Keeping your health and fitness in regional townships can be a tricky thing, especially when you have other related health concerns. Luckily for the residents of Tenterfield, they have the very talented and determined exercise physiologist, Emma Page of EP Health Centre to help them out.
Ms Page has been working in the fitness industry nearly her adult whole life, having been a personal trainer for some years before deciding to take the leap and study exercise physiology at university.
“I’ve always been interested in sport and health and fitness, and, whilst I enjoyed my time as a personal trainer, I really wanted to take that next step and become an exercise physiologist.
“I love the challenge and the reward that comes from helping people with a wide variety of health conditions, injuries, rehabilitation and reduced mobility,” said Ms Page.
EP Health Centre is fully accessible, featuring a reception area, two offices and a private gym space, and Ms Page has been operating from EP Health Centre in Riley street for almost 12 months.
“Having my own, purpose-built studio is a huge benefit,” said Ms Page.
“I can’t overemphasise how valuable it is to clients to be able to have that privacy and the ability to be able to talk confidentially with me while working towards improved health and reaching goals in their clinical sessions.”
Ms Page’s clientele is varied, including private clients, NDIS, Medicare, DVA, aged care and Workcover.
EP Health are able to help patients with ASD, Diabetes, Autoimmune disease, neurological conditions, Pulmonary, Cardiac ,Musculoskeletal, Cancer, Renal and mental health issues.
Ms Page also bulk bills through Medicare utilising the GP management care plans
As well as her private consultations, Ms Page also runs regular group classes throughout the week including strength sessions, pilates, circuit and a high intensity step class.
As the only exercise physiologist in Tenterfield, Ms Page is in high-demand and she recognises the clear deficit in accessing allied health for regional areas.
Across the region, allied health professionals can be hard to come by and having one in your neighbourhood is a huge benefit – having one who is also opening their doors for other professionals to collaborate is even better and that’s just what Ms Page is now achieving at her studio.
“In the last year I’ve been able to attract a visiting podiatrist, dietitian and physiotherapist to EP Health,” said Ms Page.
“It’s so important to have a great supportive team of allied health professionals and being able to keep people local and give them local access to these services is vital.”
Ms Page is still open to further health professionals working from EP Health Centre in the future.
“My dream is that we’ll grow enough to be able to bring in an occupational therapist. We have a real need for an OT in our community right now and I know that so many of my clients would benefit immensely from being able to access one locally,” said Ms Page.
“My next wish after that is to win lotto so I can afford to put in a hydrotherapy pool!”
She even has a handful of clients trying their luck to win lotto for her with the same goal.
Whilst the lotto win may not have come through just yet, Ms Page did win big at the last Tenterfield Business and Tourism Excellence Awards.
She walked away with the Excellence in Small Business – Professional and Service Award last year. Her receptionist, Tori Page also won the Trainee of the Year Award.
“Tori is amazing, she’s still at high school and she’s also been doing a traineeship for her Certificate III in Health Administration while working for me,” said Ms Page.
“She dreams of being either a physiotherapist or an osteopath when she finishes school and it’s really rewarding for me to be able to help her on her journey.”
Outside of the clinic, Ms Page is also setting some big personal goals as she prepares to compete at the World Powerlifting Championship to be held in Sydney this October.
“I competed and took home three golds in front of a crowd of about 300 at the Australian Championships in Brisbane earlier this year, but the World Championships are part of the AusFitness expo so there’s going to be a lot more spectators – so it’s really exciting but also really nerve-wracking as well,” said Ms Page.
With such big goals and a genuine love of health and fitness it’s little wonder that EP Health has been credited with being the Best Gym or Fitness Centre in the New England by New England Times Readers.
For more information about EP Health Centre, visit their Facebook Page.
EP Health was voted by New England Times readers as the Best Gym or Fitness Centre in the New England 2024.
See the other winners and more details about this promotion.