Ellie vanSwearingen PT, DPT

      Ellie is a physical therapist with over 12 years of experience.  She went to Montana State University for undergrad, majoring in cell biology and neuroscience with a biomedical emphasis.  During her time at Montana State, she was part of the track team and won many competitions, twice becoming NCAA D1 national champion and eight times Big Sky Conference champion. In recent years, these victories earned her spots in the Halls of Fame for both Montana State and the Big Sky Conference.       

      Along with her love of sports, Ellie has always been interested in the medical field, so physical therapy was the natural choice for her career.  She graduated from the University of Kansas Medical Center  in 2012 with her doctorate in physical therapy.  She will tell you that she has a passion for sports rehab with a special interest in helping runners, jumpers, and weight lifters.  While all this is true, her deepest passion is for the people themselves.  She believes everyone can be great, every story is important, and no one is beyond helping.  No matter who you are or where you come from, you deserve a therapist who will put in the extra work to make sure you reach your goals as quickly as possible.     

         After graduation, Ellie and her husband moved to Petersburg, Alaska, where she worked for a critical access hospital.  Despite the isolation of this rural, island community, she set out to make her clinic one of the best in the country. She, and the staff she recruited, were committed to learning whatever was needed to provide the best care possible, no excuses accepted. When consulting with an expert on a very complicated patient, she learned a valuable lesson. Large facilities often discharge patients who do not fit the typical  presentation of a diagnosis. Why? Because large facilities have to keep their success rates high. This was a defining moment. Ellie realized her dedication to her patients and their recovery is not a universal feeling in the healthcare system.      

          She has since moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, with her husband and 4 girls to be closer to extended family, but her beliefs remain the same. She strives to know what the experts know and to treat her patients as the most important people in the world.