Happy May, PPS Members

By Sandra Norby, PT, DPT

I thought it would be fun to share a bit of history about May Day for those of us who celebrated by leaving a basket of goodies at a neighbor’s home after ringing the door bell and running away.

In medieval and modern Europe, May Day was celebrated as the return of spring. It also recalls the date that more than 300,000 American workers in 13,000 businesses walked off their jobs in 1886 as a show of solidarity to gain an 8-hour workday. I am sure I learned this in my formative years, but it seems serendipitous how this momentous event weaves its way into this month’s Impact theme of innovative practice models.

When I ponder what the phrase “innovative practice models” means to me, my first thought is that innovation changes the way things have always been done. If brick and mortar was our history, then innovation is a mobile practice. If hands-on treatment each and every session is the norm, then innovation is using telehealth. If relying on insurance payments is the norm, then innovation is a cash practice.

Innovative practice models may also look like traditional practices from the outside with differences on the inside. Partnering with other professionals under the same roof or using creative wage structures also represent innovation.

Join me in reading and learning from this month’s Impact. Change is inevitable, and these articles reflect that change has brought success with innovation.