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Quincy is a town with a population of about 7500 in Central Washington. It’s a growing community thanks in large part to technology companies like Microsoft, Yahoo! and Dell putting in massive data centers there since 2007. The climate is mild and dry, and there are plenty of water sources for recreation plus apple and cherry orchards surround the area. According to Quincy Valley Hospital’s CEO Glenda Bishop, it’s “a sweet little town.”

But even with that syrupy description, Glenda understands what it takes to keep a community like Quincy growing and attracting residents to stay, children who grew up there to come back, and companies to invest—and quality local healthcare is a big part.

Glenda has worked for Quincy Valley Hospital, a CAH facility, for 28 years and was named CEO in 2017. “I felt like I was drinking from a fire hose back then,” she said. “We were really financially challenged, staff-challenged and leadership-challenged.” That year she met RehabVisions Operations Director Bill Mannewitz, PT at the state hospital association conference. Bill told Glenda that RehabVisions staffs and manages therapy departments for small community hospitals. He told her he was not going to bug her but if RehabVisions could ever help her, to let him know. The two met again the next year and the year after that. Finally in Glenda’s third year as CEO and during a global pandemic, Quincy Valley Hospital became partners with RehabVisions.

Throughout the transition, the team at RehabVisions was there for Glenda and the staff to make it as smooth as possible. “I knew the whole time we were contemplating making the move to RehabVisions, it would be tough on the existing therapists,” she said. “Bill was so kind and supportive with the transition—and it was every bit as tough as we knew it would be. But Bill brought along another therapist to help, and they were so generous with their time.”

And almost two years into the partnership, Glenda is thrilled with how the department has grown. “There are exciting things going on. I tell the board all the time that it confirms to me these difficult decisions can be worth it. Yes, we were relinquishing some control, but we vetted the company and Bill was very transparent giving us names of folks we could talk to who were longstanding clients of RehabVisions, and the quality came through with everyone we talked to.”

The future is also bright, according to Glenda. The hospital is in the throes of a community campaign to build a new facility and their success with the rehab department is part of the story they tell. “At the end of the day, we are not going to be doing orthopedic surgeries, but we will facilitate efficient referrals to specialists and surgeons who recognize the value of getting patients back to their own community where they can get the best therapy program we could boast. We want to be an access point—those programs that we do provide need to be high quality, efficient and sustainable.”

Glenda said had they not decided to partner with RehabVisions, the department would still be providing quality therapy. “We would still be OK, and patients would perceive it as good care, but we wouldn’t be growing and bringing in new services. We would have gaps that we wouldn’t be able to fill. We don’t have the access, touchpoints or expertise in the therapy world.”

And she summed up what many small-town hospitals recognize. “The thing that I love about this place is this is where I brought my daughter when she dislocated her finger during basketball and my son when he developed a serious staph infection. My husband received excellent physical therapy right here during the last several weeks. We have to protect this. Local healthcare is what has to be here to keep our community growing.”