About Us

The Origin Story: A Rehab Model of Efficiency & Quality

I want to share my origin story with you. Why did I create Outlet Health Solutions? The bottom line: quality of care.

I’ll give you three background stories. The first is when I knew there needed to be a change. The second & third are when I discovered what that change needed to be.

Story one: when I knew something was broken.
I was in the middle of one of those chaotic days in a traditional outpatient orthopedic clinic. Patients scheduled every half hour, overlapping, some coming early, some late, and I was buzzing around trying to juggle it all.

One of my colleague’s patients had been watching me. At the end of his session, he came over and asked me, “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure,” I said.

He looked me straight in the eye and said, “Do you think you’re doing your best?”

The question stopped me cold. I told him, “Yeah, I’m always trying to do my best.” He nodded, said “Okay,” and walked out. I never saw him again.

I couldn’t shake it the rest of the day. The truth is, I was giving my best given the circumstances I was put under — but those circumstances didn’t allow me to give my absolute best. My best comes when I can be fully present with you, when I can spend the time needed to give you undivided attention and care. That’s what my patients deserve, and the system wasn’t letting me provide it.

Story two: when I realized what needed to change.
I was working with an athlete rehabbing from ACL surgery. He had crushed every measurable goal — strength, agility, speed, flexibility. By every objective standard, he was ready.

But when I asked him, “Where do you think you are, if 100% means full confidence to return to play?”

He said, “Honestly… maybe 70%.”

I was surprised. “What do you feel like we’re missing?”

He told me, “We’re hitting all the drills, but I need to be out on the soccer field. I need to bump shoulders, cut on uneven ground, feel fatigue, and prove to myself that I’m ready.”

That’s when it clicked. The clinic can take you far, but it doesn’t always bridge the last gap to real life. So the next session, we met on the soccer field. We trained there. Within a few sessions, he looked at me and said, “I’m ready to play again.” And he crushed it.

The traditional  insurance model often cuts people off too early at this phase. We go until you are as close to 100% as possible. Otherwise people are left to figure out the last 20% on their own which is really when the most creativity is needed.

Story three: when I realized how to give people freedom and flexibility.
I had a patient who was working back to running. She was doing really well, but not quite at 100% yet. She looked at me one day and said, “Listen, it’s great being here and seeing you, but I don’t really need to be here. I just need your brain to help me ramp up my mileage and keep pushing into the top-tier exercises.”

That stuck with me. She was right. In the insurance-based model, there’s a lot of wasted time. As a father of three and a full-time professional myself, I appreciated what she was saying more than she knew.

This is where the Outlet Health Solutions model was born: one focused in-person session per week, plus virtual support throughout the week. Because late in rehab, you don’t just need a once-a-week check-in — you need frequent touch points, the confidence you’re doing the right thing, and quick answers when small questions come up.

That’s how you build not just recovery, but resilience — and how you give people the freedom and flexibility to get all the way back to their lives.

That’s what Outlet Health Solutions is about.
It’s not just about getting you out of pain. It’s about bridging the gap between the clinic and your life. It’s about getting you back to 100% — confident, strong, and doing the activities that light you up, whether that’s hiking, soccer, running, or pickleball.

This is the model I built because it’s the one people truly need. And if you’re looking for that kind of care — care that doesn’t stop at “good enough” — this is it. I look forward to working with you.

The Therapist

Sam McMullen, DPT, PT, OCS, MS, ATC, PES, CMTPT

Sam graduated from Marist College in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in athletic training (ATC). He worked in collegiate athletics from 2011-2016 providing care for athletes of all sports. 

Sam continued his passion for patient care by getting his doctorate in physical therapy (DPT) from University of Rhode Island from 2019-2019. He pursued a career in outpatient orthopedics to help the general population regain function after injury. He has continued to serve the athletic community through onsite athletic training coverage. 

In 2020, his drive to pursue excellence continued by entering the Orthopedic Clinical Specialist residency program which about only 6% of physical therapist attain. 

In pursuit of seeing his patients thrive, Sam went through the rigorous Dry Needling certification (CMTPT) from Myopain Seminars. This allows him to implement dry needling into his treatments that helps the most difficult cases above and beyond the basics. 

Sam founded Outlet Health Solution in 2025 to give patients rehabilitative care that is unmatched anywhere else. He sought to create this experience through 1-on-1 care to make sure nobody feels like "just another patient."

Having been a Division-I college track & field and cross-country athlete at Marist College, Sam has a special interest in treating runners. While his skill set allows him to help with all orthopedic conditions, he is particularly distinguished in the treatment of the upper, spine, and lower extremities. This has made him particularly effective with the return to fitness aspect of treatment to individualize care right when the patient needs it most. 

Sam is an outdoor enthusiast and runner. Outside of this, he is a devoted husband to his wife, Maura, and father of Madeleine, Benjamin, and Gaelan.