After 15 years of serving patients in Clarksville, Opportunity Therapy is expanding its outreach with a second location in downtown Shell Rock, bringing physical therapy services to a broader portion of Butler and Bremer counties.
The clinic will host an open house on Friday, July 3, from 2 to 4 p.m., during Shell Rock’s Fourth of July celebration. Located on 228 S Cherry St., owners Dr. Teresa Negen and her husband, Mike Negen, physical therapy assistant, are giving community members an opportunity to tour the renovated space before patient appointments begin later this month.
Negen said she is excited to welcome the community through the doors.
“We’re excited to open our services to new people,” she said. “Shell Rock has been tied closely to Waverly, so this gives us an opportunity to serve a whole new group of patients while still keeping that small-town feel that has always been important to us.”
The Negens have spent the past year and a half transforming a longtime Main Street building into the clinic’s newest home. While the couple had considered expanding for the past few years, they said finding the right building was the key.
“We really like the old buildings,” Negen said. “We like the remodel process and being part of the small towns, so we wanted to stay focused on that.”
The newly renovated building will also include two one-bedroom apartments on the upper floor, which are expected to become available in the coming months after construction is complete.
The clinic will post updates on its website, www.optfitcv.com and its Facebook page, Opportunity Therapy, for appointments at its Shell Rock location.
Opportunity Therapy first opened in Clarksville in the spring of 2011 after the Negens purchased and remodeled an existing building on 103 S Main St. in Clarksville, where they also house the Clarksville Fit Club workout space. Over the years, the practice has steadily grown, drawing patients from across Butler County.
“Our Clarksville location just kept getting busier and busier,” Negen said. “We wanted to add staff, but we were all crawling over each other because we had such a small space.”
The search for a second location eventually led them to Shell Rock, where the downtown building offered both the character and accessibility they had envisioned. For Negen, opening her own clinic has been a long-term goal.
Raised in Clarksville, she originally enrolled at the University of Iowa intending to study law before discovering physical therapy.
“I found physical therapy and thought, ‘That’s it,’” she said. “I like being active. I like analyzing how the body works and figuring out what the problem is.”
After earning her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa and a master’s degree in physical therapy from St. Ambrose University, Negen and her husband briefly lived in the Iowa City area before returning to their hometown. With two children and another one on the way, the Negans wanted to be closer to family. She later earned her doctorate in 2017 from Des Moines University.
Today, Opportunity Therapy treats patients of nearly every age, from infants with musculoskeletal conditions to athletes, post-surgical patients, workers recovering from injuries and older adults seeking to maintain mobility. Negen added that Opportunity Therapy takes most major insurances and has its own billing specialist, Shanelle Harken.
One of the biggest changes Negen has seen over her career has been physical therapy becoming a more direct entry point into health care.
Years ago, nearly every patient required a physician referral before beginning therapy. Today, Iowa’s direct access law, Iowa Code Chapter 148, allows many patients to seek physical therapy without first seeing a physician.
“We’ve become much more of a first access point into the health care system,” Negen explained. “If we can’t solve the problem, then we know when it’s appropriate to refer someone on.”
She also explained that the Shell Rock location is expected to improve access for residents who previously traveled farther for therapy, saying, “Physical therapy usually isn’t a one-visit process. Having something close to home makes a huge difference because people are coming multiple times each week.”
Through over 20 years of experience, Negan’s motto for the clinic, “Small Town Charm, Big Time Results,” remains constant as Opportunity Therapy evolves into its next chapter.
“We know so many of our patients personally,” she said. “If we don’t know you already, we get to know you. Those personal relationships are important in health care.”