Angelle Falgoust Brown, LOTR, CHT
Born in New Orleans and raised in Thibodaux, Louisiana, Angelle grew up steeped in cajun culture, family, lots of trips to Grand Isle and all things south Louisiana! She attended LSU, with added highlights of her undergraduate studies including a semester in Boulder, CO and a summer in Paris, France. Combining her natural aptitudes of caring for others and leadership with action-based problem solving, she became inspired when observing Occupational Therapists creating complicated custom splints for burn patients, and decided to obtain a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from TWU in the Houston Medical Center in 1997.
Five years and many hours in hand therapy practice later, she became a Certified Hand Therapist. Since obtaining the CHT distinction, Angelle had pursued extensive continuing education with a focus on the whole body in addition to the upper extremity. Her comprehensive approach to patient care evaluates alignment and posture as it relates to the reason for therapy but also their whole functional life. Most recently she became trained in Dry Needling of the upper extremity.
With core values driven by treating each patient as an individual, and a goal to provide quality care based on professional skills, Angelle opened this manual therapy-based practice with Ginger Rogers in 2004. She strongly believes in connecting to a patient as a whole person, not just a body part, on a path of healing beyond the orthopedic injury or physical condition. She has steadily aligned staff, operations, and actions around this foundational tenet.
Through this holistic approach, Brown Rogers Physical Therapy has been operating for over 21 years, proudly serving the greater Baton Rouge area, and known as the best and most specialized, most professional clinic in town.
Why OT?
"I chose OT because at its core it is creative and holistic, with a patient’s ability to function in all aspects of life considered in every treatment plan. I also knew I’d like the innovative side of working with adaptive equipment and custom splinting. A certification in hand therapy (CHT) is the highest specialization for an orthopedic-based OT, and was a path to work in the outpatient setting, where fellow therapists are motivated toward specializations and research-based care. Becoming a CHT was also a vital piece of starting an orthopedic clinic with proven skills. Brown Rogers Therapy was my vision, beyond imagination, to put action toward co-creating something with a larger purpose to help others. I have always had awareness of the importance of the connection of body systems and anatomy, have always emphasized good posture as it relates to the upper extremity and all functioning, and I have an ever-growing awareness of the mind-body connection to overall well-being. I wanted the business model to reflect this awareness of the whole person.”
What is your greatest lesson learned in business?
“It has been my constant internal fight to not complicate messaging to the public. When I opened Elevate Wellness Studio on Goodwood Blvd. in 2017, I erroneously made the assumption that tying this unique, wholistic health, private pay model to our established insurance-based Brown Rogers PT, would equal instant success! So we mixed the marketing of both concepts . I realized Elevate Wellness could have stood on it’s own right away, it was such an awesome space and was progressive in alternative ways to help heal people! I did eventually figure it out, but it took so much work to get there. Instead of being an extension of Brown Rogers, it became it’s own business. Unfortunately, right as we turned a corner and even had a waitlist for private pay PT, 2020 happened. Between that chaos and confusion and other personal things, I decided to close. Many times since, I’ve reminded myself of lessons learned from that endeavor, am glad that the struggle has better informed me as a leader, and therefore guided the business in more enlightened ways! I tell myself, how I feel about something is one thing, how I communicate it should be another. To not go too deep, lol, like I am here! If this was all chicken fingers & fries, it would be easier!”
Fun Fact: Angelle rarely follows a recipe, she enjoys being creative in the kitchen with whatever ingredients are available!
Over these 20+ years, what makes you most happy about the business?
It brings her great joy to hear people in the public react positively when she mentions the clinic name.
She says, “As years go by, Brown Rogers has been part of so many lives, and people will feel very personal about that connection- to their therapist and even the physical space as it related to their experience with us. I love when people get excited to tell me how they know “Brown Rogers” - things like… ‘I (my aunt, my neighbor, dad, etc) went there!! My therapist was awesome! I tell everyone who needs therapy about y’all!"‘ It’s always a humbling moment to know we are positively impacting others, and that healing and happiness associated with us passes on. It’s much bigger than any one thing and I love that I can be either directly helping a patient, and also behind the scenes creating foundations for this bigger picture in Baton Rouge.”
