You shouldn’t have to choose between getting the care you need and dealing with the hassle of getting there. That’s the reality for a lot of people in Centre Island—especially if you’re managing joint pain, recovering from surgery, or dealing with balance issues that make leaving home feel risky.
In-home physical therapy removes that barrier completely. Your sessions happen in your living room, your bedroom, or wherever you feel most comfortable. No waiting rooms. No parking. No stress about whether you can make the drive.
What you get instead is one-on-one time with a licensed physical therapist who evaluates how you actually move in your own space. That means we’re addressing the real challenges—like navigating your stairs, getting in and out of your shower, or walking confidently through your kitchen. The exercises you do are built around your daily life, not a clinic setting you’ll never see again.
Medcare Therapy Services has been providing in-home physical therapy across Long Island for over a decade. We’ve built our reputation on showing up when we say we will and treating every patient like they’re part of our own family.
Centre Island residents face unique challenges when it comes to accessing care. Transportation isn’t always easy, and for older adults or anyone recovering from an injury, the trip to a clinic can feel like more trouble than it’s worth. We’ve seen that firsthand, which is why we made home-based care our focus from the start.
Our team includes licensed physical therapists who accept Medicare and work with you to create a treatment plan that fits your goals. Whether you’re working through post-surgery rehabilitation, managing chronic pain, or trying to reduce your fall risk, we meet you where you are—literally and figuratively.
It starts with a phone call. You tell us what’s going on—maybe you’re recovering from a knee replacement, dealing with back pain that won’t quit, or you’ve noticed your balance isn’t what it used to be. We schedule your first appointment, usually within 24 hours, and confirm a time that works for you.
On that first visit, your physical therapist comes to your home and does a full evaluation. We’re looking at how you move, where you’re feeling pain, and what’s limiting you in your day-to-day life. This isn’t a quick check-in—it’s a real assessment that helps us understand what’s going on and what needs to change.
From there, we build a personalized treatment plan. That might include therapeutic exercise to rebuild strength, gait training to improve how you walk, balance training to reduce fall risk, or manual therapy to address joint pain. Every session is one-on-one, and we adjust the plan as you progress.
You’re not stuck with a generic program. If something isn’t working or your goals shift, we shift with you. Most of our patients are seen once or twice a week, depending on what they need, and each session lasts about an hour.
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Your treatment plan is built around what you actually need, not a one-size-fits-all checklist. For a lot of Centre Island residents, that means fall prevention and balance training—especially important given that Long Island seniors face higher fall risks than almost anywhere else in New York. Falls account for up to 80% of hospital admissions in older adults, and the consequences can be life-altering.
If you’re recovering from surgery, we focus on post-surgery rehabilitation that gets you moving safely again. That could mean regaining range of motion after a hip replacement, rebuilding strength after a rotator cuff repair, or working through scar tissue that’s limiting your movement. We also treat neurological conditions like stroke, Parkinson’s, and neuropathy with targeted neurological rehabilitation that addresses coordination, muscle control, and functional movement.
Joint pain treatment is another big part of what we do. Whether it’s arthritis in your knees, shoulder pain that’s keeping you up at night, or chronic back pain that’s affecting everything you do, we use a combination of manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and neuromuscular re-education to reduce pain and restore function.
Because we come to your home, we also help with occupational rehabilitation—teaching you how to do the things that matter most, like getting dressed, cooking, or moving around your house safely. And since most of our patients are on Medicare, we handle the billing and make sure your therapy is covered.
Yes. Medicare Part B covers outpatient physical therapy when it’s medically necessary and provided by a licensed therapist. That includes therapy delivered in your home.
Here’s what that means for you: if your doctor orders physical therapy and you meet Medicare’s criteria, your sessions are covered under the same rules as clinic-based care. You’ll still have a copay or coinsurance depending on your plan, but the service itself is covered.
