Velona Health, 1525 E 53rd Street, Chicago, IL (2025)

06/11/2025

📢 An Introduction!! 📢

Amirah Baker, administrative assistant and future Pediatric Physical Therapist.

I don't know how to introduce her in such a small amount of space. She joined the team April 2nd. We met March 14th... The universe had plans. If I haven't already bothered you with the story, ask me next time we see each other!! It's one of my favourite story to tell. 🥰🥰🥰

For now, I'll let her speak for herself:

Hi, I’m Amirah Baker!

I’m a proud Chicago native, recent Exercise Science graduate, and aspiring pediatric physical therapist. My passion for working with kids began through years of experience in community programs and was deepened by my own recovery journey after burn injuries in 2021. Today, I’m excited to be part of the Velona Health team as the Administrative Aide. I’m learning every day and preparing to begin PT school in 2026 to keep moving forward on my path to helping children heal, grow, and thrive.

---

Can't believe how lucky we are to have front row seats to watch you grow. And, to watch you improve our future(s) through helping our next generations. Kiddos are hope.

💛💚💙

Yours,

Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy - MGH Institute of Health Professions Alum
Founder and Owner of Velona Health PLLC

💛💚💙

06/05/2025

We took new photos today. Heart is so full. LOVE this team of people. More on this soon. Website to be updated soon too.

For now (left to right):

- Dr David Vlaich, PT, DPT, OCS
- Amirah Baker, currently admin and future Pediatric Physical Therapist
- Dogtor Kala Mimee
- Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT
- Dr Mary Rogel, Ph.D., Dipl.Ac., L.Ac.
- Christopher Washington, PTA

💛💚💙

Yours (and theirs too 🥰),
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy - MGH Institute of Health Professions Alum
Founder and Owner of Velona Health PLLC

💛💚💙

01/21/2025

I'm still processing our move. What an upgrade. It's so beautiful.

Our new waiting room needs some more work/ time, but the private treatment rooms are already in full swing taking care of patients.

I'll continue to share photos as we settle. This is my room. Come visit?? Message me.

💛💚💙

Yours,

Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy - MGH Institute of Health Professions Alum
Founder and Owner of Velona Health PLLC

01/01/2025

We left the Hyde Park Bank Building.

We’re just ONE block west in the Philz Coffee building, on the corner of E 53rd and S Blackstone Ave.

It’s so wild and incredible that I’m having trouble writing this, while I’m stuck in disbelief over it all. It’s so beautiful. We have a waiting room, windows on 3 sides, 4 private treatment rooms, and we are sharing our space with my mentor, Dr Mary Rogel.

This is really just a dream. When I started Velona Health, I was often asked what I wanted it to become. My answer was always “Whatever the community needs it to be”… aaaaand, here we are just 5 years later expanding and growing.

For you.

We have orthopedic PT, pelvic floor PT, a TON of neuroscience, Mary, a solid lead on a pediatric PT, still a dream for a vestibular PT… the Ultimate Dream of an interdisciplinary team who cherishes their patients and genuinely enjoys geeking out about it all, to help push patient progress through plateaus and over the finish line??… someone pinch me. Please.

I’ll stop there, for now. More another time. (pictures to come once we’re more set up and maybe Open House dates/ times to celebrate together ❤️)

For now:

💛💚💙
Thank you for being you. And, thank you for letting us be SO much US that we need more space to continue fulfilling our purpose of taking care of you, our people.
💛💚💙

Love you all so much,

Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT

Doctor of Physical Therapy - MGH Institute of Health Professions Alum
Founder and Owner of Velona Health PLLC

11/17/2024

*Floor is Lava* Balance Workshop this morning was SO fun. Blog post to follow with some of the technical information, for now, just a mush-fest as I try to unpack the emotions around it.

Thank you thank you thank you to and to Carla for hosting!!

