Favourite wellness centre

Clients appreciate finding a number of treatment modalities at Cranbrook Chiropractic & Wellness Centre

Dr. Kevin Roberge owns and operates Cranbrook Chiropractic & Wellness Centre, and contracts services from other health practitioners in his building. — Marie Milner photo

In 2009 Dr. Kevin Roberge and his fiancée, Kristi Laaja, responded to a For Sale ad placed by Dr. Mike Harach for his chiropractic practice, and drove to Cranbrook, B.C., to check it out. Roberge now owns Cranbrook Chiropractic & Wellness Centre lock, stock and newly acquired building, and that centre is a favourite with readers of Kootenay Business magazine.

What do you think makes your practice so popular?

This practice has been around for 30 years, under various practitioners, so we have a very deep patient base. The patients like that we offer several treatment methods under one roof. We have two registered massage therapists, Holly Busta and Serena Mitchell, two naturopaths, Darcie Pawlick and Chris Ford, and a registered clinical counsellor, Kevin McMullen. My wife, Kristi, is the CEO of the corporation.

What’s the biggest reward you get from your work?

I see that what we do here extends way beyond our patients and their health-care issues. When we help someone with their pain or their physical limitations, their whole quality of life is improved, and the effect of that extends into their family life, their workplace and their recreation. Seeing that happen is the big reward for me, and it often starts with the first appointment. It’s pretty cool, especially with someone who has had pain for a long time.

Tell me about your new building and any other developments on the horizon.

We took possession of this building on September 20 last year and moved in on January 20 this year, after an extensive renovation. We love the extra space and being able to offer more service. Kristi is working on some fun stuff on the IT side, streamlining our booking process, setting up automated electronic appointment reminders for patients and bringing in direct billing to insurance carriers. We’re excited about this new system and we hope to roll it out early next year.