Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Bringing Together Local Businesses and Neighbors of South Charlotte.
Good Neighbor Podcast South Charlotte
Ep. #40 Transformative Pediatric Therapy: Insights from Compleat Kidz with Bob Fremgen
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Are you ready to unlock the secrets to transformative pediatric therapy? Join us as we sit down with Bob Fremgen, the dynamic head of marketing for Compleat Kidz in Charlotte, to explore the unparalleled services they provide. From speech and occupational therapy to physical and behavioral support, Bob walks us through the comprehensive evaluation process, emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis and customized treatment plans. His insights debunk common misconceptions and showcase the profound impact these therapies can have on children, especially those on the autism spectrum.
We also take a moment to reflect on the warmth and joy of our conversation with Bob, whose passion for helping families shines through. Expressing our gratitude for featuring Compleat Kidz, we look forward to meeting in person to continue this meaningful connection. As we wrap up, we extend a heartfelt thank you to our listeners and invite them to nominate their favorite local businesses for future episodes. Don’t miss this enriching discussion that marks the start of a supportive journey for many families.
Compleat Kidz - Pediatric Therapy
Bob Fremgen
2675 Court Drive
Gastonia, NC 28054
(704) 824-4999
socialmedia@Compleatkidz.com
ompleatkidz.com
Pediatric Therapy Services With Complete Kids
Speaker 1This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Regina Lee.
Speaker 2Hello everyone and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. We are broadcasting from the Charlotte area and today I have with us the head of marketing, bob Fremgen Co with . Welcome, bob. Thank you for having me. Absolutely so. Complete Kids enlighten us. What do you guys do?
Speaker 3Sure, we're a pediatric therapy service. What that means is we treat kids that need some therapies. The four main therapies that we offer are speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and behavioral therapy, or what is commonly known as ABA, and that is basically kids on the autism spectrum.
Speaker 2So what ages are you typically working with?
Speaker 3For speech, occupational and physical therapy we take we call it birth, so basically right away to 18. And for ABA we take two to 10.
Speaker 2So how does does the child have to have some sort of doctor's note or it does.
Speaker 3So what happens is normally you go to your doctor. You say, hey, I'm seeing some signs of whatever those four therapies that we offer. You know, just maybe kid isn't hitting milestones for either speech or just in general. You discuss with your doctor. He will set up an evaluation through us. We have on staff a psychologist, sorry, and they will evaluate the child and they will say whether he is or is not on the autism spectrum. The other side speech, ot and PT that is done actually by the clinicians, so they will determine if that kid needs some help with speech, physical or occupational therapies and they will take that referral, which is basically like getting a prescription for medication, and they will evaluate it and say whether that kid needs to continue on with some services. It and say whether that kid needs to continue on with some services and then once those therapists give the kid the thumbs up, then they can go into treatment with one of our facilities.
Speaker 2So talk to us a little bit more in depth about that process. You know you get the green light. We're going to bring our child there. You know talk to me about that what that looks like.
Speaker 3Sure. So we get the green light, we immediately. So after all the evaluations are done, we do an evaluation, like I said, of um, the kid being on the spectrum. Then we go to an aba evaluation, which is the actual therapist that will be treating the child. Those guys, um, now the kid has already been diagnosed, but those guys will, um, you know, evaluate the kid and see exactly what kind of therapy and they'll create what we call a program. And those programs will be written by the bcba, which is board certified behavioral analysis, and they will write that program out, um for that child, specific to that child, um. And then we have a team of uh therapists that are are paraprofessionals, their entry level, and they will work with the kid under the guidance of the PCBA. For the other side, for what we call rehab, which is PTOT and SLP, those guys work one-on-one, so the evaluator works will then work with the child, work one-on-one, so the evaluator works will then work with the child.
Speaker 2So is the child coming there like a school and staying with you all day? How does this work?
Speaker 3It can be either way. So some of our kids come to us mostly the ABA ones, at least to start. They will come to us almost like a school. The idea is to transition those kids to eventually attend atypical schools. Some do, some don't. It has nothing to do with the success of it, some kids are just not set up for that. And then the other services are usually done supplemental to school. A lot of times they'll come before or after or even during the summer and get those services to help them. You know, hit milestones in school.