This was intended to be a Winter Prep Workshop to prepare the body and its balance reactions to be as safe as possible on (incoming) ice and snow this season. We'll be doing another one in the spring as people start to thaw out (😅) and they start daydreaming about spring and summer sports ahead. These principles apply to the growing body and to the changing body (growth spurts, pregnancy, post partum, weight fluctuations, post surgical, etc).

My heart lives in the Orthopedic AND Neuroscience worlds and it was so nice to spend two hours geeking out about it all this morning with patients, their friends, my neighbours, and community members.

When I was little, I was told that I "can't save the world". In hindsight, I now understand that this statement was intended to relieve me of some invisible and immense burden, but it made everything SOOOO much worse. While I can't save the entire world, being able to help the people around me prepare for potentially dangerous and life-changing injuries helps my brain. I'm happy to help and hope to be able to help for my whooole lifetime. So, if you missed it today, there will be more.

My heart is so full from the turn-out and from having a platform to feel helpful to our community(ies) as we enter a new season.

Already looking forward to the next one!

💛💚💙

Yours in service,
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT
Owner/ Founder of Velona Health
Collector of the best staff ever

💛💚💙

Pamphlet credit goes to the wonderful 🙏🙏🙏

11/16/2024

Can't wait to see you tomorrow!!

This is going to be a community-sized game of **Floor is Lava** 🤩🤩🤩
.. combined with some geeking out about balance and easy things you can do at home to get "Winter Ready" (same principles apply to growth spurts too). Chatting will be done during the game because adding cognitive components to balance tasks adds a fun and sometimes surprising amount of challenge.

💛💚💙

Yours in service,
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT
Owner/ Founder of Velona Health
Collector of the best staff ever

💛💚💙

11/16/2024

📢 An Introduction!! 📢

This one is for Dr David Vlaich, PT, DPT, OCS - Orthopedic Clinical Specialist.

This one has been really hard to write. Dr David is our most recent addition and is seeing patients in Andersonville. It's hard to write this intro kiiiind of because he's newest, but even moreso because he fit in so seamlessly personality-wise and philosophically that it feels like we've known him forever. Super grateful to have on the team and looking forward to watching his impact grow; his patients are already racing about him.

For his full bio, please see our website About Us section! (Incentive/ bait: "Woo Pig!")

💛💚💙

Yours in service,
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT
Owner/ Founder of Velona Health
Collector of the best staff ever

💛💚💙

10/11/2024

📢 Another RE-Introduction! 📢

This one is for Dr Gauri Pawar, PT, DPT, Pelvic Health Specialist.

Our meeting was Fate.

A few years ago, I went to a local pelvic health specialist after my first kiddo out of sheer curiosity could I use it as an excuse to meet/ find quality local providers to refer my patients to (or hire here). Surprisingly!... The PT tried to convince ME to go to the pelvic floor courses and told me it was "easy!" because the courses are "online and only like $150". I was left struggling to find words. I LOVE our field and our patients deserve WAY more than a $150 ONLINE course. I stuttered and struggled and tried to deflect by saying "well, I was already looking into it and found courses". This PT then jumped said "Those are expensive!!" AND "Those are the CADILLAC of courses". Well, if you know me, I want Cadillacs and Ferraris and Bugattis for my patients! SO, I went home and registered for their Pelvic Function Level 1 course. She was the Teaching Assistant!!! One finger pad touch on my hip, when my lab partner needing help finding something, and immediately my brain screamed THAT'S A GOOD CLINICIAN.

Fast forward almost a year and I've watched her build a cult following of patients here in a blink and become a first time Mama of the cutest kid and return to us from that maternity leave motivated more than ever to help her patients. She's already scoped out all of the courses for 2025. Her brain and spirit are all in on her patients.

For her full bio, please see our website About Us section! (Incentive/ bait: she explains her Sleuthing side!)

💛💚💙

Yours in service,
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT
Owner/ Founder of Velona Health
Collector of the best staff ever

💛💚💙

10/05/2024

So, I promised you introductions!

