Sasha Visona has spent the past year building a new business in the city where she grew up. The owner of Ridge View Health and Performance, Visona also sees the value in building relationships within the community.
Visona was born and raised in Port Alberni. Now a physiotherapist, she graduated from the University of Victoria with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and subsequently with a Masters in Physical Therapy from the University of B.C. in 2017.
She opened Ridge View Health and Performance in a newish building on Cherry Creek Road, where other young entrepreneurs mixed with established business owners to create a dynamic commercial hub.
Visona has expanded her business in a purposeful manner over the past year, hiring practitioners that complement her services. Right now all practitioners at Ridge View Health and Performance are female, but Visona said that was more by coincidence than by design.
“We tend to attract women with a similar treatment style. It allows us to work well together as a team.”
Returning to work in the city where she grew up also happened organically. “It wasn’t always part of my plan,” she said. She spent five years working in a clinic in Duncan, but in the back of her mind was a long-term goal to open her own clinic by the time she turned 30. She achieved her goal right before her birthday.
“I’ve been really happy to come back to town,” she added. “I see it as a way to give back to the community that raised me, essentially. I loved growing up here, my family’s been here for a while.
“It’s great to be back and to get back into different community events I was involved with when I was growing up here — things like the Totem tournament, and now branching into the McLean Mill 10K. Growing up here, there were so many teachers and volunteers and coaches that had a really positive role in my life, so this is my chance to give back to those people.”
Another practitioner who grew up in the Alberni Valley and returned home to work after finishing her post-secondary education is kinesiologist Daley Forbes. She was the first to join Visona’s clinic and has also played a part in bringing the clinic and community together.
Other practitioners who have since joined Ridge View include registered massage therapists Julie Cawkell and Paige Blaauw and registered acupuncturist and nutritionist Jocelyn Williamson. The administration team of Sheena Cook and Tina Dirocco round out the staff.
Visona said there is room to grow. “The care we currently deliver is more focused on the physical aspects of health care, however I also plan to expand by adding mental health-care services such as counselling in the future. Mental and physical health go hand in hand, and we want to be able to serve both aspects.
“With our current team we are branching out to provide care to populations that are lacking services in this area,” she added. “This includes a cardiac rehabilitation program that we have launched in partnership with Heart to Heart Diagnostics Inc. and in the near future we plan to also expand into further concussion care.”
As sole owner of her business Visona said one of the challenges she faced initially was ensuring she has a solid support system. She outsourced tasks and found people with similar business acumen.
“Developing a really solid network is important. It’s made my life easier,” she said. It has also aided in her goal of becoming more involved in the community in a lasting way.
A former competitive wrestler with Alberni Wrestling, Forbes brought Ridge View into the Alberni Invitational wrestling event earlier this year. It is one of a number of events that Ridge View staff have supported. In the spring, they jumped on board as a main sponsor for the McLean Mill 10K.
Visona was looking for an event that Ridge View could take on as its own, connecting health care with the community; when 10K organizer Bill Collette put out a call for more volunteers, Visona answered.
“I saw that as a perfect opportunity to dive into the running community here,” said Visona, a former youth soccer and softball player and current runner. She chose to pair KidSport with the fundraising part of the run “because we know developing those (physical activity) habits early is important.”
