Jereme Johnson had a vision.
And these days that vision has become a reality, and a huge benefit for his patients at Johnson Physical Therapy.
Jereme and his team of therapists, student assistants, and office support staff create not only an environment that is conducive to healing, but an atmosphere where going to physical therapy is actually enjoyable.
He opened his Ruston location in 2017, and he hasn’t looked back.
His model and his high success rates have created such a demand for JPT that Jereme opened a second location in West Monroe in 2020 and is about to open a third location in Monroe in September.
“When I started JPT I had this vision of a more efficient way of doing things,” said Jereme, husband of Carmen and dad to Jaylee, Kade and Knox. “When a person comes in here and spends their hard-earned money and say 60 minutes of their valuable time, we are going to move them during that entire 60 minutes. We aren’t going to put them on some passive modalities.
“I think for us it was appreciating the individual and what they want out of their body and how do we get them there in an efficient way in an environment that makes them enthusiastic about the process.”
Jereme is the first to give credit to his team that comprises JPT.
“You start a business with the mindset of providing a good product and work hard and everything will be what it should be,” said Jereme. “Now I look back and I know it’s really about finding the right people that help make this thing special. What we have done is comprise a great team that go above and beyond for their patients. It’s really cool to see.”
One of those team members is Bryan Moore, clinical director at the Ruston location. A Cedar Creek School (2002) and Louisiana Tech (2006) graduate, Bryan — husband to Meg and dad to Anderson and Austin — has worked at JPT since 2019. He knows the importance of creating the right atmosphere for patients.
“We try to offer an environment that is positive and encouraging, while also laid back where people feel comfortable,” said Bryan. “We want to offer people every ability to get better. We want them to look forward to coming here; not dreading it.
“We want them to feel it’s as fun as it can be although it may be a difficult process. Many times, they are dealing with a lot of stuff. It’s uncertainty. We are trying to give them reassurance. Whether that’s the music selections, the comradery with our staff … That’s big to me. For us to be able to provide that atmosphere that is conducive to healing.”
Anyone who enters JPT in need of therapy will quickly see that regardless of whether Jereme, Bryan, Cameron Cupp, Brett Jones or one of the other PT assistants who is helping them that day, the process is individualized but consistent.
“I think another thing that separates us is our systems,” said Jereme. “We have broken down what benefits patients and grabbed from what most people would say is a strength and conditioning background to a speed and agility background to some chiropractic backgrounds and we have really married all of these techniques into how we operate.”
It’s an approach that permeates the JPT team’s mindset.
“We have a systematic approach to how we do things,” said Byran. “We have a program that has been shown to work. We vary it on that person’s individual needs. It’s still the same systematic approach to evaluating and treating that condition.
“Everybody that comes in doesn’t have the same needs even if they have similar issues. We will evaluate and based on that evaluation; we go with the movements that help. You may see some patients doing certain exercises and others doing totally different exercises although they both have lower back pain. It’s a systematic way of doing it based on our evaluation.”
And the proof is in the results. And JPT has plenty of happy customers who sing their praises, from college athletes to the middle-aged Sunday golfer to the elderly gardener.
According to Jereme, JPT specializes in orthopedic spine and extremity pain.
“That is our MO,” said Jereme. “And that’s for all ages. I appreciate the young athlete and what they want to achieve in life as well as Mr. Smith who has orthopedic issues that are causing issues with balance. It’s cool to see different people from different walks of life and what their goals are. I want to get a lady walking and down in her flower bed as much as I do an ACL patient return to college ball.”
Former Cedar Creek prep star and current Tech softball student athlete Allie Furr experienced the benefits of using JPT this past year following an ACL injury her senior year in high school.
“I am very thankful I chose to go to JPT to rehab my knee,” said Furr. “From day one, the therapists and staff were very supportive and pushed me to get better each day. They have helped me and so many other athletes return to our sport stronger and better.”
Legendary Hall of Fame hoops coach Leon Barmore is also a fan.
“When I injured my shoulder and needed to rehab, I looked for someone that had great knowledge to get me on the road to recovery,” said Barmore. “I found the right person in Jereme Johnson. He is really good. I can assure you if I am ever hurt again, Jereme Johnson is my man.”
The people. The system. The environment. It all adds up to healthy and happy results for the patients of Johnson Physical Therapy.
“For far too long people have gone to clinics that are very stale,” said Jereme. “I wanted a vibe and a life to this place that spoke to patients and got them in a more positive mindset about what they are participating in … and not so negative and not so woe is me. I think people get better when people start thinking they can get better.”
Jereme said individuals can have direct access to JPT without a referral from their physician. They provide discounted cash-based services while some patients can receive treatment covered by insurance carriers without a referral.
“If we have seen progress and we need more time, we generally reach out to practitioners who may or may not want you to come in to see them,” said Jereme. “If there is no progress, we work with the practitioner to try to triage patients. If it’s not working out for a direct access patient from a conservative standpoint, we are going to reach out to their orthopedic surgeons.
“Those surgeons will usually take our referrals, so we have direct contact with their nurses and support staff as well as them individually. They love to see it because we are now giving them a patient that we vetted with conservative management alone. We realize what we can and cannot treat, so at that point we have tried and it’s time to pass them to the orthopedic specialist.”
To learn more about Johnson Physical Therapy, go to Johnsonptla.com or call 318-224-9148 to schedule an evaluation.
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