Client Spotlight: Kids Physio Group

Mikaela Hoeppner and Melanie Sabourin both knew that they wanted to work with children. After graduating from the University of Manitoba, each with a Master of Physical Therapy, Mikaela and Melanie worked in the public school system as physiotherapists before opening Kids Physio Group in Winnipeg.

“We have this mutual friend, Emily,” Mikaela said. “[She] moved to BC to work at Kids Physio there, and  started posting about it on social media, and I was like, ‘well, this is really cool!’ We should have this in Winnipeg.”

Kids Physio originated in Vancouver in 2010, and by 2019, Founder and CEO Laura Patrick had opened two more locations in BC. She began franchising in 2019 and there are now 18 Kids Physio locations across Canada from British Columbia to Nova Scotia.

“I had messaged [Emily] and said, ‘If you ever hear of a clinic like this coming to Winnipeg, let me know,” Melanie said. “And she messaged me back and said the owner, Laura’s husband’s family is actually from Winnipeg, so she spends a lot of time there and she was wondering if you’d want to meet with her.”

Melanie was intrigued by the opportunity, but she knew she didn’t want to own a business solo, so she started thinking about who she might know who’d be interested in working together.

“I landed on Mikaela, and she was interested, too,” Melanie said. “And so, it was a bit of a process, like from when we were thinking about doing it versus actually committing to it.”

Once the pair had decided to open the first Kids Physio location in Manitoba in 2020, they started to get to work.

“We knew right away we’d need financing for the buildout and buying equipment,” Mikaela said. “We figured surely there has to be something for women in business, because we know women tend to not be as represented, and by asking around, we learned about the Manitoba Women’s Enterprise Centre.”

Melanie and Mikaela leveraged an MWEC loan to help them build the facility, located in Winnipeg’s Linden Woods area, in 2023.

Kids Physio Group specializes in rehabilitation from injury, building strength or therapy for a specific condition, and much more for children aged 0-18. They also provide care to babies who need physio for a variety of conditions including motor delays, low muscle tone, birth injuries, and more.

“There are traditional physio clinics [in Winnipeg] that offer services for kids and then there are some clinics that offer multiple different services like physio, occupational therapy, speech therapy, that sort of thing,” Mikaela said. “But we’re the only clinic that’s just physio and just for kids.”

In addition to filling a gap in the healthcare system in Manitoba, Kids Physio aims to be a fun and inviting place for the children who come to the clinic.

“It’s our tagline, ‘we make physio fun,’ but it is—it’s just so much fun,” Melanie said. “Working with kids is this thing that we’ve both been passionate about and so it’s just really cool to be able to do that.”

Helping kids and their families is certainly the driving force behind Kids Physio, and a highlight for the pair is the unfiltered, genuine expressions that children are so good at.

“There was this little boy who came in the other day and he was, you know, nervous, he thought he was coming to the doctor’s office,” Melanie said. “And then he walked into the big gym area, and he was like this, with these wide eyes and a huge smile and was like ‘this is everything I could ever dream of!’”

“Oh yeah, they tug on your heartstrings,” Mikaela said. “Sometimes you just go home at night and you’re like, ‘man, I laughed so hard today!’ This is why we do this.”

Melaine and Mikaela aim to ensure the families that come through their doors feel supported and heard. They have also grown into their roles as owners and managers, something neither of them expected to do within five years of graduating.

“The growth that’s happened with that is a pretty cool thing to look at,” Melanie said.

“Yeah, it’s been a learning journey,” Mikaela added. “But it’s been really cool to see our employees thrive as well.”

In addition to a Grand Opening Party this month, Kids Physio Winnipeg recently launched Baby Motor Milestone Group Classes for Pre-walkers, offered at a reduced rate—that may still be covered by insurance.

Learn more about Kids Physio Group and the services they offer at kidsphysio.ca!