Heather Hasselschwert
Owner | Lead Physical Therapist
Heather first became involved with Newport PT in 2006 when she became an intern during her first year of physical therapy school. She enjoyed working at Newport PT as a physical therapy aide during the summers of 2006, 2007 and 2008. After completing her Doctorate Degree in Physical Therapy at Pacific University in 2009, Heather came on board as a full-time, staff physical therapist. After several years of treating patients at Newport Physical Therapy, Heather purchased the practice and was very happy to deepen her roots in the community with opportunities to grow and ensure that Newport PT would continue to provide the best care possible to it’s clients. Heather’s clinical skills in manual therapy and functional movement analysis have helped her to be successful in treating the spine, and peripheral joints that are orthopedic in nature. Treating holistically is important to Heather and means that she evaluates not only the involved joints, it’s surrounding soft tissues, the nerve structures that are contained within the soft tissues, as well as the environmental influences that the individual lives in, works in and plays in. In 2013 Heather began developing a specialty service within the outpatient practice, which continues to be called Women’s Health but within the profession will soon have a new title as it is important to acknowledge that men benefit from these services as well. Many physical therapists treat conditions related to the pelvis and the sacroiliac joint (SIJ). A Women’s Health PT, or maybe more appropriately called, a Pelvic Health PT is one who performs evaluation and treatment of not only the pelvis and SIJ but also the pelvic floor musculature and it’s influence on bladder and bowel function, sexual function, pelvic pain, and more. Many patients are referred to a pelvic PT for bladder or bowel incontinence, pelvic pain post-partum, post-operative prostatectomy, pelvic organ prolapse and many other conditions.
Alicia Fitzgerald, PTA
Alicia was born and raised in Southern California. She attended UC Santa Cruz for her undergraduate studies where she double majored in environmental studies and biology and also played on their college water polo team. Soon thereafter, she moved to Ashland, Oregon where she lived for many years and became interested in backpacking and mountain biking, before deciding to go back to school to pursue a career in physical therapy. During her schooling, she achieved clinical experience in diverse settings including skilled nursing, pelvic floor rehabilitation, and outpatient orthopedics with a focus on vestibular dysfunction. Following graduation from Lane Community College’s Physical Therapist Assistant program in Eugene and the birth of her son, Alicia and her family moved to Newport. At Newport Physical Therapy, Alicia enjoys treating a variety of orthopedic dysfunctions. She also holds a certificate of achievement for Herman & Wallace’s introductory pelvic floor dysfunction course.
Andrew Blank, PT, DPT
Drew was raised in the Bay Area in California. Once he graduated high school, he moved to Oregon where he attended Oregon State University and earned his bachelor’s degree in Exercise & Sport Science, meeting his wife during his studies. He and his wife then moved to Nashville, Tennessee where Drew attended Tennessee State University’s DPT program. During his schooling, he had the good fortune to complete a clinical rotation at Newport Physical Therapy. He received his Doctorate of Physical Therapy from TSU in 2020 and returned to the Oregon coast to settle close to family. He is excited to begin his career with the same providers that he so enjoyed working with during his schooling.
Renee Roberts
Front Office Supervisor
Renee is an Arizona native who traded the arid desert for the Oregon Coast almost 17 years ago. She loves living at the beach and enjoying the great outdoors. She enjoys hiking, kayaking, camping and cooking. She is also half owner of Tic Tac Taco, the best Mexican Food booth at our local Farmer’s Market. Renee takes pride in helping others, which makes her a great fit as our Front Office Manager.
