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Chiropractor determined to straighten out Highland
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
MONTEREY - Dr. Andrea Hailey, D.C. came home to the Shenandoah Valley after completing her doctorate at New York Chiropractic College in Seneca, N.Y. She opened Hailey Chiropractic in Verona soon after graduation, but has longed to work in an even more rural setting, similar to where she grew up in Lyndhurst.
Tuesday, Dec. 4 she will open an office in Monterey at 82 Wilson Avenue in Monterey.
Her first chiropractic business started in her home in Grottoes. She also shared space with another chiropractor in Staunton for about a year before moving into her own space in Verona in May 2006.
"I always knew through school I wanted to work for myself," she said. "Even aside from chiropractic, I wanted to combine my career and family life. My own business allows me to be a mom."
Hailey's parents live in Stuart's Draft. She has a home there as well, which she shares with her four-year old son, Isaac.
What do chiropractors do?
"It's not just about backs," said Hailey. Chiropractors are neuromusculoskeletal doctors, she said. "Chiropractic is used to treat many conditions including but not limited to back pain, neck pain, headaches, carpal tunnel, sciatica and plantar fascitis."
That means she treats joint problems with hands, wrists, back, feet and legs. "Lots of other pains come from spine disorders," said Hailey.
"Chiropractic is widely recognized as one of the safest, drug-free, non-invasive therapies available for the treatment of neuromusculoskeletal complaints," said Hailey. "It has an excellent safety record."
Many people try to avoid a pain in the neck, but not Hailey. "I really enjoy working with headaches and other conditions people don't know we work with," she said. "I'm very hands on."
Her treatment room has the latest, but not most expensive, equipment. The most obvious piece of chiropractic gear is the adjustable therapy bed that looks like the latest bucket seat from a classy sports car. Her favorite color is blue, so it will probably be a blue table. The table cost several thousand dollars and is not portable, both indications of her intention to make her Monterey business permanent. "It's a heavy-duty, sturdy table, not portable," she said. "Part of the table bends so that you can stretch out a person's back very well. Parts of the table move in such a way (drop pieces) that it allows me to adjust a person very gently when needed. I can be extremely gentle, the table allows me to do very gentle techniques."
She'll be putting in a desk, a few chairs and a filing cabinet, too.
Hailey is trained in, among other things, the diversified method of chiropractic - in other words, manipulative therapy.
"I use other therapies also - traction, ultrasound, electrical stimulation, massage therapy - a massage therapist works with me, Nicole Puffenbarger. We work a lot with massage therapists because we work with muscles."
Chiropractors are first contact physicians, said Hailey. "That means that a referral from a medical doctor is not needed to visit a chiropractor."
A visit to a chiropractor can cost as much as any other doctor, but Hailey files insurance, which should appeal to those in need of her services but are concerned about the cost. "I am a participating provider with Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Southern Health, United Health Care, ASH, and Medicare. I also file with Cigna. I will file with any of them," she said.
How did she end up in Monterey? Hailey became friends with Highlanders Misty and Nicole Puffenbarger. "When Misty started talking about opening a gym they started putting it in my head," said Hailey. "They told me to think about it. It's been a slow process. 'It would be wonderful if you came over one day a week,' they said."
Misty is owner of the Highland Mini Self-Storage on Wilson Avenue in Monterey.
Nicole, a licensed massage therapist with a practice in Monterey, is a patient of and has worked with Hailey. "Mom and I went to Hailey for adjustments," said Puffenbarger. "We told her about the gym. We think she can do well. If she wasn't good, we wouldn't have her over here. She's a good chiropractor. We've become friends. I go over there all the time. I worked for her over in Staunton. She actually puts your back in alignment. She's really good."
"I really like Monterey," said Hailey. "It's a beautiful area. I thought it would be a neat thing to do. The space is perfect. A one-room operation is fine."
Hailey's Monterey office occupies a corner room at Misty Puffenbarger's gym. Her office measures about 12 by 12 feet, enough room for a permanent therapeutic table, a filing cabinet and a desk.
"It's a good opportunity," said Hailey. "I enjoy the culture. I love the fact that when I called to find out about the details it was so laid back. I love the laid back spirit - people working with you, not being rigid. The more personable spirit attracted me.
"I went over for the Hands and Harvest festival, walked around, talked to store owners. Everyone was very nice, very open, it was more friendly, I really enjoyed that.
"I am very personable. I don't run a stuffy practice. I talk to my patients. I like being a person as well as a doctor. I just like talking to my patients, it's genuine. I like getting to know my patients. I like seeing them get better. It is a personal experience."
She's done her homework and knows Highland could use a chiropractor. Most Highlanders have to go outside the county for treatments not offered at Highland Medical Center.
"So far I've gone where the need is," she said. "I have two days during the week that I don't work (in Verona). My plan is to go over (to Monterey) on Tuesdays. If the need is such, I will also go over on Fridays, too. My dream was always of working for myself, planning my hours, spending time with my child, incorporating family life and career. I wanted my life to stay balanced. I always saw myself in a small town, that's where I grew up."
"My father has always been supportive of me going to school and getting educated," she added.
Her father is an engineer and owns his own business. Her mother is an entrepreneur as well. Hailey's parents are excited about Hailey setting up shop in Highland County.
"My dad's parents are all mountain people," she said. "They all lived in the Blue Ridge Mountains and worked the land. They were very country. I come from that culture.
"He thinks I'm gravitating toward where my heart is," said Hailey. "It's the joining of two cultures - country and cultured, educated and common people's roots."
She's considered the winter weather and has a plan how to take care of those days when the snow and ice make commuting to Highland more difficult. She plans on investing in a four-wheel drive vehicle. In the meantime, she can borrow one from her family for days she may need it. If the weather is too bad to make a trip to Highland, she may have to cancel appointments. But she wants her prospective patients to know that they can reschedule and are always welcome to her practice in Verona. And if business is good, she may add Friday appointments to her schedule, giving her Highland patients another option.
Hailey said she'll give the Monterey location six months to a year to see if it works. For appointments, call (540) 290-0371 (Monterey office), (540) 248-3210 (Verona office), or email chirogirl12@gmail.com.
She'll be working with Nicole Puffenbarger who will also have an office at the gym. Puffenbarger can be reached at (540) 292-0568. Hailey said insurance should cover massage therapy if referred from a chiropractor.
Hailey's Verona office is located next to a women's fitness center just off Route 11 north of Staunton about a half mile from the intersection of Route 11 and Route 254. Beginning in December her hours are Monday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. She'll be at 82 Wilson Ave. in Monterey on Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Biography
¦ Raised in Lyndhurst.
¦ Graduated from Stuart's Draft High School in 1995.
¦ Spent one year at Virginia Tech before going to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, where she earned degrees in biology and chemistry in 1999.
¦ One son, Isaac, 4.
¦ Owns and operates Hailey Chiropractic in Verona, with an office opening Dec. 4 in Monterey.
¦ Five brothers, two younger and three older than herself. Her father and stepmother have 14 grandchildren.
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