Sheralee Shah is a firm believer in counting your blessings.

Shah, who has been a physical therapist for 20 years, has seen the toll that strokes, injuries and disease have taken on her patients. She’s also seen her patients rebound, helping them regain the ability to walk, drive and perform simple tasks like being able to bathe themselves again or get out of bed on their own.

“Sadly, we take these things for granted. It is a privilege for me to go to a job. I never want to lose sight of how truly blessed and lucky we are,” Shah said.

Shah is the clinic manager for Franciscan Health’s newly expanded adult physical therapy clinic in the Cherry Creek shopping center. 

Prior to the expansion, the clinic was at 18428 Governors Highway. The clinic took over the Weight Watchers space at 18426 Governors Highway and the old bank space at 18460 Governors Highway, also located in the strip mall. 

The expanded clinic will have eight private treatment bays, nine treatment rooms, two speech offices, an occupational therapy area and a gym that will more than double in size.

“We’ve expanded in size to about three times as much space,” Shah said.

The staff is growing, too. The clinic will go from six therapists to about 16 and there’s still room for growth, thanks to the expanded facility, she said.

Phase one of the expansion plan was completed in December. 

The therapy center has been able to remain open during the construction. Phase two should be completed by early April and phase three by June, Shah said.

“When they did phase one, we were working in the original clinic. We didn’t really see what they were doing. When we saw it start to come to fruition, it was like “Wow, it’s so beautiful,” Shah said.

The staff is also looking forward to the new equipment that’s on its way. One example is the Lite Gait device, which is scheduled to arrive in April.

The device “is a harness system that’s placed over a treadmill to provide support with walking and balance retraining,” according to a hospital press release.

“We are so excited about that. We have a large patient base of stroke and Parkinson’s patients,” she said. “It’s a system that helps patients who have difficulty with full weight bearing.”

The clinic offers physical therapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Shah said that she has an incredible staff that includes pelvic health therapists, vestibular specialists, physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists. 

All are able to provide comprehensive care, she said. 

Having so many experienced therapists on staff enables them to do coordination of care right in the facility, she said.

“We have an awesome team here. They are kind and compassionate. They are caring. They go above and beyond,” Shah said. “It’s individualized treatment care plans that are continually assessed and can be modified to the patient’s needs.

Staff therapists provide one-on-one care to their patients, she said. They get to know them and establish trust. Anyone who’s ever had physical therapy knows the value of that kind of care and connection.

“Our patients comment on how they like the one-on-one care,” Shah said. “That’s the best part of the job. Ask any therapist. What they love is spending time with their patients. For our facility, more than 90% of the actual care and exercises are done by a licensed therapist.”

And the clinic has been recognized for its work. 

“For two years in a row, we’ve had the most improved staff engagement scores,” Shah said. It’s a trend she and her staff plan to continue.