About Venture Physical Therapy:

We are about providing unbeatable expert and friendly care on Maui and Lana’i. We think: Person first, patient second. At Venture Physical Therapy, we want to help clients get back to doing the things they love without pain or difficulty. We do our best to help them avoid things like costly surgeries and unnecessary pain medications and injections. We teach them how to move and use their body to relieve pain and improve mobility. In the past, Lana’i residents sometimes never got better because they couldn’t get regular treatment on island. Our services have stopped many people from needing surgery or depending on pain medication. We are proud to have improved their quality of life.

Venture Physical Therapy services include treatment for:

• Pain: chronic back, knee, shoulder, foot, ankle, hand or wrist
• Stroke
• Falls
• Parkinson’s disease
• Multiple sclerosis
• Recent surgery (both orthopedic and non-orthopedic)
• Therapies: physical, occupational, in home, aquatic and alter G.

Meet Our Internship Mentors: Ted Anderson and Jess Smith

Ted Anderson is a physical therapist and orthopedic clinical specialist at Venture Physical Therapy. He grew up riding horses, hiking trails, and fishing outside Sacramento, California in Folsom and Placerville. He went to Santa Clara University where he found his two loves, his wife and healthcare. While working for 3 years as an intern in the athletic training room, he treated internationally ranked soccer players. Ted was accepted at Marquette University where he received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy. He trained further at Stanford and the Palo Alto VA in Spinal Cord Injury. He came to Maui to start his family and this practice. Ted opened the Lānaʻi clinic 8 years ago, and the Maui business has been open for more than 14 years. When not joking in the clinic, he is at the beach, performing standup comedy, or chasing his three moderately adorable children. He also serves on the Board at Maui Adult Day Care Centers and provides transfer training and fall prevention courses throughout the state. Ted always wanted to be involved in science, and wanted to help people. He chose this field because it allows him to spend more time with patients than a general medical practitioner, and he is able to do more physical things throughout the work day. Ted is also very passionate about supporting Hawaiʻi’s young people to enter this important career.

Jessika Smith grew up on the coast of Maine where she was very active in her church youth program and other civic groups where she spent most of her younger years excelling in athletics. She developed a love of nature through spending a lot of time hiking and on the lakes, rivers, and the ocean. She continues to enjoy these same aspects of Hawaiʻi and explores her surroundings as much as she can. In her spare time, she enjoys stand up paddle boarding, gardening, disc golf, and participating in stewardship activities. She also has a deep appreciation and adoration for crafting, art, and live music. The University of Maine in Orono is where she earned her degrees in Child Development and Adolescent Psychology.

After graduation Jess had various jobs in the social work realm that eventually led her to become a case manager for those with severe mental health and/or physical disabilities. This allowed her to hone skills in healthcare coordination, which is what first brought her to Lanaʻi City in 2011. Jessika then met and worked collaboratively with the Venture Physical Therapy (VPT) team when they first began servicing the island of Lana’i in 2012. Venture Physical Therapy opened their Lanaʻi City clinic in 2016 and shortly after that she joined the VPT team as the office manager of the Lana’i location. In addition to her full-time status with VPT, Jessika continues to work on a part-time basis with disadvantaged youth and families.

Internship duties and responsibilities:

• Support the office staff and PTs in running the clinic.
• Some cleaning and laundry
• Assessments of/exercises with patients
• Spending time talking with patients to understand their needs and support them.
• Home visits with staff

Interns should:

• Be able to attend one visit to our Kalama Heights Clinic on Maui to learn about our equipment, exoskeleton robot and other technology.
• Be vaccinated for COVID and hepatitis B.
• Have a very good attitude.
• Be able to interact, talk, ask lots of questions of staff and clients.
• Be discrete about the personal information they know about our clients.
• Clothing requirements: comfort and functionality (able to move freely; sit, stand and stretch): closed toed shoes, plain shirts, pants or shorts similar to what is school appropriate.

2023 Internship Schedule*:

• Spring 2023: Monday, March 13th and Tuesday, March 14th, 11am – 1pm and 2pm – 4pm
• Summer 2023: June 5/6, 12/13 and 19/20, every Monday/Tuesday, 10am – 1pm
  • 1 day on Maui: Friday, June 9th, 7:30am – 5:30pm;
  • 1 day on Molokaʻi: Friday, June 16th, 7am – 7pm

*Schedules are tentative and are subject to change. Interns will be required to work 40 hours in the Summer 2023.

Tentative 2024 Internship Schedule*:

• Spring 2024: March 18th – 22nd – Spring break 8 hour internship
• Summer 2024: June to early July – 40 hour internship

*Schedules are tentative and are subject to change. Interns will be required to work 40 hours in the Summer 2024.

Internship Meeting Locations:

Venture Physical Therapy 
628 Ilima Ave
Lanai City, HI 96763