Today we’d like to introduce you to Dr. Zoe Munie, DPT
Hi Dr. Munie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I went to Saint Louis University and graduated with a Minor in Psychology, my Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science, and my Doctorate in Physical Therapy.
I started my career in acute care and inpatient rehabilitation, later moving into outpatient therapy.
My first foray into outpatient PT was working for a large hospital in their integrative medicine department. At the interview, the supervisor basically told me that the department only worked with complex cases and with people who had originally “failed” therapy. It gave me a good launching pad to begin honing my orthopedic skills.
While working in private practice, I started learning about “cash” practices because of insurance frustrations. From where I stood, insurance clinics didn’t seem to make sense for most patients, and they definitely didn’t make sense for a therapist. The patients’ bills were often large, the therapists frantically ran around seeing 4-5 patients at a time teetering on the brink of total burnout, and the clinic ran increasingly thin margins. The only party that came out on top was the insurance company. And the value received at these clinics for what is paid is underwhelming at best.
The other issue I found with insurance was that a patient’s rehab was often ended prematurely due coverage limitations. Patients started asking me if they could “keep me” for further training and guidance at their discharge visit. I got tired of saying no to them, so I decided to get a job as a personal trainer to learn performance training. I quickly found out that fixing people and optimizing people are very different things, and I needed to expand my exercise library to fit the needs of a non-injured person. My training colleagues and courses I took during this time were invaluable.
After this, I decided to open up Adapt Performance Physio. Business ownership has been quite the learning curve, but I’m loving the process so far.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have a few sayings that I live my life by. There’s a saying by Goethe that I have hanging on a post-it in my office. “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Ezra 10:4 says “Rise up; this matter is in your hands. We will support you, so take courage and do it.”
I don’t think there’s ever a “smooth road” when you do something that is worthwhile. But I think faith, humility, and a little gumption will get you there. Getting a Doctorate was hard. Trying to help people navigate aches and pains while trying to muddle through my own struggles was not easy. Finding my niche in a broad profession wasn’t easy, and trying to find an employer in the healthcare industry that aligned with my beliefs turned out to be nearly impossible. I’ve had a lot of developments in my career, and a lot of learning opportunities that were difficult for me. But every time a new door opened, I was shown a snapshot of what is meant for my life, my career, and my patients. Those snapshots are what I work toward.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
What sets me apart from other therapists is my approach to therapy. I operate by the Golden Rule. I take the time to listen, understand, and thoroughly assess. Then, I educate on what’s happening and give my recommendation on how to fix the issue, even if that recommendation is a referral to a different provider. This is what I expect out of any of my own healthcare providers, so this is how I operate. I don’t believe in bullying my patients into treatment because I see dollar signs. How they proceed with my recommendation is their prerogative. I’m always floored when my patients tell me they’ve never had this kind of treatment before. This should be the standard in healthcare; not the exception.
I believe that our current medical model is a very reactionary sickcare model; not a proactive healthcare model. We’re great at keeping people alive, but we’re not great at helping them thrive and avoid health hardships. I’m proud to be a part of the movement of health professionals that want to improve our healthspan; not just our lifespan.
While I work with the general population, ages 13+, I specialize in working with 2 main groups of people:
1) Those with chronic pain and disease who want to live a life that is as active and healthy as possible.
2) Those who play or work in a physically demanding or tactical environment.
Services:
- Physical Therapy: It’s a different experience with Adapt. It’s completely 1:1 and you have access to me in between visits should something come up. Best part, you no longer need a prescription to start physical therapy in the state of Missouri.
- Training Services: Functional Training, Work/Sports Reconditioning, and Performance Training
- Dry Needling.
- Gym Visits: I meet you at your gym of choice to help you navigate returning to a gym setting after an injury.
- Medical Companion Visits: I accompany you at your medical visit to help you ask relevant questions or translate medical terms into English.
Physical Therapy and Training can be done in-person, virtually, or a combination of both. Adapt is a 100%, out-of-network clinic, which means we cut the middleman out of the equation when you hire me as your therapist. The patient pays up front for services, and can submit to their insurance for reimbursement after services are rendered. Most of my patients have reported substantial reimbursement or contribution toward their deductible.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Ask and trust God to show you the way forward and then take the next step toward that.
I got laid off during the pandemic 3 days after I found out I was pregnant. We hadn’t even told anybody yet. I thought my job was safe because I worked for a large hospital organization in the area. Wrong. I was pretty bitter about how it all went down, and I had a lot of uncertainty about the future of healthcare moving forward and what I wanted my career to look like. So I started praying for some guidance, and I haven’t stopped since.
Prayer works! I got a lot of guidance in the form of inklings that I should pursue things that maybe didn’t make much sense at the time; in the form of people telling me I should run my own clinic (I thought they were crazy); in the form of doors opened, areas explored, and doors shut again.
Pricing:
- Call or text for a consult.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.adaptpp.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adaptperformancephysio/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@adaptpp
- Other: consult@adaptpp.com
