Experience the Difference: Q&A with Hartz Physical Therapy, Ascend 2024 Practice of the Year

There’s no better way to cap off each year’s Ascend than presenting the awards for Innovator of the Year and Practice of the Year. We’re always fortunate to have a full slate of deserving nominees, and this year’s Practice of the Year winner, Hartz Physical Therapy, is yet another example of the passion, dedication, and caring that exemplify the best of the profession. 

Amidst staffing challenges for rehab therapy practices nationwide, the southern Pennsylvania-based Hartz PT boasts remarkable retention and satisfaction among its staff and stellar patient outcomes. To top it off, they go above and beyond to give back to their community. And while Ascend may have taken place in September, it’s perfect that we get to celebrate the Practice of the Year during National Physical Therapy Month (October). To get a first-hand perspective of how Hartz PT thrives, I spoke with CEO and Founder Brian Hartz, DPT, MPT, OCS, CSCS.    

In your mind, what sets Hartz PT apart from other practices?

Our focus is on our employees first and foremost. It is our responsibility as employers to give our team the resources to succeed, both professionally and personally. We know that if we take excellent care of our employees, they will take excellent care of our patients.  

This model has led to low employee turnover, unparalleled company culture, and high engagement among our team.  It has driven the growth of our practice over these past 25 years.  In addition, our commitment to encouraging and rewarding community involvement by our staff members through contributions of time and talent has always been part of our mission. These two factors have allowed us to thrive in a very competitive market landscape, with a fraction of the marketing budget compared to hospitals and physician-owned clinics.

Our company mission, in a sentence, is “HARTZ Physical Therapy is committed to providing unparalleled outcomes and top-notch customer service to our patients, opportunities for professional and personal growth for our staff members, and contributions of time, talent and resources to our surrounding community.”

You’ve achieved some remarkable Net Promoter Scores and retention rates among your providers at a time when so many clinicians are getting burnt out. What’s been your key to avoiding that in your clinics? 

From the beginning, a cornerstone of our practice has been implementing structured employee engagement strategies designed to challenge our staff members to grow not only as clinicians but also as individuals. Going out of your comfort zone can be scary, but after you complete that new task, you have a renewed sense of self. We work this into the fabric of our employee experience and celebrate at the end with an amazing team trip. In addition, we hire based on cultural fit, initiative, and drive to succeed more so than experience. This emphasis has led to a cohesive team that supports and challenges each other to achieve personal and company goals.

How has that success with staff retention and satisfaction translated to your patients? Are you seeing more completed episodes of care and better outcomes? More repeat patients?

We are in an extremely competitive market with POPTs and hospital-owned systems, so we heavily rely on returning patients and “word-of-mouth” referrals. We are confident that once you have “Experienced the Difference” at our practice (our tagline), our patients will become lifelong supporters and our best marketers. 

What advice would you offer to a practice struggling to keep talented providers?

Start an objective employee engagement strategy and always take care of your team first–even before your patients!

What was the impetus behind wanting to give back to the community?

At Hartz PT, we’ve been so fortunate throughout our lives and feel strongly that we have an obligation to support those who are less fortunate. It can be surprising how much need is present in our communities! All six of our offices are located in Lancaster County, so we focus our philanthropic efforts there. Encouraging and rewarding community service has allowed our team to become familiar with the needs of our community—so much so that we felt compelled to start a charitable arm of the company to support and bolster our community initiatives. 

What are you hoping to accomplish over the next year?

Our goals in 2025 include a plan to celebrate our 25th anniversary. As part of that, we will be rolling out a donation campaign to support 25 local non-profits and celebrating lots of wins for our team. We hope to see continued growth of the practice through the diversification of services, especially our neurological services, and continuing to expand our reach. We strive to be leaders within the rehabilitation field and are committed to raising the bar in our industry.

Learn more about Hartz PT on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.