Our History
The History of Neurological Rehabilitation Group
Sue Vincent and Ann Booth were the founders of Neurological Rehabilitation Group, having initially worked together at Caulfield Rehabilitation Hospital. In 1985 Sue decided there was scope for private practice in Neurological Rehabilitation and worked part time utilising the Melbourne Physiotherapy Group rooms in Windsor.
Discussing the challenges of neuro physio in a private setting with Ann Booth and a third party, they decided to join forces and formally established the Neurological Rehabilitation Group.
The first neurological physiotherapy private practice in Melbourne was starting to take shape! From the very start it was evident that there was a need for follow up in the community for patients discharged from their inpatient rehabilitation experience.
The private practice setting was a great place to hear patientsʼ aspirations; Sue and Ann had a philosophy of listening to clients, a patient centred approach, and mixed Bobath, Motor Relearning, PNF and other effective techniques to maximise patientsʼ opportunities. At that time, with three practitioners on board, more rooms needed to be found. Ann recalls driving around Melbourne with Lynne on the hunt for locations in various suburbs with her newborn son in the car. Shared space was found in in Malvern. The team of three chose to incorporate the business in 1986, but found it difficult to get the accountancy and legal professions to take them seriously! The first logo was adopted at this time. From April 1987 childcare became a major challenge with 3 children under the age of 2 to manage. Annʼs mother-in-law and Sueʼs mother frequently cared for 2 or 3 small ones, while Ann and Sue also shared care with each other on their days off.
They continued to work between Windsor, Malvern and home visits for the following couple of years In 1988 the third member of NRG left the team and it was Sue and Ann. In early 1990 the Neurological Rehabilitation Group began sharing rooms in Blackburn, which was a bigger clinic with an attached hydrotherapy pool. Increased demand for the service resulted in more staff, and by 1995 the Neuro Rehab Group had outgrown Blackburn as well. After a year of hunting they found 72 Stephensons Road, a residential house they purchased and renovated into treatment rooms.
In 1997 they moved into these rooms and Neurological Rehabilitation Group had a home of its own. This was a massive achievement; to establish a unique service and grow it to be an independent private neurological physiotherapy practice in a relatively short space of time!
Gradually over the years more enthusiastic and committed physiotherapists came to work with Sue and Ann to upskill their neurological skills. Ann and Sue regarded it as part of their role to foster other neuro physios, recognising they would be likely to start their own practices. In 2010 Ann and Sue invited Dr Susie Morris back to the practice as Clinical Mentor. In 2010 Neurological Rehabilitation Group started operating out of Templestowe Physiotherapy Clinic with John Buchannan. Throughout this time Neurological Rehabilitation Group continued to operate out of Windsor, and has now moved with Melbourne Physiotherapy Group to St Kilda.
After 25 years at the helm of Neurological Rehabilitation Group and a successful career as a physiotherapist and mentor, Ann Booth retired from clinical work in June 2012. Sue Vincent continued to inspirationally lead the team for another 2 years until she moved on to pursue new challenges. At this time there were 5 physiotherapists, 1 physiotherapy assistant and 3 administration support staff - a significant feat for two physios who simply started with a vision of neuro physio outside an institutional setting. Katie Davies, who had been working at Neurological Rehabilitation Group since 2012, took over ownership of the practice from Sue in February 2014. As a practice it is important to continue the legacy started by Sue and Ann and which is ongoing at Neurological Rehabilitation Group.
A NEW DECADE:
With new management we initiated a tiered support system with a senior team to support the growth of others. Mandatory monthly supervision was introduced with all staff provided with supervision structured to ensure we are honest to our mission of providing outstanding services and that our patients and families feel welcome, safe and in expert hands. Supervision was also designed to help the individual staff member on their career path.
In 2014 we also recognised the importance of our clients being supported to exercise alongside their physiotherapy rehabilitation and we employed our first exercise physiologist (EP).
In March 2015 the Mt Waverley practice had once again outgrown its space and we moved to bigger rooms at 205 Forster Rd taking on about 300 square metres with a dedicated larger gym area. It did not take long to grow into this space and make it home. We were able to run more groups in this new space and therefore be able to keep more patients engaged and motivated.
In 2020 our team had somewhat grown and we introduced the roles of clinical leads. Jan Quiney, Georgia Caldwell and Amy Thomson all with significant experience across the neurological field. Their role primarily being to support the development of clinical staff and the delivery of quality care to our community. With the appointment of clinical lead positions we introduced regular small education sessions called masterclasses. These smaller groups regularly run so clinicians can attend targeted educational tutorials in a smaller group environment. This in in addition to our regular monthly in-service program.
In early 2020 we moved our Templestowe rooms to a larger space at Back in Motion, Eltham. 2020 was a big year as it became apparent later that year that we had grown beyond our 300 square metres in Mt Waverley. We expanded the space in Forster Rd to take on the whole floor which allowed us to have 760 square metres. Now including 2 state of the art gyms, 5 treatment rooms and ample space for staff to meet with each other and patients.
By 2022 our exercise physiology service had expanded and we introduced a lead EP role as well as a clinical manager role which has been filled by Moranda Morris. In 2023 we employed a General Manager to oversee the entire practice, this appointment has been key to the functioning of the practice with Tamica Sturgess in this role. In March 2024 we opened our long awaited second home in Ivanhoe, a purpose build space for vestibular, concussion, neurological and disability management supporting patients in the northern suburbs.
We now have a clinical team of 29 physiotherapists, 8 exercise physiologists, 2 allied health assistants and 8 admin support staff. We continue with the legacy that Sue and Ann started over 35 years ago of providing expert therapeutic support to the community, continuing to think outside the box and loving what we do every day.
