Pivot Physical Therapy

Current address: 711 Pilot House Drive, Newport News, VA 23606

Contact and title: Wayne MacMasters, MSPT, president, industrial services

Product or service: Physical therapy

Year business was established: In 2016, Pivot Physical Therapy acquired what was previously Tidewater Physical Therapy, founded in 1981. When Wayne MacMasters opened Tidewater, he hoped for a strong presence in Hampton Roads. “I did have a vision, and it was about four or five offices on the Peninsula,” he says. The company exceeded expectations, opening 35 offices, stretching to the North Carolina border.

Reason for locating in Oyster Point: The Oyster Point location arose as Tidewater gradually was expanding across the Peninsula. After covering ground from Williamsburg to Hampton, Tidewater purchased an Oyster Point orthopedics practice in 1990. MacMasters says that Oyster Point has since become “a marquee location” of the business.

How long have you been with company? MacMasters was with Tidewater from its inception to its transition into Pivot. “We’ve grown, but we’ve never lost focus of trying to provide really good physical therapy care,” he says.

Significant milestones: Pivot’s acquisition of Tidewater was a major turning point. MacMasters says that timing was crucial, as Tidewater’s owners wanted to make the change prior to reaching retirement age so that they could oversee the transition: “We didn’t want to sell our company and leave,” he explains. MacMasters insists that, while change can present challenges, the experience has been overwhelmingly positive. “I feel like it’s been relatively painless.”

A significant story: MacMasters recalls a quirky experience posing for a company Christmas card with his colleagues: “We all dressed up in Santa Claus costumes and we lay down on the floor of the William & Mary Hall. We got a photographer to lean out of the scorebox, and we all lay down, [spelling] TPTI (Tidewater Physical Therapy, Inc). It was fun, and we got a lot of feedback on it,” he says.

Why has your Oyster Point location been beneficial to your growth? MacMasters says that Oyster Point is a draw for all Peninsula residents because of its accessibility. “We felt like the Oyster Point area had such great access off I-64, and it tends to be the central part of the Peninsula,” he explains.

Plans for future growth: “Our goal is to grow our platform across Virginia. We continue to grow in Fredricksburg, Roanoke, Blacksburg. And then we’re also looking at buying other practices. And these are clinicians with whom we have a really good relationship, so we’re excited about bringing them onto our platform,” MacMasters says.

Closing comments: MacMasters wants to ensure the public that the Tidewater culture remained in tact during the transition to Pivot: “The biggest thing is that all four owners of Tidewater remain employees of Pivot and remain committed to doing what we can do to help the company be successful, to help clinicians become better clinicians and to help our communities do well.”