PT Leadership Against the Current: AI, Access, and the Fight for a Better PT Model

Simon Hargus turned a small family clinic into a 50-location practice serving rural Ohio and West Virginia without losing the heart of hands-on, patient-first care.

He leads with intention, focusing on culture over scale. By creating individualized career paths and flexible opportunities, Simon helps therapists build meaningful, lasting careers instead of following a one-size-fits-all model.

He opens up about the journey behind First Settlement Physical Therapy—how he built a place people want to grow, what it takes to recruit in a post-COVID world, and how to keep quality care alive when volume often wins.

Hear why he believes advocacy, creativity, and a touch of innovation are key to securing the future of physical therapy.

Simon Hargus
Owner and CEO of First Settlement Physical Therapy

Simon Hargus is the owner of First Settlement Physical Therapy, a family-run practice that’s grown to about 50 clinics and 300 employees serving rural Ohio and West Virginia. A PT who moved from the clinic to the C‑suite, he’s known for building a people‑first culture, long‑form patient care, and individualized career paths to curb burnout. He’s active in advocacy, pushing for state‑level wins and a stronger political voice for PT, and he embraces practical tech like AI scribe tools where they deliver real ROI.

Learn more about First Settlement Physical Therapy
Connect with Simon Hargus on LinkedIn

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

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