Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebekah Slafka.
Hi Rebekah, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
One of my earliest memories is laying with my mom in bed and her teaching me the word “Endometriosis.” This was why she was sick and this was why she had surgery. My twin sister and I both started having painful periods years later and soon is was apparent that we had the disease ourselves. After a failed surgery, I learned about pelvic floor PT. I was already in PT school and decided to do a rotation in Pelvic Health. I loved every second of it. I then started to go to Pelvic floor PT and had another surgery with a specialist and felt brand new. Endometriosis runs in our family, and learning more about gold standards of treatment have led to my family receiving better care and better quality of life, its been so redemptive!
After working in several insurance based models, it was clear that the quality care that I wanted to give, was not doable due to reimbursement and productivity standards. My twin sister, Sarah, and my family worked to open Restore Center for Pelvic Health and Wellness, to help women (and Men!) with pelvic dysfunction. Our center focuses on pelvic pain and chronic pain diagnoses, but we treat all pelvic floor diagnoses.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road to open the business is a personal one. My youngest daughter, JoJo, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and then started to get sick with a rare genetic pancreas condition. It became clear that I NEEDED to open my own center in order to get the flexibility that I needed. It was a scary time, because we could not afford to fail. The patients I had those first 5 months were so kind and were in the front row to the ups and downs of my daughters conditions. We really would not be the center we are today without our patients.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Restore Center for. Pelvic Health and Wellness?
Restore is a center that focuses on compassionate, whole person, skilled pelvic care. All PTs are pelvic health certified and we pride ourselves on staying up to date on the research. We spend one hour 1 on 1 with our patients and focus on manual therapies such as dry needling, visceral mobilizations, cupping, etc.
I have my Pelvic Rehabilitation Practitioner Certification (PRPC) through the prestigious Herman and Wallace institute as well as an Endometriosis distinguishment through iCareBetter. I love treating Endometriosis patients and any diagnosis that is hard. I have an amazing team of two other PTs and the world’s best Administrator. Our PT, Deepa, is a yoga instructor as well a classically trained Indian dancer and has written chapters in PT text books. I hope to be as accomplished as her one day! Our other PT, Kat, was a student of mine and has such a passion and drive when it comes to pelvic floor care. Sarah, our administrator, is someone our patients love to talk to and is the first voice our patients hear when calling. She makes them feel comfortable and heard. All of them complete the compassion and warmth our center is known for.
Our center travels around the USA and the world attending research conferences to make sure we stay up to date on pelvic health research. I also am an adjunct professor at a local PT school teaching a pelvic health elective and have also taught courses for alumni.
I am most proud of the quality of care that we provide. It is care that is worth waiting for and is not found in other settings. This is where I go for PT and this is where I want my family and friends to go. Our feedback on google shows how the heart and soul of our center is kindness.
I want readers to know that no matter what they come in for, we are their people. We joke many of our patients are “fabulous flunkies.” They have “failed” PT elsewhere, but thrive under our care
Do you have any advice for those looking to network or find a mentor?
The key to being a good pelvic floor PT is mentorship. We have a post on our IG that is titled “Is your Pelvic floor PT worth waiting for.” Unfortunately, people can wait months to see a PT, who has had ONE weekend course in pelvic floor. They are new and have no mentorship and usually the only PT in their location that treats. This leads to high burnout rate and poor care.
Having a network of PT friends as well as being part of a business cohort run by the world-famous Nicole Cozean and her husband Jesse, make sure that we have ears to listen and skilled PT to bounce ideas off of.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.restorecenterpt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/restorecenterpt/?next=%2F
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebekah-slafka-pt-dpt-prpc-b1043b1a3/
