What if the future of healthcare wasn’t found in more red tape, but in radical simplicity and human connection?
That question guided my recent conversation on the Grow Your Wellth podcast — an episode that dove deep into entrepreneurship, burnout, and what it truly means to create a model of care that serves both patients and providers. You can listen to the full episode here: Reimagining Healthcare: Entrepreneurship, Burnout & Whole-Person Healing.
As a physical therapist and the founder of Anchor Wellness Center and WAVE Physical Therapy, I’ve spent the past decade building spaces that bridge the gap between what healthcare is — and what it could be.
The Problem: A System That Fails Everyone
When I began practicing, it didn’t take long to see how traditional, insurance-based models limited both care and connection. Patients bounced from one specialist to another. Providers had seven minutes per visit — just long enough to bill a code, but not to understand a human being.
The system, as I often say, sets up great clinicians to fail and forces patients into passive roles. That’s not healthcare; that’s sick care.
The Vision: A Collaborative, Fee-for-Service Ecosystem
Anchor Wellness was born from frustration — and from hope. I wanted to remove barriers between disciplines and put exceptional providers under one roof: physical therapists, mental health professionals, Pilates instructors, dietitians, health coaches, and more.
By eliminating the insurance middleman, our providers can finally make decisions based on what’s best for their clients — not what’s reimbursable. The result is a model that’s more equitable, more effective, and more sustainable for everyone involved.
In the podcast, I shared an example: a patient who paid less for one-on-one, out-of-network care at WAVE PT than she did through her insurance-based clinic — and achieved better outcomes in a fraction of the visits. It’s a powerful reminder that “covered” doesn’t always mean “cost-effective,” and that quality care can, in fact, be accessible when systems are simplified.
Healing Burnout by Healing the Business
Healthcare burnout isn’t just a buzzword. It’s an epidemic. I’ve lived it, and I’ve watched countless clinicians walk away from their professions, not because they lost passion, but because they lost autonomy.
At Anchor, we’re changing that by giving providers what they need to thrive: mentorship, infrastructure, and community. Our model functions like a co-working and business incubator for health and wellness entrepreneurs — removing logistical burdens so they can focus on what they do best: helping people heal.
The Future of Whole-Person Care
“Whole-person healing” isn’t just a tagline. It’s the core of how we practice. True wellness integrates physical, mental, emotional, and social health. It’s collaborative, personalized, and built on relationships — not billing codes.
If we want to build a better healthcare future, we must empower the people delivering care. Entrepreneurship, done intentionally, can be the path toward that empowerment.
You can hear more of my conversation on Grow Your Wellth here.
About the Author:
Dr. Sarah Crawford is a physical therapist, entrepreneur, and founder of Anchor Wellness Center and WAVE Physical Therapy + Pilates in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work focuses on reimagining healthcare through collaborative, whole-person models that empower both patients and providers.
