The Heart & Hustle of PT: How People-First Leadership Builds Stronger Teams

Video Description

An injury in high school introduced Tony Mikla to physical therapy—but it was the frustration of that experience that sparked his lifelong mission to help athletes recover faster and perform at their best. Today, as a leading voice in sports orthopedics with clinics across Sacramento, Reno, and Las Vegas, Tony has built a model of care that redefines what a thriving workplace looks like in healthcare. Tony’s path from injured athlete to clinic founder wasn’t just about mastering rehabilitation—it was building a people-first company that attracts passionate talent, brings in fresh ideas from outside healthcare, and thrives even in the tough world of insurance and reimbursement. With new technology, Tony believes AI is the key to bringing the human element back to healthcare, using AI to slash documentation time and shift more focus to patients. Whether you’re a clinic owner, physical therapist, or just curious about the future of sports medicine, Tony offers practical lessons on building culture, embracing innovation, and leading with purpose. Tony Mikla, DPT, CSCS, XPS Physical Therapist, Strength Coach & Founder of KIME Performance Tony is a leading sports physical therapist, performance coach, and researcher. He speaks and teaches nationally on sports physical therapy and regularly publishes research in international journals. Tony previously served as the Physical Therapy Manager at the world-renowned EXOS in Phoenix, AZ, working with some of the best athletes in the world. He was the Medical Director for the Sacramento Sports Commission and adjunct faculty in Physical Therapy at Sacramento State University and Northern AZ University. In 2015, Tony was named a finalist for the NSCA Sports Medicine Specialist of the Year and was awarded the 40 Under 40 Award from the Sacramento Business Journal in 2017. Connect with Tony Mikla on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikla Learn more about KIME Performance: https://kimeperformance.com/ Follow KIME on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/kimeperformancept/ Listen to KIME’s podcast, KIMEcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kimecast/id1747031974 Sarina Richard Chief Strategy Officer, Raintree Systems Sarina Richard has spent twenty years as a Healthcare Technology Executive across the healthcare continuum, from operator to service provider to financier. At Raintree, Sarina oversees corporate strategic planning and leads cross-departmental initiatives to build best-in-class teams, systems, and processes. Connect with Sarina Richard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarinarichard/ About Raintree Raintree is the rehabilitation and physical therapy software of choice for enterprise and large therapy provider organizations. Discover why Raintree is the trusted EMR and practice management platform for the largest and most ambitious rehab therapy organizations in the U.S. Request a demo of Raintree: https://www.raintreeinc.com/request-a-demo/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=episode&utm_campaign=shownotes 00:00 – Podcast intro & guest introduction 00:29 – Tony Mikla’s background and founding KIME Performance PT 01:29 – From injury to career in sports physical therapy 02:52 – Performance-based PT and injury prevention philosophy 04:20 – Proactive care, elite athletes, and tactical populations 05:42 – Recruiting high-performance clinicians and building culture 08:31 – Business model, compensation, and rewarding quality care 10:47 – Creating a non-traditional healthcare culture 12:18 – Vision, growth strategy, and long-term impact 15:01 – Scaling the business while prioritizing employees 16:36 – Embracing AI in healthcare and physical therapy 18:15 – AI for documentation, efficiency, and patient experience 21:18 – Overcoming fear of AI and operational change 23:42 – Why human expertise matters more in an AI world 27:32 – KIMEcast podcast and closing remarks 28:52 – Show outro