As A Physical Therapist, McGavock Enjoys Helping Her Patients

By Editor | August 10, 2016 |

Jennifer McGavock helped start Cornerstone Rehabilitation in 1997.

As A Physical Therapist, McGavock Enjoys Helping Her Patients

THE OUTSIDER
By Justin Geurin

But, if what you need is advice and rehab for a injury, Jennifer McGavock, a Physical Therapist at Cornerstone Rehabilitation, is the person you need to see, right here on Main Street. While she is not originally from Water Valley, McGavock has made this her home and is doing great work for the local community so you don’t even have to drive to Oxford or Tupelo to find her!

McGavock was born in Birmingham, Ala., and after graduating, she wanted to become a veterinarian, but UAB did not offer a veterinary program. So instead, McGavock enlisted in the US Navy as a corpsman, which is essentially a nurse, serving as a physical therapy technician. She says serving in the Navy was a “wonderful experience,” and allowed her to travel the world while continuing her education through Baylor University. After her time in the Navy, McGavock attended Physical Therapy school at the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Memphis.

From there, McGavock and her husband, Mark, began looking for a long-term family home, and they knew they wanted some land for their horses. In 1993, the couple bought a farm near Water Valley.

“I had always stabled my horses, so we wanted a place with land, and we were able to find a great farm here,” she explains. In 1997, she helped start Cornerstone Rehabilitation in Water Valley, where she continues to work today.

“At the time, there was no physical therapist in Water Valley and people did not know what we had available,” she says. Now, Cornerstone offers a wide array of therapeutic treatment options ranging from surgical post-operation recovery, musculoskeletal therapy, sports medicine, and industrial rehab. There is a full-time athletic training program for local high school athletes, including their Saturday morning clinic in the fall, which is also available to athletes from Coffeeville and Charleston. Additionally, Cornerstone has a wellness center, which is available to the community. The clinic also offers a therapy pool.

For McGavock, being a PT can be a rewarding experience, as she says her favorite part of her job is “To see someone get better.” While she never wants to see someone involved an accident, being able to work with them and helping with their recovery process is rewarded. Her job can be challenging at times as the profession can be emotionally tiring and draining, but McGavock credits her colleagues and patients for helping her stay fresh and energized.

“I have to mention how great our staff is here,” she adds, “plus every time someone has to fill in for me, they rave about how great my patients are, I am really happy with my work.” She also enjoys working with university students, who usually spend a semester at Cornerstone completing internship programs for their degree.

According to McGavock, the country’s population is aging and the demand for physical therapists continues to grow. The profession is continuing to evolve, as in the coming years, all PT’s across the country will have to earn a doctorate, but by 2020, all states in the US will have direct access laws, allowing PT’s to more quickly and effectively treat patients. The process is both difficult and competitive, requiring seven years of schooling with a lot of science and math courses, but McGavock says interested students can look online for the criteria PT schools are looking for in the admission process to be fully prepared for acceptance to a program.

Despite getting to travel around the world as a member of the Navy, McGavock is very proud to get to call Water Valley home. She credits the safe, welcoming community for making this a wonderful place to raise a family, in addition to the people.

“The people of Water Valley are great and interesting, this is a very-hard working community,” she says. She remembers when her family first moved to town their first electric bill was addressed to, “The Big White House on the Hill.” She credits the ice storm of 1994 for helping her family get settled in to Water Valley.

“It took me a while to get to know people, but my husband Mark met so many people during the ice storm, and everyone was always willing to lend a hand and help out,” she recalls.

McGavock and her family are members at First United Methodist Church and are involved with the youth group there. She also loves participating in many of the unique events available around town such as the annual Art Crawl and last week’s Watermelon Carnival.

“We always have a lot of family who come in for the carnival, we compete in the Watermelon Run in the morning and then go to the pancake breakfast,” she says. When asked to describe Water Valley in a few words, she responded, “It’s Main Street Americana, like being in Mayberry!”

On the other hand, McGavock hopes Water Valley can continue to add businesses and careers, especially for local graduates, many of which have to leave the area for work after graduating. She explains that industrial rehab from plant injuries was at one time the biggest percentage of their work at Cornerstone, but now that number is down to about 10 percent of their clients.

McGavock also continues to be interested in ongoing research and development within her profession, as she is working with the MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Society for an upcoming research study based in both Mississippi and Alabama to use yoga-based rehab techniques to help people suffering from MS. So even after 20 years working as a PT in the same place, McGavock still has the inquisitive mind and professional enthusiasm to try to provide better opportunities for her patients and the people of Water Valley.

She closes by saying, “I still wake up every morning excited to go to work and help my patients, I really love what I do,”

Now for the rapid-fire questions to close the interview with McGavock

What was your first car?

– Dodge Omni, named “O Henry”

You are stranded on a desert island, what three things do you want to have with you?

– My husband, since he can fish; a kayak; sunscreen

Is a hotdog considered a sandwich?

– No

IF you could have one superpower, what would it be?

– Time traveling

It’s karaoke night, what is your go-to song to sing?

– Brown-eyed girl, the Jimmy Buffet version