Speaker 2So I'm just thinking about a working parent that is interested in this. Are they leaving the child with you all day?
Speaker 3you all day Well. Aba services typically are between four to six hours. The other services usually just an hour, but a couple of times a week. Speech is a half hour, ot and PT is an hour, and it's usually just a couple of times a week.
Speaker 2Gotcha, gotcha. What are some of the misconceptions you deal with in your industry?
Speaker 3I think the two big ones are you know that. What are some of the misconceptions you deal with in your industry? I think the two big ones are you know that these are some kind, that they're problem children, so to speak. You know these kids are disruptive and bad kids and that, could you know. A therapist will tell you that couldn't be further from the truth. The kids are super sweet. And the other thing that I think is from the parents is you know, I always use this quote. It was actually one of our first moms to have our kid come here and she said you know, I thought when I got the diagnosis it was the end, but I realized it was just the beginning, which I love that line and it's so true. You know, I think that, oh my God, it's over. I've got a diagnosis, it's over and it's really not.
Speaker 2Yes, share another success story that I bet that's exciting. Any come to mind?
Speaker 3Well, you know, and I was our staff, not me the marketing guy, but the staff, the clinical staff that work with the kids to a person it's always, you know, the most rewarding part of the job is watching the kids, you know, do stuff. So the things we hear that you know we don't think about is simple, everyday things. To these parents is stressful. So a trip to the grocery store, a trip to the movies is extremely stressful and you know, I've literally seen parents brought to tears because now they can go to the grocery store and, you know, not have a meltdown from the kid at the grocery store. You know they can go to a movie and not only them but the entire theater can enjoy the movie. Or you know they can go to a movie and not only them but the entire theater can enjoy the movie. So, and you know those simple things that you know, the word that keeps coming up is life changing.
Speaker 2Yeah, I never thought about you. Know how does the parent get help? Because that is.
Speaker 3Well and interesting enough, so obviously you know, we get the parent help some, you know, with some respite. But also we always say we don't treat the kid, we treat the entire family, because it is, you know, the entire family needs to be involved, you know, to have success for that child.
Speaker 2Right, right, as far as cost, and just thinking about that out loud does insurance cover this?
Speaker 3Yes, most of the time we have very few. We do have some people that are what we call private pay, but I don't know the exact number, regina, but I would say it's 80 or 90 percent of our kids. They are covered either by Medicaid or private insurance.
Speaker 2Excellent, excellent. So where are your locations, or where would people, how do they find you for Charlotte area?
Speaker 3Well, the best way to find any of our clinics is just go on the website, which is www. compleatkidz. com We spell it kind of funky. Yes, you do, we spell it kind of funky.
Speaker 2Yes, you do.
Speaker 3It's C-O-M. I'll tell you that story in a minute. So it's C-O-M-P-L-E-A-T-K-I-D-Z. com, and just go on there and you'll see a tab for locations. We're located all over the state. We typically have two centers one around the Charlotte metro area and the other one around the Raleigh-Durham area. There's one around the Charlotte metro area and the other one around the Raleigh-Durham area, but we also have clinics out west, like as far as Hickory Lincolnton. We have some up north in Rocky Mountain. So you know, just go on there. You'll see the map and each clinic has its own page if you need to get in touch with them. Also, you know, if you're seeing some signs in your kid and you just don't really know what to do even before you talk to your doctor, just either pop in or call. We have people that will help, and just you know, we've done this a bunch of times, so it's no big deal to us. You know, don't feel like you're in this alone. We're here to help you.
Speaker 2So tell us about the spelling of the complete, so weird to help you.
Speaker 3So tell us about the spelling of the complete. So weird. So originally we have an adult counterpart, which we do have a clinic in South Charlotte, we have a couple, I think we have Steel Creek and I forget the other one in the Southern part of Charlotte, but so they're a sister company and they're complete rehab spelled the same weird way. The reason was is our company CEO originally had bought just the adult company and the couple that owned it were big fans of old literature. I think before that they actually had an old bookstore and the original spelling complete is the way we spell it. That's the original old English spelling of it. So there's the story behind the funky spelling.
Speaker 2That is funky. Yeah, I'm glad we brought that up, so we'll go to look for you online.
Speaker 3It's not like we can't spell. That's not the reason.
