Meet Dr. Heather Meinke
Meet Dr. Heather Meinke…
Growing up in Nova Scotia, Canada Dr. Heather Meinke knew she wanted to be in health care but would not know specifically what that entailed until after college graduation. With her Biology Degree in hand from Dal Housie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was not inspired by one particular instance but something lead her there. The more she researched and visited with Chiropractors the more she became attracted to becoming a Doctor of Chiropractic. Among the many things that attracted her to this field of health care was the fact that it give her the opportunity to actually own her own business, stay physically active daily and it would be much more conducive to the family that she knew she would want to raise one day.
It was not until after deciding to go to Chiropractic school that Heathers Mom shared her grandfather’s love of Chiropractic. For years, her mother told her, he would drive from his remote location in Canada to get regular adjustment treatments in the city traveling one and half hours each way to get there. Knowing of her grandfather’s love for Chiropractic was a nice surprise and inspired her even more to move forward in her career decision.
A girlfriend talked Heather into going with her to Thousand Oaks, California. The plan was to go there for a year before coming home and entering Chiropractic school. Her father gave her round trip tickets so if it didn’t work out she knew she could come home to Canada at anytime. As the hands of fate worked out she ended up getting a job at Amgen where she met her future husband, Eric. As the year wore on she knew she would be staying in California and applied to the Los Angeles Chiropractor School in September of 1998. In December of 2001 she graduated as a Doctor of Chiropractic.
In May of 2002, Heather and Eric decided to move from California to Ohio where Eric’s family was located. They were both ready for a change from the pace of Los Angeles. There Heather was an independent contractor for a local Chiropractor. She gave birth to her daughter Avery in March 2004. Eric was ready for a change from Ohio and applied at Amgen in Colorado. Uprooting from the Ohio family roots they once again headed west in October 2005. Heather was pregnant with their son, Russell at the time and took the opportunity to take some time off and enjoy her kids. Not sure of the Colorado climate and where she wanted to work she took the time to really explore all of her options.
Sending out resumes to a number of doctors in Longmont and Boulder and she finally accepted an independent contractor agreement at the Helping Hands Chiropractic clinic. In September of 2008 Heather purchased the clinically fully as her own LLC.
Over the course of the last year Heather has created systems in her business but is still only 60% of where she wants to be. In addition to minor remodeling of the offices she has added a massage therapist who specializes in standard massage as well as cranial sacral work.
As Heather looks towards the future she knows she wants to continue to grow her practice by adding another Chiropractor, enabling her to serve even more patients in the Boulder area. “I love the interaction with my patients.”, she shared, “I really like getting to know them and being a part of the process in helping them to get well. I like the freedom of making my own decisions. Sometimes it can be tough because it’s nice to rely on someone else but I like deciding on how I can run the practice.”
One of the assets that came with the practice when Heather purchased it was Tess Dutton, her Office Manager. She not only takes care of all the insurance claims but also is Heather’s right hand person. Visiting the office you see how well they work together - like clockwork. Heather decided to stay at the same location that Helping Hands patients have come to know in the over the ten years of the practice at the Meadows Shopping Center at Foothills Parkway and Baseline.
Dr. Heather Meinke is pleased to offer her clients a well rounded choice of Chiropractic options. She offers diversified adjustments in her chiropractic which incorporates a little of everything depending on what each patient medical needs and wants require. She will tailor her treatments to her patients needs. She also offers, rehab, soft tissue work, electro stimulation, heat packs, ultrasound and decompression therapy. Each client has an individual treatment plan. There is no cookie cutter program or required length of time a patient must utilize her treatment plans.
“I really do love my work and love to coming to work each day. I love being the owner of my own business, it’s fun.” She further shared, “The Victory Circles has helped me to grow I feel like it has helped me to grow my business with all the advice and ideas that the members of the Circle have for my business, with the experience they have from their own businesses.”
To others thinking of being their own boss she offers the advice, “Be persistent and work hard, eventually it will pay off. You will see the light at the end of the tunnel if you stay focused.”