Physical therapy department welcomes new assistant

Nicholas Martinez (known as Nick to his patients and those he works with) joined the community’s staff last month as a physical therapy assistant (PTA).

Originally from Lyons, Nicholas was working in Oregon when he heard about the opening at the community and was enticed by the job description to move back to his home state.

“(This position) was more geared toward helping the director of rehab instead of just a PTA,” said Nicholas. “It offered more experience, so I took the opportunity.”

As a PTA, Nicholas sees his primary goal as helping to realize the potential of those he treats.

“We do whatever we can to get them to the highest functionality possible,” said Nicholas. “If they’re capable of getting home, we do more than exercises, we do biomechanics, stairs, assess if furniture needs to be moved or taken out…anything to create the best opportunity for them to succeed.”

Asked what he likes most about the job, Nicholas kept it simple.

“I just like helping people,” said Nicholas.

Away from work, Nicholas claims he “isn’t very exciting” and, for the moment, is just focusing on trying to take life as it comes.

“As soon as I got out of school, everything has been hitting me relatively quickly,” said Nicholas. “I’ve just been going with the flow.”

In terms of his future, Nicholas is interested in eventually moving into a director role and is considering the pursuit of a doctorate in physical therapy.

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