New physical therapy clinic to open in Weiser

by Philip A. Janquart
 As a kid, Kip Stromberg remembers spending time in his dad’s physical therapy clinic in Logan, Utah.
 A three-sport athlete in high school, he spent time under his dad’s care, receiving therapy for things like sprained ankles and other minor injuries.
 It’s part of the reason he chose to become a physical therapist himself; knowing the feeling his dad must have had helping people heal.
 Stromberg, 32, is now in Weiser and poised to begin treating people in pain. He is the newest addition to the budding Current Physical Therapy network that has locations in Nampa and Fruitland.
 “Seeing my dad in his clinic in Logan, I thought, ‘This is a pretty cool profession,’” Stromberg said, as he inspected a facility being customized to fit his operational vision.
 The clinic, located at 770 E. First St., next to Domino’s Pizza, is slated to open in mid-November.
 “Clinics have different layouts, but I like having a lot of good, open space so we can do exercises and be able to move around a lot,” Stromberg said. “Some places have a lot of equipment everywhere.”
 His clinic will have treatment tables, a treadmill an exercise bike, on top of strengthening equipment such as a leg press and some free weights. It will also have two treatment rooms.
 “That’s where we will do our evaluations, but there are also patients that prefer to be in a room instead of being out with other people, and we always want people to be comfortable,” Stromberg explained.
 Stromberg earned his bachelor’s in athletic training from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah before attending the University of North Carolina where he earned his doctorate in physical therapy.
 Through the 1980s, physical therapists needed a bachelor’s degree to practice. The bar was raised in the 1990s when a master’s degree was required. Beginning in approximately 2006, all physical therapists were required to obtain a doctorate in order to treat patients.
 Stromberg spent the last four years practicing at a clinic in Tacoma, Wash. He was recently contacted by Current Physical Therapy co-owner Eric Williams about opening a clinic in Weiser. Williams and business partner Nick Hartley founded Current at a small location in Fruitland. They soon moved to a more spacious facility and then opened the Nampa location about a year and a half ago.
 Many patients in Weiser had to travel the 20- to 25-minutes to Fruitland to receive treatment. On the advice of those patients, Williams and Hartley decided it would be to their benefit, and of their patients’, to open a clinic in Weiser.
 “All along, we’ve had a lot of people driving from Weiser to our Fruitland location, asking us, ‘When are you coming to Weiser?’” Williams said.
 That’s when they contacted Stromberg.
 “My brother’s wife is best friends with Eric’s wife, so he initially reached out to my brother Ryan who is also a physical therapist,” Stromberg said. “He had just gotten a new job and didn’t necessarily want to accept, so he told Eric he should get hold of me. My first thought was where is Weiser, Idaho?”
 After four years in Tacoma, and having visited the area, Stromberg decided to move his family to Weiser. He is currently renting a house at upper Mann Creek.
 He said that working in Tacoma allowed him to see many different cases, obtaining enough knowledge to treat a wide range of problems.
 “You know, urban medicine and rural medicine, there is a big difference,” he said. “On the urban side of things, there are a lot of providers and so there are a lot of specialists. Many people don’t realize that you can specialize in pediatrics, neural, geriatrics, women’s health … I mean, there are a lot of specialized areas. But you come to a place like Weiser, and you are pretty much treating everybody.”
 Current Physical Therapy uses all the modern treatment techniques you would expect from a progressive physical therapy clinic.
 “Our name and our whole mindset is that we are cutting edge as far as the technology and techniques,” Williams said. “We are bringing the best of the best as far as physical therapy goes.
 “We’ll be saving about 25 patients an hour drive both ways to Fruitland, many of them twice a week. We have golfers from the high school, some of the cheerleaders. As you may know, the cheer team has a great track record of success in state championships and we’ve worked with several of those girls, plus some football players.”
 For more information, call (208) 718-0827, email Kip Stromberg at kipstromberg@currentphysicaltherapy.com, or visit www.currentphysicaltherapy.com.