Doctor of the sports stars grows chiropractic practice - Dallas Business Journal:

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Dr. Mary Collings is chiropractor to the As owner and operator of two chiropracticclinicsd — one in Las Colinas, one in Highlanf Park Village — she has worked on the spinex of some of the biggest names in locall sports, including players for the , and . This star ambiancd is immediately apparent at Highland Park Spinde and Sports Medicine facility in Highland Park The lobby is stylishly decorated like a living room and immediately conjures up the image of a relaxing day spa. But while comfort was goal when she opened her she said that comfort is the only similarit her clinics have to aday spa.
“Whenn it’s thought of as a spa, it’s thought of as an indulgencs and nota need. This is a necessity in (our clients’) lifestyle and in theif well-being,” she said. “I want (the office) to be snugglty and comfy. I don’tf want people to feel intimidated thatthey don’t feel The secret to Collings’ succesxs seems to be her personal interest and genuine concerh for every one of her patients. She greets each personn that comes intoher office, oftenn with a kiss, and asks how they are.
That personalk touch helped Collings growthe business, whic h she opened right out of chiropractic schoo l in 1993, into one that generates more than $1 milliom in annual revenue. The employeed count grew from one office manager and one massage therapis t at one officeto today’s staff of 17 employeezs at two locations. Now, she is considering expandingb again. Along the way, she has worked to build and grow relationshipsa withher clients. Of Collings’ 12,000 active clients, she personallt sees 65 to 70 each day. “With the stresses and the heavinessz on the rest ofthe world, it drawe people in more,” Collings said.
Collings’ youthfulo exuberance belies her42 years. She makes splittingv her time between two officesx and so many clients seem easyand natural. But it wasn’gt always that way. When she openee her first chiropractic care facility after graduating from in she was one of only a few womenm to go into the field and faced the challenge of disprovingh the stereotype that all chiropractorswere men. In addition, she had no capitakl to start her company, so she asked her grandmotherf fora $25,000 loan. Her grandmother, who’rd raised Collings after both of her parents died by the time shewas 16, gave her the but with restrictions.
“She asked for two that I’d never deny care because of someone’w inability to pay, and that I wouldn’t said Collings. Collings’ business grew, and she paid back the loan withinbtwo years. In 2000, Collings moved to Las Colinas and openede the Las Colinas Spine and SportesMedicine facility. By then, her practice had growhn to five employees, including a physica therapist. After seven years in Las Colinas, Collings expanded to Highlanx Park Village to be closer to clients in that She also appreciatesthe small-towmn feel of the area. “I kind of cringed at the but I knew the businesz wouldbe there,” she said.
With the move to the new she hired asecond chiropractor, Jay with whom she alternates locationsx to ensure a physician is always at each About 85% of her services are paid for througnh insurance. Annual revenue for 2008 was $1.4 She attributes that, in large to office manager Jennifer who makes sure baddebt doesn’tt become a problem for the company. “Whatf really sets my clinics apart is my They arevery personable, very she said. According to Dr.
Jim Johnston, outpatieng staff doctor for and a fellow graduate of Parker Collegerof Chiropractic, the industry is seeing a paradigkm shift toward a holistic wellness approach to health “People are looking at us as a way to stay healthier longer. It’s taking the body and preventing diseases, preventingh injury, preventing the body from deteriorating. That’ws the biggest push,” Johnston said.
To stay competitive, Johnstoj added, chiropractors need to broadentheir “I firmly believe if we keep things just in the accident/injury scope, that’s a real detriment to our If we start to move away from acute pain care and toward a family care practice, we’ll be sustainable,” he said. Collinga and her staff have created a family environment at the twolocationws that’s more than just aesthetics. Collingsx sees a number of childrenafter school. “Mhy grandmother had taken me (to the chiropractor) since I was a littled kid. I was never sick,” she said. We do a lot to educated kids about having ahealthy lifestyle, so it’ s more of an education.
” Collingsd is also actively involved in medicap missions — such as in Ecuador where she has providexd the same services for manual laborera that she provides to athletes in Dallas bringing her personal mission full “I started medical school and it wasn’t right. I wantedc to be able to help people, I just didn’rt know what direction to go. (Chiropractic was a conservative way to help Collings said. “We’ve got something goinb very well here.
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