NEW GLASGOW
Too often, when the subject of the workforce and business in Nova Scotia comes up, pessimistic tales arise of young professionals leaving the province en masse for Ontario and Western Canada.
Liz van Zutphen, New Glasgow’s newest physiotherapist since last January, is proud to be contradicting that negative narrative of exodus, by doing business in New Glasgow.
At the official opening of Balance Physiotherapy, her business on Summer Road,
van Zutphen said she is grateful to be part of the New Glasgow business community, and came to New Glasgow seeing a need for physiotherapists in the region.
Van Zutphen said has been enjoying the business side of things, since she’s owned a clinic since 2004. She has previously worked in Halifax, so when she came to the smaller community in New Glasgow to open Balance, she admitted the prospect of building up a solid number of patients was a little daunting.
However, she soon realized that although New Glasgow lacks the population of a larger centre, there are far more powerful ways to get a good reputation as a physiotherapist than just being in an area with heavy population: like word of mouth.
“With the profession, you get a lot of your business by word of mouth – word spreads. That is what’s powerful about doing business in a small community,” said van Zutphen. “There are a lot of referrals, when people have good things to say, and share the word with one another.”
Van Zutphen says a physiotherapy business like hers also grows through the vector of recommendations from other doctors, adding “it’s nice to be part of the medical community.”
She has extensive experience and a strong background in physiotherapy, having not only a bachelor of science in physiotherapy, but also a masters of clinical science manipulative therapy.
“I have 15 years of experience, so I want to use it to help the community, to help them deal with their pain and orthopedic problems,” said van Zutphen, who is also a member of the Fellowship in the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapists.
At the official opening of Balance Physiotherapy on Wednesday, van Zutphen was accompanied by many members of her family – including her husband Lachlan Gillis and 21-month-old son Christian.
In addition to her family, many of the patients she has regularly seen since opening last year visited for the event.
In attendance from the Town of New Glasgow were Mayor Nancy Dicks and Coun. John Guthro, for an official ribbon cutting.
According to information from Balance Physiotherapy, van Zutphen specializes in orthopedic injuries (such as sprains and strains), whiplash, postural and back pain, arthritis, chronic pain and post surgical rehabilitation.
