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When it comes to kids, Heather Denniston, DC, doesn’t kid around. Through her first few years in practice, the Seattle-area doctor saw a gaping need for pediatric care within the profession. It was a void she quickly became eager to fill. Now, with her Lifetime Wellness Chiropractic clinic in Issaquah, Wash., seeing more than 240 patients a week and forecasting $1 million in billings for 2007, at least 25 percent of Denniston’s practice is comprised of pediatric patients. That percentage, she says, would likely be higher were her practice not located within a short distance of three Seattle-area industry giants — Boeing, Microsoft, and Costco, which keep her nonpediatric numbers high. Those numbers aside, pediatrics has become Denniston’s specialty. Her trip toward specialization came as a result of increased demand for practitioners who could help address today’s pediatric health concerns. On her way to her current state, Denniston: • Read a lot. She tackled chiropractic and medical publications about pediatrics. “As soon as the pediatric portion of my practice started to grow, I knew I had found my passion and my calling.” • Attended an ICPA fellowship program. The ICPA (International Chiropractic Pediatric Association) program was held in Vancouver, Canada, one weekend a month, and was an excellent supplemental study to what she had already learned in chiropractic school about pediatrics. • Became certified. Her certification with a pediatric certificate of proficiency and the Webster technique came after a 12-month program. (Certification now requires 18 months of study.)
• Opened shop in an affluent, family-oriented area. “My area has a large percentage of very educated stay-at-home moms who are seeking alternative, noninvasive healthcare for themselves and their children. Pediatric chiropractic is an excellent fit for this need.” • Continued her education. Her education has been in the classroom as well as self-paced at home. She is an avid reader and keeps pace with trends. “There are some similar approaches between working with children and adults; however, children require a more sensitive, lighter touch in most cases,” she says. “Pediatric patients get results fast. There are no preconceived notions or biases when they tumble in through the front door for their first appointment.” • Learned to market her pediatric specialty. Denniston started with press releases announcing she was certified. She then published an article in a local paper, which explained the differences between adult and child care. “What really educates and shifts paradigms is talking to our people and explaining why it’s important to get their kids checked. Our adult patients also commonly see little ones being adjusted in our semi-open concept office and it stimulates opportunities to teach them about pediatrics. When we do our print marketing, we tailor it to show them that we are a pediatric practice.” Interestingly, Denniston and her husband, Brent, have no children — nor does the couple plan on having any. They love children and felt compelled to be available to Denniston’s pediatric practice, their nieces and nephews, and two godchildren in a way that just wouldn’t be possible if they chose to have children of their own. Of course, the Dennistons are also open to criticism and skepticism. After all, what can a childless couple know about kids? It’s cynicism Denniston expects, understands, and, to a degree, even welcomes. She knows if kids are precious to her as patients, they must be ultra-precious to their parents. Denniston was skeptical herself at one point. “When I was first starting to learn about pediatric chiropractic, there was a couple who was very big into pediatrics,” she recalls. “They didn’t even have kids, so [I thought], ‘What could they know?’ But, I discovered there’s a lot you can offer. You can have a sense of objectivity. Our choice to not have children rarely comes up with my patients’ parents. They are clear I would never pretend to know what it’s like to be a mother. I can give what knowledge and expertise I have, and they can make the best possible decisions for their children from that.” Her pediatric specialty and new-patient demographics notwithstanding, Denniston’s practice is not Romper Room. Children aside, the majority of her patients are still adults with adult health concerns. She has taken steps to make sure her practice is a comfortable place to visit and the atmosphere itself provides relief, right along with the care. This was an image Denniston had from day one. Before she even had an office space, she began drawing plans on a napkin. Her vision slowly came to life, and now she has an office where patients can feel comfortable the moment they walk in the door. That means no chiropractic posters on the wall; all education happens personally and individually. It means coordinating everything the patients see and hear, from the music playing, the numerous plants, and muted color scheme to the staff’s scripting for ultimate relaxation of the patient.
“It’s all done to create a calming experience,” Denniston says. “It’s tough with the corporate crew of patients. They jump in their cars, drive to the office, and then jump back in their cars and race back to work. It might be the only 15 minutes of the day they have to decompress. We see that as a small window of opportunity to make a positive difference in their hectic lives.” BUDGET, STRETCH, AND LEAP GOALS Everything is done with a purpose, and with pursuit of practice goals in mind. Denniston and her staff have three yearly collections goals: budget, stretch, and leap. They’re basically tiered objectives that can be broken down to smaller monthly, weekly, and daily goals for the office. Budget goals represent a reasonable annual collections goal based on results from the previous year; Stretch goals are a little above the predetermined budget amount; and Leap goals are something else. Denniston describes leap goals as “the results that show we completely excelled beyond our wildest expectations for the year.” Budget, stretch, and leap goals are each correlated to fun travel events for the staff that are relational to the amount of efforts required to meet those goals. If the staff reaches the leap goals, they are rewarded in-kind. And they have achieved their leap goal for each of the past two years. Their reward? A seven-day trip to Mexico. Brent Denniston, who only moonlights at the practice on his downtime from his job at Starbucks’ corporate offices, is heavily involved in the financial side of the practice. He helps set the budget goals and comes up with reasonable projections. Denniston sees her husband’s contribution as “chief financial officer and business modeler.” He also helps develop off-site activities that are part of the goal-setting experience.
Goals get a top billing in weekly team meetings. During those sessions, the entire staff discusses goals and projections, but it’s not a matter of simply droning on about numbers. “Everyone is onboard. The staff is invested in the health of the business just like Brent and I are,” Denniston says. “Everyone is clear on the objectives. If you ask any staff member what our budget goal is for the month, they can tell you off the top of their head.” TEAM TIME Two times a year (January and July) the team holds weekend retreats. The most recent one was developed around a Survivor theme. There were events all day during the retreat, from physical to mental challenges. The activities are meant to be fun, says Denniston, “but at the end of the day, we want them to know the current health of the practice and our future expectations, as well as walk away feeling more connected to their team members.” She is convinced these types of activities and rewards are why her staff turnover has been low. That, and the fact she goes to great pains to hire well. For her most recent hire, she did a series of four group interviews before deciding on someone. “I was willing to go to 10, if that’s what it took,” she says.
MARKETING IS BUDGETED Denniston has an annual marketing budget of about $10,000. Among her marketing methods are complimentary evaluation cards, quarterly newsletters mailed to patients, “Bring a Friend Day” twice a year, monthly spinal screenings, a patient appreciation week, newspaper advertisements, a Yellow Pages listing, and constant marketing and relationship building. Return on marketing investments is tracked referral by referral as each patient comes in. “We ensure we have a reasonable return on investment and that helps determine whether that marketing endeavor will be used again in the future. We obviously want to keep overhead to a minimum while still getting our name out into the community.” SIDEBARS: |
HEATHER DENNISTON, DC
Todd Stumpf is an Ohio-based freelance writer and frequent contributor to Chiropractic Economics. He can be contacted at Advertising | Classifieds | Cardpack | Datebook | Past Issues | Chiro History
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