Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Marshall.
Hi Elizabeth, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Bloom was created to support families. For the mother who is battling crushing postpartum depression with a baby who’s in pain, struggles to latch, and cries constantly. To the parents that learn their child’s diagnosis isn’t compatible with life. For the woman that gives birth after years of infertility, only to have that baby sustain a brain injury from perinatal complications. Imagine being the parent who juggles endless medical appointments, work, caring for a medically complex child, raising other children, maintaining a marriage… then has to return to the hospital for yet another surgery. Or seizures. Or illness. These families- they’re at the heart of Bloom.
Bloom started providing outpatient PT services in 2021, primarily as a way to help families with babies and immunocompromised children receive services in the post-COVID era.
One specific child, with a severe congenital heart defect, was the driving force I needed to do something I never thought I would do. I started a PT clinic.
I submitted insurance contract applications and figured out how to do an overwhelming number of administrative tasks. There was no additional money for support staff, so I operated as a one-woman-show, fumbling my way through it all. I continued to work part-time in early intervention for Willamette Education Service District, and on my days off, Bloom offered home services to a handful of patients.
I bought equipment that was too large to transport to people’s homes, so I kept it at my dad’s house and would see clients in his spare room.
After a year, I rented a 1 room office in Salem, then upgraded to a 2 room suite. Still, Bloom was a passion, not a real income.
By the end of 2023, Bloom had grown enough that it wasn’t feasible for me to continue a solo, part-time PT practice. I needed help, and I knew I had to either close Bloom, or add another PT and turn the practice into my career.
I reached out to the pediatric PT professor at George Fox University, asking if he knew any possible candidates. He gave a glowing recommendation for Courtney Hoffman, a graduating PT that had recently led a medical mission trip to Uganda. I invited her to dinner, telling her about Bloom and the vision I had (have) to provide the highest quality care for babies and young children, focusing on global development and family support in an environment that feels more like a home than a medical clinic.
I told her I didn’t have a space big enough for us. I said I had no idea how to hire someone or complete payroll. I emphasized that I didn’t know how to run a clinic, offer benefits, or to be an employer. The only thing I was sure I could do was offer her mentorship.
If she said no, I planned to fold Bloom and continue my work in early intervention.
Yet somehow, against reason, she said yes! And I couldn’t have asked for anyone better.
From there, everything fell into place at a rapid pace. I found a perfect location in a quaint, older home in the commercial district of Salem. We secured the space and immediately converted the dilapidated, spiderweb filled upstairs into a cozy office space. We toasted Bloom with our friends, families, and community partners, setting an intention to do GOOD in this space. We dedicated the clinic with two pictures – one of the little boy who inspired me to launch Bloom, and the other a dedication in memory of a sweet soul, a child who passed away the day I stepped foot into the clinic for the first time. I’ve felt a strong calling to grow Bloom for the families we serve and this dedication was important to me.
Bloom continued to grow quickly. We worked with the Marion Polk Early Learning Hub (MPELH) to provide parent focus groups, child developmental groups, including Baby Song & Sign, and a Bilingual Early Language & Literacy group. We’ve hosted adapted holiday events (inclusive trick-or-treating!), play groups, and Grammy Karen’s Toy Corner for purposeful play and developmental toy giveaways.
From the start, I was determined to add mental health services. I worked with incredible community partners to dream-up and draft a grant proposal for integrated behavioral health services in a PT clinic. Our vision was seen and we were awarded funding to transform our leaky old basement, formerly and lovingly referred to as the “murder basement,” into a bright and beautiful space to provide groups and individual behavioral health services for children and families.
We’ve been able to create an amazing program. We serve parents, children, and siblings. We’ve run support groups for moms of medically complex children, surviving the postpartum period, and for parents of children with special needs. We’ve offered individualized developmental services and kindergarten readiness consults with an early intervention teacher. We’re located by Bush Park, and offer “Walk & Talk” mental health services and PT sessions in the park, when weather allows.
I knew improving ease of access to mental health services was needed for the population we serve, but I didn’t realize how fundamentally essential it would be. The feedback we’ve received has been mind blowing and humbling.
As our grant funding comes to an end, the program we built will continue on. I’ve promised myself to slow down, but there are so many more goals and services to provide to the Salem community!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There have been more challenges than I can count! The biggest struggle for me personally has been attempting to balance developing the business with being a mom. My husband and I have three amazing kids, 14 year old twins and a 12 year old. They have encouraged and supported Bloom, but mom guilt can be strong and I worry about spreading myself too thin.
I’m incredibly proud of our mental health program, but managing the basement remodel almost killed me. I guess the “murder basement” wasn’t going out without a fight! There are so many stories. Some highlights include workers showing up drunk, cussing at each other, and almost coming to blows in our parking lot. Our heat turned off multiple times in the dead of winter and I kept my wonderful HVAC guy on speed dial. There were a few days when the electrical panel was being updated that we had to use generators to work by lamp light. The basement toilet water overflowed and flooded the space, ruining the newly painted baseboards. For a minute, we thought our washer/dryer combo was possessed, and don’t get me started on the number of hours I spent screwing on and off the board that temporarily covered the “hole”, before the actual door could be installed.
But we made it. We did it. Barely.
Another huge challenge, and one that we’re still facing, is securing insurance contracts for our mental health provider. It’s been a huge labor over the past year, and we’ve been repeatedly denied by certain carriers. We’ve been able to provide services for free during the grant period, but starting in August 2026, we’ll have to charge cash pay fees to members of out-of-network insurance companies. If anyone has an in with Kaiser, let me know!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Our mission is to support each family, as well as the child, while engaging our patients in purposeful play, mental health support, or sport specific activity to help them live their best life and thrive.
Bloom Physical Therapy specializes in providing early evaluation, assessment, and treatment to babies and young children. It was born from a strong desire to provide excellent service for littles in an environment that allows them to be safe and comfortable. Our niche training to assess early movement patterns and neurodevelopment allows Bloom to evaluate if your baby really needs therapy… or not.
In addition to working with infants, we offer orthopedic services for older children and mental health services for siblings, parents and young children. There’s really no separation between our mind and body heath, and we firmly believe that integrating the two treatments can be life changing.
What you should know about Bloom is we want to keep expanding our non-billable services and community groups. Parents have shared countless times about how isolating it can be to have a baby or child that requires additional services. We heal through community and the right community can be hard to find. Bloom is a place for families to find connection.
What sets Bloom apart from other pediatric services is the small, cozy feel of our clinic. Our integrated mental and physical therapy services improves outcomes- movement heals the mind and the mind heals the body. We work to imbed augmentative learning strategies for the kids we serve, consulting with a child development specialist.
Pediatric therapy at Bloom focuses on the whole child and family.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
-Start a non-profit foundation in honor of my mom and nephew, who’ve both passed away from cancer. The mission is to support families through times of mental and medical crises.
(services to include case management, peer support specialists, retreats, toys, coffee & massage giveaways, and assistance for funding medical equipment or expenses)
– Add staff to Bloom’s team
– occupation therapist
– therapy dog
– augmentative communication specialist
– Offer Mama & Baby wellness classes with yoga and mental health support
– Lactation services
– A Mobility Play Group for wheelchair and walker users, especially in the rainy winter months
-Q&A’s for community resources, managing special education services
– Inclusive and adapted holiday events
Pricing:
- Donate Starbucks gift cards for tired parents!
- Donate books for us to give to young families!
- Donate funding to support developmental play groups!
- Donate to help us start our non-profit!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bloompedspt.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloom.physicaltherapy
