Wednesday, January 27, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
5
Zadow marks 20 years of helping Sisters heal
By Carol Statton
Correspondent
In January of 2001, a new
shingle was hung outside a
small office space located
behind the dental practice
of Dr. Mark Francis. Zadow
Physical Therapy was offi-
cially open for business and
Greg Zadow was looking for-
ward to bringing his special-
ized manual therapy skills to
the community of Sisters.
What started as a one-man
operation with limited hours
grew to include another part-
time therapist, billing spe-
cialist and eventually a front
office assistant. In those early
days, Zadow couldn9t have
imagined what would evolve
into what is now Green Ridge
Physical Therapy & Wellness.
Originally born and raised
in South Australia, Zadow
came to Washington State
in 1992 to further his train-
ing in a very specialized
form of manual therapy. His
plan was to be in the United
States for two years and then
return home to build his own
practice. Best laid plans can
and will be redesigned when
love comes into the picture,
and that is exactly what hap-
pened. Zadow met the love
of his life, Kim Williams,
and quickly realized that his
future was here in America.
Marriage, a growing family
of his own, and a successful
private practice in Seattle
made life very fulfilling;
however, the desire to leave
the big city and relocate to a
small town community even-
tually became their focus.
With his stepchildren mov-
ing into adulthood and two
younger daughters at a for-
mative age, it was time to
explore their options.
As a competitive cyclist,
Zadow had enjoyed many
opportunities to travel with
his family through a vari-
ety of small towns in the
Northwest and Arizona.
Seeking sunshine, four sea-
sons, less traffic and a tight-
knit community for their next
chapter of life, they identified
a list of potential spots 4 and
Central Oregon was their pri-
mary target. Although Bend
seemed like it could be a
good fit, the town of Sisters
quickly stood out as exactly
what they were looking for.
Everything fell into place,
property was secured and the
Zadows began to build their
new home. As their home
neared completion, they
secured a clinic location and
it was just a matter of time
before this new life would
begin for Greg, Kim, and
their family.
Zadow began his Sisters
practice while still com-
muting each week to his
original clinic in Redmond,
Washington. Spending part
of each week going between
Washington and Oregon was
a necessary and exhausting
commitment to a financially
viable transition. For two
years, Zadow caught 5 a.m.
flights to Seattle on Tuesdays,
working 12- to 14-hour days
and then returning late on
Thursday evenings. Mondays
and Fridays were his <Sisters=
clinic days and it wasn9t long
before word spread that there
was a new physical therapist
in town offering a different
and effective type of physical
therapy treatment.
After spending over a
year being a sole practitioner,
Zadow was approached by
another new transplant to the
Sisters community. Marlene
Dumas, also a physical
therapist focused on manual
therapy, had recently relo-
cated from Orange County,
California, and was exploring
options for part-time work.
The fit seemed perfect and
Dumas joined the practice.
The evolution had begun.
Over the years, the prac-
tice grew, and required
larger office space. In that
original location, the clinic
expanded from leasing one
space to eventually needing
three. From there a move was
made into a new and again
larger space in Pine Meadow
Village. At that time, the staff
had increased to include three
physical therapists and two
PHOTO PROVIDED
Greg Zadow found a home for himself, his family, and his practice in
Sisters — 20 years ago this month.
massage therapists. After a
short time, the Zadows made
a decision to build the new
clinic they had grown to
require and with that move
came a new name to symbol-
ize what they had become.
Green Ridge Physical
Therapy & Wellness was
still a privately owned prac-
tice, however it encompassed
much more. Their new clinic
would provide room for five
to six physical therapists,
See ZADOW on page 31