ACCESSIBILITY issues are no longer a concern for patients of a local exercise physiology practice thanks to the development of a brand new rehab studio.
KB Exercise Physiology has built the unique rehab studio, which offers accessibility to all patients with the completion of the building happening towards the end of last year.
Exercise physiology aims to prevent or manage disease or injury and assists in restoring movement and health through the participation of a range of exercises.
Since moving to McCallum Street in 2017, owner Katherine Bissett was noticing that as her patient numbers increased, accessibility was becoming an ongoing issue so she decided to do something about it.
“We made the decision to build the new studio in early 2021, trying to make life a lot easier for our patients who have mobility concerns,” she said
As patient numbers grew over the years, so did the complexity of patient conditions, with her practice growing from about 20 patients in 2017 to well over 100 at the present day.
The practice helps a wide range of patients with some undergoing rehabilitation following surgery with others undergoing ongoing treatment to manage the complications of conditions such as multiple sclerosis as well as Parkinson’s disease.
The rehab studio has been built with a ramp to allow those using wheelchairs, walkers, crutches or those who have a risk of falling easy and safe access to the studio to attend their appointments.
Rear lane access also has meant that the practice has been able to include disabled parking at the front of the studio, which further adds to the ease of accessibility for her patients.
“We have two disabled parking spots in front of the studio, as well as three other parking spots – so five in total – plus we have the parking on McCallum Street also,” she said.
Originally formed in 2007, the practice is the only private exercise physiology practice which offers a fully equipped rehabilitation studio in Swan Hill, featuring a range of exercise equipment used for building strength and increasing mobility.
“We used a local builder and are really happy with how the building has turned out, and the timeframe that they completed it in, it was done very quickly,” she said.
All rehabilitation will now be done in the studio, with the practice’s original brick building now being used as the consultation rooms for the practice.
