Our Team
Stephen Hanson, DPT
“Walking alongside my patients as they reach their health goals will be a pleasure.” – Dr. Stephen Hanson
Dr. Stephen L. Hanson was born in Bowie, TX, in September 1978 and graduated from Bowie High School in May 1997. Stephen attended Midwestern State University for one year, then enlisted in the Air Force in May 1998.
He performed as a physical therapy assistant (PTA) for six years in the Air Force. His duty stations included Offutt AFB, NE, and Barksdale AFB, LA. He also completed his Physical Therapist’s Assistant Associates degree from the Community College of the Air Force and then attended Bellevue University to complete a Health Care Management degree.
Stephen began the Army Baylor Doctoral Physical Therapy program in 2004. He graduated in 2007 and was transferred to Fort Drum, NY, to work as a staff physical therapist. During that time, he was deployed to Afghanistan from December 2008 to December 2009 with the 10th MNT DIV 3BCT. Following his deployment to Afghanistan, he was stationed at Fort Knox, KY, and held the position of Company Commander for the PTRP unit, B Co, 46th AG Reception Battalion, 194th Armor Brigade TRADOC, from February 2010 to September 2011. Stephen then briefly served as a staff physical therapist at Ireland Army Community Hospital, Fort Knox, from September 2011 to May 2012 until he transferred to Bassett Army Community Hospital Fort Wainwright, AK, where he served as the Chief of the Physical Therapy Clinic from June 2012 to June 2015.
From Alaska, he transferred to Fort Hood, TX, and worked as the OIC of the Bennett Physical Therapy clinic from July 2015 to September 2017. The Army had one more deployment in mind a short tour to the Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center in Baghdad, Iraq. There he served with the 47th Medical Combat Support Hospital from September 2017 to December 2017.
Stephen continued his physical therapy journey into the civilian world in July 2018 after retiring from the Army. He has embraced his role in God’s kingdom in preaching at the Avenue T Church of Christ and pursuing the life of ministry, providing spiritual healing as well as physical healing to those in need. During his early retirement, Stephen also became interested in and began training JuiJitsu, and he has developed this art over the past five years.
In September 1998, he married Kristi Griffin, and they now have three children, Jacob, Leah, and Evan. Throughout this twenty-year journey, his wife, Kristi, has always been there to support, help, guide, and run the ship. She is one of the foundational pillars upon which his career was built, and this family was sustained. Stephen enjoys JiuJitsu, gardening, riding horses, hunting, and trying to make knives and bows. Kristi enjoys garage sales, coffee, and spending time with her dogs and cats.
Stephen looks forward to being a part of the Bridgeport community, working at Foundation Therapy, and providing the best possible evidence-based physical therapy. His experience in the military has prepared him to meet his patients’ flexible needs and assist them in returning to highly demanding jobs and sports. In addition, Stephen’s recent experiences working outside the military have broadened his treatment skills and helped to improve his understanding, knowledge, and application of physical therapy interventions.