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The Daily Dispatch
Small Business of Year expands despite economy Henderson Wellness Center adds urgent care clinic to services By LINDA GUPTON Dispatch Features Editor
Every small business owner knows what that knot in the stomach feels like when you’re considering taking the risk of expanding your business to offer something new or different in the marketplace. Dr. Brandon Taylor knew that fear well in the closing months of 2008 as he finalized plans for a major change in his business, just as the nation’s economy took a nose-dive into the worst recession in recent history. “It was very scary to undertake a new venture at that point,” he said. “I stepped out on a limb with what I thought was a good idea, but it was like opening a brand new practice all over again. We definitely reinvented ourselves.” Taylor’s courage has paid off. He and his staff were named 2009 Small Business of the Year by the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce at its annual small business luncheon in May, and 2010 has been a growth year for the new urgent care center service. But it hasn’t been easy to go through change and expansion at a time when everyone else is pulling back or staying the course. Taylor, a South Hill, Va., native, moved to Henderson in 2002 to open his first chiropractic practice at 414 Dabney Drive. In January 2009, Taylor Chiropractic changed its name to Henderson Wellness Center, adding a walk-in urgent care clinic to its services. Kakeasha Richardson, a physician’s assistant, joined the staff, working under the auspices of a local primary care physician. The idea to add an urgent care center to his chiropractic
Daily Dispatch/ASHLEY STEVEN AYSCUE
Kakeasha Richardson, PA-C, takes a blood pressure reading from B.J. Hicks inside Henderson Wellness Center on Dabney Drive. practice occurred to Taylor after a conversation with a local hospital official where he learned about the shortage of primary care physicians in the area. “We were seeing a lot of simple health issues like sinus infections and urinary tract infections in our patients, where maybe the patient just needed
some blood work done or a urine sample checked,” he said. “With the primary care doctors focusing more on high blood pressure, diabetes, and other really life-threatening conditions, some of these smaller health issues were falling through the cracks because patients didn’t want to go through the long
Dr. Brandon Taylor believes that small businesses like his are the backbone of the American economy. “We’re able to offer services that are very personal and customer focused,” he said.
wait required to see a doctor.” Taylor was also looking for a way to diversify his income and set his business apart from the other chiropractic offices in the area. In addition to chiropractic services, he was already offering accupuncture treatment, along with treatment for back and neck pain and sports injuries. “I knew of five or six other chiropractors in the state who had added urgent care centers and most seemed to be doing well,” he said. Now, a year and a half later, Taylor feels more confident that he has made a good decision. “The first year was a real struggle because people didn’t
understand that we had a walk-in urgent care clinic in the office that was separate from the chiropractic office,” Taylor said. With some advertising and word-of-mouth recommendations, 2010 has seen a significant growth in the number of patients coming to the clinic, he added. “The big advantage is that it’s easy to get in and out fast. Our patients have at most a wait of maybe 30 minutes, which is much shorter than a traditional doctor’s office visit,” Taylor said. At the same time that the urgent care clinic opened, Taylor Please see WELLNESS, page 2