By Marilyn Thomas
In 2003, Dr. Shane Conner first opened his practice to offer chiropractic treatment to the Lexington community. He soon realized that although his services were beneficial, so much more was needed to offer his patients better care. This awareness inspired him to expand his practice by hiring additional staff—a physical therapist and nurse practitioner—and together this new team, renamed “Collaborative Healthcare,” now provides even more comprehensive services for their clientele.
A transplant from North Carolina, Dr. Conner moved to the Midlands after completing an undergraduate degree in audiology at East Carolina University. Following that achievement, he found himself at a crossroads in his career. While exploring occupational options, he connected with family in Lexington, relocated to the area, and for a period of time he successfully performed with his close cousin, Chris Conner, who was in a Southern rock-bluesy-jazz band called Sourwood Honey. “The first night that we played at the Village Idiot,” Shane recalls, “I met my wife,
Kelli, so the rest is history.”
Once married to Kelli, “We were trying to figure out what I was going to do,” he says. Because he had participated in multiple sports throughout high school and college, “I’d always been under chiropractic care since a very young age.” During one of those visits, he confided in his doctor about his future prospects and was encouraged to “go to chiropractic school—you would be awesome!” After mentioning the idea to his wife, they learned about the Sherman Chiropractic College in Spartanburg, and Dr. Conner enrolled. Four years later in 2002, he re- ceived his Doctor of Chiropractic degree, and by that time his father-in-law had secured a piece of prime property at 716 Old Cherokee Road, Lexington, where his future practice would be located.
About a year after completing his chiropractic education, his new practice, then known as Conner Chiropractic, was opened. “When we first started, it was me and Kelli,” he says, so, “I went out, and just anybody who would listen to me, I would go talk to them.” Within a few months the practice was welcoming new patients. “We grew, our staff grew, and then I just began to think there was something more to what I wanted to do,” Dr. Conner says. Ideally, he visualized offering a comprehensive approach to the services he could provide for his patients. “Why don’t we bring the medical practice into here, PT [physical therapy], massage therapy, spinal decompression—have it under chiropractic, have it all under one roof,” he explains. “That way, we can manage patients throughout,and make it more efficient.”
In addition to engaging the necessary professionals to achieve these goals, the innovative practice also expanded its physical facility and was rebranded as Collaborative Healthcare in 2014. Beyond typical chiropractic care, they offered “spinal decompression, which treats chronic arthritis, chronic scoliosis pain,” says Dr. Conner. “We also do disc injury, cervical disc, lumbar disc, radiating pain, and then we have PT. We have medical, we have massage therapy, and we have aesthetics.”
“If you could talk to any of our patients, I think they’d all say the same thing: ‘This is a place that feels like home. I come here, and I feel like I’m part of a family, and people care,’” says Dr. Conner. “We do our best to manage all types of patients,” he continues, “whether it is just neck pain, back pain, low back pain, headaches, migraines, postural stress and pain from people that sit all day. We see kids, we see some babies, we see a lot of teenagers that are in wrestling and sports,” he adds, “all the way up through—my oldest patient’s been 102.”
At the first visit, x-rays are made of the area of complaint, and a full ex- amination is conducted. Based on this evaluation, a customized treatment plan is developed, and necessary adjustments are made. Once this program is completed, the patient may also participate in physical and massage therapies to further strengthen the recovering injury. An on-staff nurse practitioner, who has an extensive background in cardiology nursing, offers additional guidance in managing weight loss, diabetes, medications, and hormones and assisting with women’s health concerns. “She also does some aesthetics,” says Dr. Conner, with the Morpheus8 device, an in-house non-surgical treatment that reduces wrinkles, rejuvenates skin, and decreases cellulite.
“Dr. Conner and his staff explained clearly what needed to be done to stay well,” says Juanita, one of the practice’s patients. “Also, his assistants all made me feel that I was part of my own healing process. They all work so well together and treat each patient as if the patient is the only one in the office.” Ultimately, the staff’s goal is to help their patients by giving their “life back to them,” says Dr. Conner. “We really, really do care about them and about getting them better and achieving the goals that our patients are looking for when they get there.”
Another way that the practice improves others’ lives is by investing in the local Lexington community. From sponsoring sports teams to providing orthopedic treatment to athletes on the sidelines of River Bluff High School games, Collaborative Healthcare is actively engaged in assisting their neighbors. Also,
Dr. Conner helped to start and continues to support the Conner Foundation, a nonprofit organization (established in Chris’s honor during his brief battle with terminal cancer) that assists musicians and sponsors music-related activities throughout the Midlands.
As for the future, Dr. Conner intends to continue growing his practice and is considering hiring an additional chiropractor, so he can shift himself into a managerial role. At the same time, he anticipates exploring new and effective techniques that will broaden his comprehensive approach to improving mobility, eliminating pain, and promoting holistic wellness.
Collaborative Healthcare
716 Old Cherokee Road, Lexington (803) 359-CARE (2273) www.chclex.com
