""Married to wife, Sue, for 15 years; 7 children: Mark, 43; Debbie, 41; Mike, 39; Matt, 36; Mitch, 29; Cheri, 32; and Christie, 25; 10 grandchildren. Recreation and Leisure: Fishing and/ or netting shrimp almost every week; boating; weekends at Florida waterfront properties; season ticket holder for Univ. of Florida football team. "GO GATORS!" Professional Affiliations: Georgia Chiropractic Assn., Florida Chiropractic Assn., International Chiropractic Assn., Palmer College Alumni Assn., Valdosta Chamber of Commerce, Better Business Bureau. Seminar Attendance: Georgia Chiropractic Assn. license renewal seminars; various other technique and nutritional seminars. Vacations: Many extended weekends, mostly to Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coast of Florida; weeklong family vacation the week of July 4lh (25+ folks). PRACTICE PARTICULARS -_—_ Clinic: 9000 sq. ft., freestanding building, includes 13 treatment Rooms, 2 massage Rooms, Rehab Room and Vitamin Shop. Office Hours: 7 A.M. to 6 EM., Monday through Friday; Saturday, 8 A.M. to noon. Techniques: Palmer, Full Spine, Diversified, Activator, Flexion Distraction. Staff: Dr. Mink's office employs 2 DCs, 1 Rehab Director, 6 Licensed Massage Therapists, 2 receptionists, 4 chiropractic assistants, an office manager (wife, Sue Mink), and 4 staff in business office. Ljach article in the MILLION DOLLAR CHIROPRACTIC series (:m$O) focuses on the top surveyed issues facing chiropractors today. Recruiting new patients, retention, profitability, marketing and staffmg are each a determining factor in the growth, potential and success of the practice. The subject of this issue's profile is Dr. Deane Mink, an extremely successful chiropractor who has practiced in Valdosta, GA, for the fast forty-two years. A 1961 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, IA, Dr. Mink is licensed to practice in Florida and Georgia, has been a member of the Georgia Chiropractic Association since 1961, and served as its President in 1971. Named Georgia Chiropractic's "Chiropractor of the Year" in 2001, Dr. Mink also served on the Georgia Board of Chiropractic Examiners for thirteen years, and was President of that board for seven years. In an interview with The American Chiropractor, Dr. Deane Mink answers our Million Dollar Chiropractic (M$C) questions about his successful subluxation-based practice, where "the chiropractic adjustment is the central theme." ]Vf 5BO: Dr. Mink, what influenced you to become a chiropractor? Mink: I was a minor league baseball player, from 1952-1958, with the Dodger organization. My first chiropractic experience was for treatment of an injured shoulder that threatened my baseball career. As a result of that experience, I made the decision, with the encouragement of my chiropractor, to pursue chiropractic. What type of practice do you have? Mink: Mink Chiropractic Center is a subluxation-based practice. We currently have over 4300 active patient records. The breakdown is as follows: 54% health insurance, 25% cash, 12% Medicare, 8% personal injury, 1% workers comp. We have all our new patients attend a health care class offered each Tuesday night, and have them bring their immediate family members to get the whole family educated about a drug-free lifestyle. We treat patients for pain management, but strive to build a wellness-oriented practice. : How many hours a week do you work? Mink: Our office is open from 7 A.M. to 6 EM., Monday through Friday, and on Saturday, 8 A.M. to noon. I presently treat patients on a three-day work week (Mon- day, Wednesday, Friday), working about thirty-two hours per week doing patient treatments and the related patient paperwork and records. My associate, Dr. Ken Register, works about thirty-eight hours per week, Tuesday through Saturday. What's the income service level that you provide annually? Mink: I treat an average of 230 patients per week and my associate, Dr. Ken Register, treats an average of 280 patients per week. The practice averages one hundred new patients per month. In 2002, the gross collections for the clinic were 1.6 million. ]V£$C: Is there someone in particular to whom you attribute your success? Any mentors, perhaps? Mink: In the early 1960's, I approached Dr. William Harris for guidance in grow- ing my practice. Dr. Harris is a retired Georgia chiropractor that still contributes his time and his wealth to the advance- ment of chiropractic on a state and national level. My patients are responsible for my success, as I am now treating the 3rd, 4lh and even 5lh generations. My success is due not only to my own efforts but, also, to the hard working and dedicated staff in our clinic that believes in what we do and in the health of our community. : What marketing strategies do you use to attract new patients and to keep current patients? Mink: I have mailed an in-house newsletter quarterly consistently for over forty years. My patient mail list is updated and maintained in my office. This listing is of great value. Patients may drop out of care, but they will come back; and not only the patient that previously received care, but the family, friends and acquaintances of that patient. I am, also, involved in the community and contribute to the success of our community. The local Chamber of Commerce named our office the "Small Business of the Year" for 1999. The local paper sponsors the "Best of South Georgia", where the readers' vote on various categories. Our office has won the "Best Chiropractor in South Georgia" for the three years since this feature began. Being a very active positive aspect of our community draws patients to our office. Dr. Register has a booth at many of our community shows and health fairs and offers in-business lectures and training. We offer lots of TLC to our patients. We have a state-of-the-art new office, and equipment that projects to the patients that we are here to serve their health care needs for now and the future. We encourage a family-type