The key is that the therapy has to be skilled care—meaning it requires the expertise of a licensed physical therapist. Things like routine exercise or general wellness don’t qualify, but if you’re recovering from surgery, managing a chronic condition, or working to prevent falls, you’re likely covered. We verify your benefits before your first visit so there are no surprises.
We treat a wide range of conditions, but the most common ones we see in Centre Island are balance disorders, joint pain, post-surgical recovery, and neurological conditions like stroke or Parkinson’s.
Balance issues are a big focus because they’re often overlooked until someone falls. If you’ve noticed you’re unsteady on your feet, grabbing onto furniture when you walk, or avoiding certain movements because you don’t trust your balance, that’s something we can address with targeted exercises that mimic real-life situations.
We also work with people recovering from orthopedic surgeries—hip replacements, knee replacements, rotator cuff repairs, spinal surgeries. The goal is to restore your range of motion, rebuild strength, and get you back to doing what you need to do. For neurological conditions, we focus on improving coordination, reducing muscle stiffness, and helping you regain functional movement. And if you’re dealing with chronic pain—back pain, arthritis, tendonitis—we use a combination of manual therapy and exercise to reduce pain and improve mobility.
Most of our patients start within 24 hours of calling. We know that when you’re in pain or struggling with mobility, waiting weeks for an appointment isn’t realistic.
Once you reach out, we’ll ask a few questions about what’s going on and what your doctor has recommended. If you already have a prescription for physical therapy, we can usually schedule your first visit the same day or the next day. If you don’t have a prescription yet, we’ll walk you through how to get one—it’s a quick process, and most doctors are happy to send one over once they know you’re ready to start.
That first visit is your evaluation. We’ll spend about an hour going through your medical history, assessing your movement, and talking about your goals. From there, we’ll outline a treatment plan and schedule your follow-up sessions. There’s no long intake process or insurance runaround—we handle that on our end so you can focus on getting better.
The biggest difference is convenience and context. At a clinic, you’re working in a generic space with equipment that might not reflect your actual environment. At home, we’re treating you in the place where you live, which means we can address the real obstacles you’re facing.
For example, if you’re struggling with stairs, we work on your actual stairs. If getting in and out of your shower is difficult, we practice that exact movement. If your balance feels off when you’re walking through your kitchen, we train in your kitchen. That kind of specificity makes a huge difference in how quickly you improve and how confident you feel.
The other advantage is time. You’re not spending 30 minutes driving to an appointment, sitting in a waiting room, and then rushing through a session. You get a full hour of one-on-one care without any of the logistical stress. And for people who have mobility issues or chronic pain, eliminating that commute can be the difference between sticking with therapy and giving up.
It depends on what we’re treating and what your goals are. Some people see significant improvement in four to six weeks. Others need a few months, especially if they’re recovering from surgery or managing a chronic condition.
During your first visit, we’ll give you a realistic timeline based on your specific situation. If you’re working on fall prevention and balance training, you might need eight to twelve weeks of consistent sessions to build strength and retrain your nervous system. If you’re recovering from a joint replacement, the timeline is usually closer to two to three months, depending on how your body responds.
What matters most is consistency. The people who show up for their sessions, do their exercises between visits, and communicate with us about what’s working tend to progress faster. We’re not here to drag things out—our goal is to get you stronger, more mobile, and more confident as efficiently as possible. Once you hit your goals, we’ll transition you to a maintenance plan or discharge you completely, depending on what makes sense for your situation.
In New York, you don’t technically need a referral to see a physical therapist—we have direct access, which means you can start therapy without a doctor’s prescription. That said, if you’re using Medicare or most insurance plans, they do require a prescription for coverage.
So while you can call us and start the process on your own, we’ll work with you to get that prescription from your doctor before your first visit. It’s usually a quick phone call or message through your patient portal, and most doctors are familiar with the process.
If you’ve already been told by your doctor that you need physical therapy, bring that documentation with you or have it ready when you call. If you’re not sure whether therapy is right for you, we can talk through your symptoms and help you figure out the next step. Either way, we make the process as simple as possible so you’re not stuck navigating insurance requirements on your own.
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