Stretching the Boundaries of Traditional Rehab

Send us Fan MailEver wondered how successful healthcare practices manage to provide exceptional care while navigating insurance constraints, staffing challenges, and changing patient expectations? In this revealing conversation, Kristen Berard, CEO of Midland and Freeland Sports Rehab and the Stretch Centre, shares the inner workings of building community-centered wellness spaces in Michigan.Kristen's journey from criminal justice graduate to healthcare CEO offers a fascinating perspective on leadership in the wellness industry. Coming from outside the medical field has allowed her to focus on operational excellence while empowering clinicians to practice at the highest level. Her approach to building a multidisciplinary team—combining chiropractic, physical therapy, massage therapy, assisted stretching, and acupuncture under one roof—mimics professional sports teams' comprehensive care models, bringing elite-level treatment to everyday patients.The conversation delves into post-pandemic shifts in healthcare delivery, with Kristen noting how her clinics adapted their hours while maintaining patient volume. She addresses the generational differences in workforce expectations, offering insights into mentoring young clinicians to balance work-life priorities while building sustainable careers. Perhaps most compelling is her candid discussion of the growing tension between insurance mandates and evidence-based care, and how her practice is strategically shifting to a 50/50 insurance-cash model to better serve patients.Innovation stands at the center of Kristen's leadership approach. Her development of The Stretch Centre as both a patient retention tool and a licensable business model demonstrates how wellness practices can evolve beyond traditional treatment paradigms. By focusing on metrics that balance quality (reviews, patient satisfaction) with business health (collection percentages, visit averages), she's created a blueprint for sustainable growth in a challenging industry.Ready to rethink your approach to healthcare delivery or wellness practice management? This episode offers practical insights from someone who's mastered the art of growing excellence while staying deeply connected to both providers and patients. Listen now and discover strategies you can implement in your own wellness journey—whether as a provider, practice owner, or health-conscious consumer.🎙 Guest: Kristin Berard, CEO Midland and Freeland Sports Rehab & Stretch Center, LLC 📍 Location: Midland & Freeland, Michigan, USA 🌐 Website: www.midlandsportsrehab.com 📧 Email: [email protected] 📞 Phone (Clinic): +1 (989) 341-1070 📞 Phone (Stretch Center): +1 (989) 488-6420 🔗 Connect with Kristin: 🔹 LinkedIn – Kristin Berard 🔹 https://www.facebook.com/Midland.FreelandSportsRehab 🔹 Instagram – @midland.freelandsportsrehab/ Subscribe on SubstackVoices in Health and Wellness is published on Substack, as part of The Diagnostician. Every episode lands there with written notes and reflections you won't find in the podcast feed. Free to subscribe.👉 https://thediagnostician.substack.com/s/voices-in-health-and-wellnessAbout the podcastVoices in Health and Wellness features conversations at the intersection of medicine, lifestyle, and human potential, with clinicians, scientists, and thinkers shaping the future of care.About Dr Andrew GreenlandUK-based medical doctor and founder of Greenland Medical, specialising in Integrative and Functional Medicine. Trained in both conventional and root-cause approaches, Andrew helps people optimise health, performance, and longevity, with a focus on cognitive resilience and healthy ageing.