Stephen Donald Peace
Physical Therapy Assisting
Birth Place: West Palm Beach, FL
Education: AS in Physical Therapy Assisting from South University
Stephen is a native Floridian born in West Palm Beach to a Nurse mother (Jeanne) and a Carpenter father (Carl). He is the middle child with an older brother named James and a younger sister named Elizabeth. Stephen is an extremely family oriented individual; after spending the past 2 years in California working as the Site Supervisor of an outpatient physical therapy clinic, Stephen is more than ready to move back to Florida to be closer to friends and family.
Growing up in South Florida, Stephen did all the usual things Floridians do. He loved being outdoors playing sports, fishing, or just spending quality time with friends. An avid animal and wildlife lover, he is looking forward to working with local wildlife conservation programs as a volunteer once back in Florida. Presently Stephen enjoys challenging himself on the golf course and in the gymnasium.
In 2008 while studying general education in college, Stephen was involved in a serious car accident which required him to undergo some fairly extensive physical therapy to rehab a significant shoulder injury. During this process, Stephen found his passion for helping people recover from injuries and decided he wanted to make a life-long career in doing so. After rehabilitating, he enrolled in South University’s Physical Therapy Assisting program in Royal Palm Beach, FL. Stephen Graduated in 2011 and has thrived working as a Physical Therapy Assistant ever since.
Over the past ten years, Stephen has treated and assisted in rehabbing a wide variety of clientele, including high school, collegiate, and professional athletes. Working in South Florida for the first 8 years of his career gave Stephen the opportunity to treat an active community. Stephen estimates he has upwards of 20,000 treatments over his career, exclusively in outpatient sports rehab settings. He takes a hands-on approach to physical therapy and is prolific in manual treatment and therapeutic exercise. He has extensive experience with geriatric patients and has the ability and knowledge to help with whatever physical demand is needed.
Stephen spent the past two years living and working in Morgan Hill California as the Site Supervisor and lead therapist of an outpatient clinic, overseeing upwards of 100 treatments a week. Leading two DPT’s and a PT technician, Stephen took a new outpatient clinic that was treating around 30-40 patients a week when he arrived, to a clinic seeing over 100 patients a week when he left. All this was accomplished during the challenging times of the COVID pandemic. Stephen feels he was able to accomplish this by being present and available to the community, developing relationships with the local ortho doctors, but most of all by providing an exceptional patient experience during their PT sessions.
As the Wellness director of the YMCA, Stephen plans to bring a positive, optimistic energy to the Marco Island community day in and day out. As he continues on his own health and wellness journey, Stephen has adopted yoga, meditation, and clean eating habits that have helped him lose over 60 pounds. A natural born leader and a great teammate, Stephen is looking forward to leading the Wellness Team at the YMCA in a friendly but professional manner. With the knowledge to help transition patients from therapy into the wellness programs that the YMCA offers, Stephen is excited to give people their healing powers back and move them away from unnecessary pharmaceuticals and surgeries.
“I can’t wait to get to Marco Island. I know the impact that we are going to have on the community there is going to be grand.”