, so that they can pay their therapist for the missed appointment, or at least have an idea of why they are being given burning hot towels and freezing cold shoulders.
2. Physical therapists who purposely hurt or neglect their patients are sadistic and have no business working in the healing professions. No one deserves to be physically or emotionally harmed by a physical therapist for any reason. Further, if a patient feels that they have been harmed by a therapist, they should be able to report it, without fear of retaliation, to people who care and have the power to fire the offending staff member.
3. Physical therapists should sanitize the work table and all props after each client.
4. Supervisors of young physical therapists should be on the lookout for evidence of a sadistic nature in those they supervise and make sure this tendency is nipped in the bud. Maybe 60-year-old trainer Geoff didn't hurt me, but he allowed 22-year-old Sofia to do so because he missed signs of passive aggression going on right in front of him.
5. If you are unfortunate enough to have an injury requiring physical therapy, you may wish to avoid Axes Physical Therapy.
*In case you're wondering, I informed Dr. Dysarz of all this. He said nothing, which led me to believe that he approved of it. So you might want to avoid him, too. read more