Here is a RE-introduction for two of our 'people', both named Chris.

All joking aside, I REALLY got lucky with Chris Washington (on the right 😅, sorry, last joke). He was my first hire; our first and only physical therapist assistant. So, it only makes sense that he should go first. He is one of the nicest people, reliable and polite to a fault, but he is also VERY good at what he does. Although he comes from the high volume PT world, he still cares immensely for the individualization of patient treatment sessions and loves getting to know his patients. I sometimes "lose" patients to him and his schedule, LOL, and it's honestly validating because it reminds me that I DID make a good choice. I hope he'll stay for a million years because our community of patients love him back.

For his full bio, please see our website About Us section, it's a good read! (Incentive/ bait: he references super heroes and I think he's right)

💛💚💙

Yours in service,
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT
Owner/ Founder of Velona Health
Collector of the best staff ever

💛💚💙

10/02/2024

We turn 5 years old this month!!!

5 years old... 5 clinicians... 2 clinic locations...

Hyde Park AND Andersonville

SO much to be grateful for. SO much to just bring awe, honestly.

This month every year brings reflection on where we've come from. This clinic was my patients idea back in Boston when I heartbreakingly had to tell them that we were moving away. This clinic was motivated from the core ideal that people deserve one-on-one care. And, here we are... 5 years later... Through a pandemic, through 2 maternity leaves. And, now somehow that "Mama Bear" core personality trait has also adopted 5 clinicians along the way too. I knew my patients became my people; I just didn't expect to be collecting incredible clinicians too. To be in a front row seat to watch these clinicians build meaningful therapeutic relationships with patients and to watch those patients improve, I just can't describe the feeling.

To high-5 everyone for helping us get to this milestone, I'm going to dedicate some introduction and reintroduction posts 🤩. Please keep an eye out for those. These people and clinicians are one of a kind. As are our patients and communities.

"Thank you" doesn't cut it. Here's to 50 more! 🍾🥂

(No typo 😘)

💛💚💙

Yours in service,
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT
Founder and Owner of Velona Health
Collector of the best staff ever

💛💚💙

09/22/2024

We've been quiet because we've been growing!

Ready to 🚨 ANNOUNCE 🚨 a second location in Andersonville, Chicago!!! Inside the stunning

Ecstatic for Dr Gauri PT, DPT returning to us from maternity leave and for Dr David Vlaich, PT, DPT, OCS joining us for the first time.

True to our vision, and already existing Hyde Park location dynamics, we have pelvic floor physical therapy AND orthopedic perspectives collaborating on patient projects; both clinicians also have strong neuroscience backgrounds and interests too. This has been a dreamy combination in our Hyde Park location where we have already seen many chronic situations and pains finally, finally, finally pushed over the finish line. This goes for chronic hip and back pain, but also for things as seemingly unrelated like chronic shoulder and foot pain! Bodies are amazing.

Dr Gauri and Dr David are already booking into next week.

Love love love this whole team. Grateful for this front row seat to watch them help the world. 💛💚💙

Want to geek out?! Reach out! We'd love to talk through how the whole body is interconnected.

Yours in service,
Dr CJ Mimee, PT, DPT

06/06/2024

Southside Jiu Jitsu Club is doing a $5k giveaway!! Apply now!! Deadline is only a few days away. It's a whole year worth of Jiu Jitsu coaching and training, including a couple of other perks.

I have met with the founder, Solomon, a few times and I can say that he has a good heart, a family who cherishes him, and a drive to help his/our communities. He also comes highly recommended by Kala and you all know that's the biggest stamp of approval. He will be a light on the Southside.

For character reference, you can reach out to me, for everything else, please contact him directly!

Velona Health

06/11/2025

06/05/2025

01/21/2025

01/01/2025

11/17/2024

11/16/2024

11/16/2024

10/11/2024

10/05/2024

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09/22/2024

06/06/2024

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