Meridith Kiritsy understands how daunting physical therapy can be for patients. That’s why at Central Mass Physical Therapy & Wellness, she makes it her mission to be an upbeat presence putting patients at ease long before they enter an exam room.
“I want to be a happy face when they walk in,” she said. “To put a little bit of their fears aside.”
For the past decade, Kiritsy has been doing exactly that at the West Boylston office: greeting each patient with warmth and respect. To her, it’s not just a pleasant way to get through the day; it’s a mission, and often, a lifeline for the people who walk through the door.
A Worcester State University health sciences graduate, Kiritsy spent the early part of her career in the insurance industry where she picked up one of her most enduring lessons on her very first training day at Hanover Insurance Group.
“We were told to, ‘Talk with a smile,’” she said. “All that training in customer service, it can translate to any situation, any industry.”
After having three daughters, she stepped away from insurance to focus on her family. Years later, a close friend who happened to work at Central Mass Physical Therapy told her there was an opening. She decided to give it a try.
“I thought it was a fun, interesting place, but serious,” she said.
She started part-time at 15 hours a week in 2016. Then the hours snowballed. Within a year she was full time.
Kiritsy’s role defies standard job descriptions. She describes herself as a Swiss Army knife and supports anyone in any way she can. Staff scheduling, answering phones, ordering supplies, banking, IT troubleshooting, directing patients, supporting other offices – if something needs doing, she’s usually the one doing it.
“I’m leaned on all day long, and I love it,” she said. “There’s probably blips of half an hour at a time when no one bothers me, but I love it.”
Her colleagues call her the heart of CMPT, a grounding force who keeps the clinic running smoothly and the team closely connected, said Michael Roberts, owner of the practice and a physical therapist. Kiritsy is the glue holding the organization together, who is endlessly loyal, relentlessly enthusiastic, and without a negative bone in her body.
“She’s humble, one of the kindest humans you’ll ever meet,” Roberts said. “She helps as many patients and clinicians as she can. She’s often seen as the go-to for anyone on staff.”
Her leadership is humble and seamless, and her coworkers paint a portrait of someone whose care extends far beyond office tasks, Roberts said. They’ve watched patients come to her not just with appointment questions, but with personal struggles, knowing they’ll walk away feeling heard and validated.
Kiritsy once hugged a grieving widower who later told her it was the brightest moment he’d had in weeks. She walked with a patient during his therapy sessions, no matter how busy her day was. She brings baked goods to patients who have endured losses. She checks in on families going through medical crises; remembers weddings, anniversaries, surgeries, and graduations; and calls patients on her own time just to see how they were holding up.
Kiritsy credits her relentless positivity to her upbringing, and that mindset shapes every interaction she has.
“If I can help someone feel better about their day, I will go above and beyond. 100%,” she said.
She recalled an instance when a patient, who uses a walker, arrived at the office for his first appointment grumpy and closed-off. Kiritsy was met with some opposition when she stepped in to help him maneuver through the doorway, and from then on she made it her mission to brighten his day. Over time, he softened.
“Now I bring him cookies once a week when he comes in,” she said. “He walks in now, and he’s a celebrity.”
Outside the office, Kiritsy stays grounded with her family and two dogs, and she spends lots of time outdoors. But even with a full life at home, her affection for her workplace is unmistakable.
“In 10 years, I haven’t had a day where I didn’t want to go to work,” she said. “It’s easy to be there. It’s easy to want to do good things there because the people around me are the same. It’s supportive.”