every-body-needs-adjustments attitude. : Do you enjoy your work? How do you feel about going to work in the morning? Mink: I LOVE IT. I am committed to the healing power of chiropractic, and serving my patients is so much a part of Continues ► ' my life that I cannot imagine full retirement. I work because I love it. We have such a wonderful fully equipped, well-maintained, and professionally staffed office that going to work everyday is like going to Disney World. My wife and I work together, and when we work— we work hard. But when we're off-we play hard. This makes life well balanced and very satisfying and rewarding. M$C: Having such a successful practice which has served the same community for your long professional career, what is your advice about setting up and maintaining such a practice in today's healthcare system ? Mink: Determine your demographics and make a plan that works in your area. Start and maintain a mailing list of your patients. Newsletters are a wonderful way to communicate to large numbers of previous and potential patients and to keep your services in their minds on a regular basis. Potential patients must feel confident and comfortable with your office, and your staff, as well as yourself. Your office must be patient friendly. Be sure everything you do is ultra ethical—your reputation and your future depend on it. You must genuinely care about chiropractic and the lifestyle it offers; and you must care about your patients and their families' health. : Other than traditional chiropractic care, do you include any other type of services or products in your clinic which further help your patients, as well as bring in additional revenue to your practice? Mink: We have a nutritional shop in our office with everything that works; and we keep it well stocked. We have a free nutritional class each month for our patients, staff and any family members or guests they wish to bring. We have all necessary support belts, collars, traction devices and pillows. We offer custom fitted orthotics. Our facility has a completely equipped rehab room and we do computerized range of motion and muscle testing. We also have two massage rooms available each day for full body massage therapy. Every day we have licensed massage therapists as part of our staff to do eight minutes of specific trigger point therapy as part of the patient's chiropractic visit. : Any final words for our readers? Mink: Chiropractic practices are the reflections of the concept the chiropractor has about his profession. There are lots of one-man-show type practices around. This is the concept of the chiropractor and, is perfectly all right. I know many of these chiropractors, and they are happy in what they do. My concept has always been "bigger can be better" and we've "biggie sized" chiropractic in South Georgia by building the new building and offering so many health related services and products. We keep it simple for our patients. Almost 100% of our patients— whether active or occasional—have a good taste in their mouths about chiropractic and are happy to send their family and friends to us. After forty-two years in my profession, all this sounds like so much hard work for me; but I'll be the first to admit that having a wife "who runs the whole place," a young associate who is a wellness disciple and very dedicated, and lots of great employees (total of eighteen) makes my job much easier. You may contact Dr. Deane Mink by telephone at 229-242-3042, or by e-mail at drmiukignumkchiroxom- Visit his iveb site Our sincere thanks to Dr. Mink and his Staff at Mink Chiropractic Center, LLC, ofValdosta, Georgia. \ TOOL KIT To give you a clear idea of what a million dollar chiropractor uses to run his practice, we've asked Dr. Deane Mink to share with us some specific products & equipment that he uses to reach his practice's goal of bringing health into their community. READING MATERIAL: Tvc read every issue of The American Chiropractor since its incep-tion. (We couldn't resist!) TABLES: • / have 2 types of table. Six Hi-Lo tables from imlmKjJLf If COMPANY (See advertisement on page 25) • And the other nine Flexion-Distraction are from (See advertisement on page C2) DIAGNOSTIC EQUIPMENT: • Myologic 7000 computerized ROM and strength testing. (See advertisement on page 35) ADJUSTING EQUIPMENT: • / use both of the IMPAC products. We have six of their arthro-stims and two of their percussors. (See advertisement on page 20 & 21) 'Also, we've recently been very successfully using the Dakota Home Traction device for restoration of the cervical curve from Matlin Manufacturing, Inc. NUTRITIONAL SUPPLEMENTS: • Daniel Chapter One has readily bioavailable products—really great stuff. (See advertisement on page 17 & Company Profile on page 38) COMPUTER SOFTWARE: • TPS 2000 (for Billing, Scheduling, Insurance Follmvup Center, Notes writer, E-billing, HIPAA compliant, etc.) by: JT] SYSTEMS. INC. (See advertisement on page 23) X-RAY EQUIPMENT: • I've used the Geiidex-Del 500-125 for 3 years. We use full spine A to P and lateral X-rays. Available through: 1-800-334-6427 Thanks to all the sponsors! Dr. Ken Register & Dr. Deane Mink Dr. Mink and his wife and office manager, Sue Mink, at the practice's reception area Dr. Mink adjusts the patient (see above photo 1) in one of their adjusting rooms. Then depending upon the patient's needs, he or she may be directed to the fully equipped rehab room where Bill, the Rehab Director, guides the patient through the needed exercises (photo 2). And finally, available to all patients, is the vitamin and nutrition shop (photo 3) where the patient may purchase the recommended supplements for their specific needs. Mink Chiropractic Center is a subluxation-based practice. Dr Mink explains, "We currently have over 4300 active patient records. We treat patients for pain management but strive to build a wellness-oriented practice." It takes a great staff to run a great practice at Mink Chiropractic Center, LLC