Speaker 2Good point, good point. Well, is there anything you'd like our listeners to know? I know you mentioned to me you guys are always looking for uh to hire, so talk to us about that.
Speaker 3Yeah, so you know we're, we're growing, so we are always hiring. I mean, obviously, if you're a, a BCBA, a speech therapist, occupational or physical therapist, uh, you know, give us a ring, Um, you can go onto the website and, um, You'll see there's a careers tab. But even if you don't see something up there, just reach out to recruiting at completekidscom and we'll, you know, we'll find somewhere for you. The other one that we hire a lot is the bulk of our staff is something called BT slash, RBTs, and that's a behavioral technician and it's last registered behavioral technician behavioral technician and it's last registered behavioral technician. The only thing difference is it's a 40 hour course and and then you have to pass the test to become a registered behavioral technician. We pay for you to study for the course and we also we reimburse if you pass the course within 90 days of start. So you know, and you can turn, definitely turn into a career for just 40-hour course again, that we set aside the time and allow you to study and take the test for and those guys are the one-on-ones with the kids in the ABA program or the kids basically on the autism spectrum, and those are the they deal with each session.
Speaker 3So I said they're usually like four hours, so each one of those technicians will have a child in the morning and an afternoon child and they're the ones that really form a relationship. You know a lot of them become, you know, almost like a confidant of the mom or the dad and you know they almost like a confidant of the mom or the dad and they almost have a relationship outside of work. Some of them we've seen where they're invited to birthday parties and stuff like that, because you do become almost part of the family. And those are the guys that really we hear it all the time about how rewarding what they do is. It's a special job.
Speaker 3I say it every time I'm on one of these types of things, Regina, how rewarding what they do is. You know it's a special job. I say it every time I'm on one of these types of things, Regina. I could not do it. Those guys have extreme amount of patience and they're really a gift and you know we really appreciate what they do and we really try to take care of those guys as much as we can.
Speaker 2I see on your website there is a career section. So if people are interested in learning more, just again go to the website. So tell us one last time how do people find you?
Speaker 3Well, you can find us through it again, through your doctor. You can say hey, you know, I've heard about these guys Complete Kids. Are you familiar with Net Promoter Score? You know, I've heard about these guys Complete Kids. Are you familiar with Net Promoter Score? Mps Regina.
Speaker 2I am not.
Speaker 3So it's basically, it's a standard business measurement and you send out a simple survey and you ask people on a scale of one to 10, would they recommend you to a friend? And it's very's very simple basic math. Even an idiot like me can do it. But you um. So six and below is a detractor, and you can look this up on the internet. Nine and uh 10 are considered um uh promoters and um a simple score, you know it's times 100 for each and you subtract the tractors from promoters.
Speaker 3Anyway, our average rating recently was a 9.1 stars and it gave us an MPS score of 72, which is extremely high, extremely high, which basically says that parents are really happy with the service and I'm extremely proud of that and I have zero to do with that. That's all the staff just giving really good service.
Speaker 2Well, it does take a unique skill set, like you mentioned, and I think that is amazing how rewarding that sounds. Bob, I appreciate your time today. Was there anything else you wanted to mention?
Good Neighbor Podcast Chat With Bob
Speaker 3No, like I said, most of the stuff just go onto the website. We have a bunch of just information up there like signs to look for. We have a ton of stuff. There's a connection on the website, but you can also just go to YouTube. If this is something that a world you or your child is thinking about entering, you and or your child is thinking about entering, follow us on social media. The big one for us is the meta platforms for both Facebook and Instagram, and we're just at Complete Kids Again, the funky spelling.
Speaker 2Yes, well, bob, it's a pleasure chatting with you.
Speaker 3No, it was great chatting with you. I really appreciate you having us on.
Speaker 2Absolutely, I'm sure we'll meet face-to-face one day soon. That would be great chatting with you. I really appreciate you having us on.
Speaker 1Absolutely, I'm sure we'll meet face to face one day soon. That would be all right.
Speaker 2Take care Thank you.
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP South Charlotte. com. That's GNP South Charlotte. com, or call 9, 8 0, 3, 5, 1, 5, 7, 1, 9. That's GNPSouthCharlotte. com, or call 980-351-5719.