Have you ever gone to a physiotherapist and felt lost behind a curtain as your practitioner juggles multiple patients at the same time?
North Vancouver’s Avita Health & Massage Therapy Center has a different focus: one-on-one physiotherapy.
“One of the things about us that is unique is we do one-on-one physiotherapy only,” explained Peter Bachmann who started Avita 16 years ago with his wife. “We provide dedicated half-hour appointments so there’s one-on-one attention and that gives the best outcomes in my view. When you’re providing one-on-one, you get that undivided focus, undivided attention.”
Another practice that sets Avita apart is the use of “manual physiotherapy ” – where practitioners work on clients with their hands, utilizing stretching and active release techniques rather than simply defaulting to using a machine or device. “It’s not just here’s an icepack, stick in a couple of needles, here’s an icepack and then they go to the next person,” said Bachmann. “Patients absolutely value the undivided attention, and we believe strongly that it gives better patient outcomes. And successful outcomes are really what it’s all about for us.”
Of course, Avita is not just a destination for one-on-one physiotherapy. The Lonsdale clinic, which earned the 2016 and 2017 Vancouver Consumer Choice Award, has a highly experienced team of 40 Practitioners and support staff that includes Chiropractors, Dietitian’s, 22 Registered Massage Therapists, Counsellors and Orthotics specialists. They are all under one roof, in a clinic setting that can be described as stunning, warm and inviting.
“Our place is gorgeous, but what it comes down to really is all about our outstanding team – they are that good. We look for people with passion that share the same values that we do. We are pretty heart-driven around here and I think that’s made all the difference.”
Bachmann said the clinic’s core value is “genuine caring,” which makes it easy to make decisions about all that they do. Are we going to get the best equipment? Are we going to get the best people? What level of care are we going to give? We believe that if we give amazing care and provide amazing patient outcomes then the business will take care of itself.
More recently, Avita health care professionals have zeroed in on women’s health.
“We just started to see that there was a glaring hole out there with regard to clinics servicing women specifically,” said Bachmann. “We thought that no-one was really taking care of women in a focused way. Issues like pre- and post-natal care. We have even pioneered custom-built pregnancy tables for massage — that isn’t something that’s out there.”
Avita also has Physiotherapists who focus on women’s health issues like strengthening pelvic floor muscles and dealing with incontinence.These are common problems for women after they give birth or as they age. There are so few people doing this. While we provide a full spectrum of rehabilitative services at our clinic, we’re also focused on becoming the go-to health clinic for women’s health issues,” Bachmann said.
Avita Health and Massage Therapy Center is located at 407-1200 Lonsdale Ave, in the Lonsdale Place Medical Building at the Northeast corner of E 12 St and Lonsdale Ave. For more information, call 604-980-4491 or visit http://avitahealth.ca.
