Welcome to our Mom Around Town Blog series! I will try to post them every other Friday this year if I can. Last time I posted an interview with Alli Doubek of the Couponing for 4 Blog. This time I’ll be interviewing Deborah Michael of North Shore Pediatric Therapy! I had a chance to visit their therapy center last year and take some photos and it was a very child-friendly, engaging area! I’m excited to share more information about North Shore Pediatric Therapy below with an interview with Deborah Michael.
Since many of the business owners I will be interviewing work directly with children and expecting parents, I think it is important to get to know them well. Our Mom Around Town feature will help you do that! Make sure you check out our other Mom Around Town posts!
Name: Deborah Michael
Business Name: North Shore Pediatric Therapy
Website: www.NSPT4kids.com
Social Media:
Follow them on these social media platforms.
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Year Established: 1999
Locations: Glenview, Highland Park, Chicago, Des Plaines, Illinois, and opening more Chicagoland locations!
Erika: What services does your business provide?
Deborah: A Chicagoland Pediatric Therapy Team from diagnostics to Therapy. Neuropsychology, OT, PT, Speech, ABA, Reading, Social Skills Groups, Diet, Behavior, Social Work
Erika: How does your business benefit the families in the Chicago area?
Deborah: We help children blossom with whatever areas of challenge they are encountering. It could be academic, emotional, social, parenting, gross motor, fine motor, communication, nutrition, anything!
Erika: How did you get the idea to start your business?
Deborah: I am a pediatric occupational therapist and mother of 5 and I knew I wanted a place where all therapists are under one roof and where we took care of our therapists and our families!
Erika: Wow! 5 kids! I can definitely see where the idea to work with kids came from! What did you do before you started your business?
Deborah: I was a pediatric OT and a mom but working for others and I always thought it could be better for me and for the families.
Erika: Can you share one memorable story from an experience you had related to your business?
Deborah: I started out in a basement with 3 kids and now those 3 kids are in college and the parents are calling me to have lunch and see the kids and they are so grateful for the part I had in their children’s lives! It is the best feeling!
Erika: That sounds amazing! I love forming bonds with my clients as well! Would you like to share something about your own kids?
Deborah: Sure! I have 3 boys and 2 girls. Boys are 19,18,14 and girls are 12, 9. The kids are a big part of NSPT! They grew up with us building the business! They are also so sensitive to kids with special needs and stand up for kids who are being bullied! They all volunteer with kids groups for kids with special needs.
Erika: What a wonderful experience for your children and good for you for keeping them so involved! They sound great! I’d love to know, what do you think makes a quality service or product?
Deborah: A quality service or product is when you are listening to what families need and helping them get there. It also needs to last. We have to help a child with certain goals but then there are more goals to look at as the child matures and children stay in therapy or come and go through the years as challenges come up.
Erika: Listening to clients’ needs is so important! How do you think you provide a quality service or product?
Deborah: You must look at the whole child and what really is going on with the child and the family. You must be well read and evidence based so that you are not wasting precious time, money or energy. Customer service is key!
Erika: I couldn’t agree more! Do you have anything you would like to share with us that is new for your business in 2014?
Deborah: We continue to have our multidisciplinary teams in Glenview, Highland Park and Chicago and have now added a 4th center our Pediatric Neuropsychology Center in Des Plaines! We treat dyslexia, autism, ADHD, Fine and Gross Motor Delay, Articulation, Social Skills, Reading, Obesity, Failure to Thrive, Down Syndrome, Anxiety, Depression, Learning Disabilities, Shyness, Selective Mutism, Picky Eaters/Problem Feeders, Premies, CP, You name it with kids and we want to help you find solutions!
Erika: It sounds like you are very busy and offer such a variety of services! Is there anything else you want to tell us about your business or yourself?
Deborah: We are so excited to share our knowledge and help families! We take Blue Cross Blue Shield HMO and PPO, Resurrection HMO, North Shore University Health Systems and a few others! We can also help you submit Out of network. We have such a great culture at work and really enjoy being a part of the kid’s lives!
Erika: That is so good to know! I guess we should end with a few fun questions, like what is one thing on your “bucket” list?
Deborah: We want to explore more areas such as another site in the city and western burbs!
Erika: How about, do you have any fun, unusual talents or what is a fun fact about yourself?
Deborah: We want to also be known as the thought leaders in pediatric therapy so we all write content daily and post it on Facebook page so like and share!
Erika: Deborah, Thank you for taking the time to share so much useful information about North Shore Pediatric Therapy! The photos in this post are from their Glenview location and I was surprised on how large of a facility it was and how many wonderful resources they had there. I met several of their warm, friendly staff as well. I’m sure that Deborah or other staff at North Shore Pediatric Therapy would be happy to answer any questions you have. You can contact them HERE or call them at 1-877-486-4140
And a slideshow with a few more photos from North Shore Pediatric Therapy.
