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When Dr. Brandie Keates found out she was the recipient of the 2003 Small Business Administration’s Woman-Owned Business of the Year Award, she was shocked.
“I thought I was being punked,” she said with a laugh during a recent interview, adding that she didn’t know she had been nominated to receive one of the SBA Eastern Pennsylvania district office’s annual awards.
Keates is the founder, CEO and lead chiropractic doctor of Experience Chiropractic in Tredyffrin in Chester County.
The practice offers general and family chiropractic care, prenatal and postpartum chiropractic care through Bloom @ Experience, as well as massage therapy, sports injury prevention and recovery, electrical stimulation therapy and kinesiology taping.
A former paramedic, Keates transitioned into chiropractic care and launched her own clinic in 2003. Originally known as the King of Prussia Family Wellness Center, the clinic was initially focused on sports and family treatment.
In 2006, however, Keates experienced complications in her pregnancy with her second child and was told to stop seeing and treating patients.
That experience, she said, changed her — revealing the need for improvement in the care of expectant mothers — to help them find pain relief, get back to work, and take care of their kids through chiropractic care.
“I felt they needed a different approach,” she said, adding that the experience led her to see the need to apply sports medicine to pregnancy, which didn’t exist.
Keates’ focus in this aspect of chiropractic care grew, and she launched the Bloom @ Experience concept, began developing coursework for professionals, certification courses for chiropractors, and relationships with obstetricians and midwives.
Keates is also the author of “What You Don’t Expect When You’re Expecting,” a book that breaks down for pregnant women the changes their bodies are experiencing and the aches and pains that go with those changes as well as to educate and empower them in overcoming pregnancy pain.
An important focus
As women’s bodies change during pregnancy, they are in a temporary new normal, according to Keates.
“Pregnancy pain is debilitating. It’s not normal, but it’s very common, and when something is common, you can do something about it,” she said.
Chiropractic care can provide treatment that promotes joint and ligament health, according to information on the practice’s website.
“If we give athletes the ability and have the technology and research to help them, why we can’t safely apply that to pregnancy?” she said.
Her intention is to disrupt the industry. She is committed to increasing awareness to help women have the pregnancy of their dreams.
About the practice
Keates said 60% of Experience Chiropractic’s practice is pregnancy care and the other 40% is focused on other services.
Four months ago, Experience expanded its space at its current location, 992 Old Eagle School Road, growing from about 5,000 square feet to just under 7,000 square feet.
The practice employs 16, which includes two recently hired chiropractors, Keates said. They see 400 to 500 patients per week, and in 2021 had more than 22,000 patient appointments. Before COVID-19, the practice had two locations, but the pandemic forced the closure of the Conshohocken location, Keates said, because of a lack of doctors.
Keates describes the atmosphere at the practice as an experience in itself.
“It’s just a fun place to be. People spend three times a week with us at times, so we wanted to make it a place that was a safe haven where everybody is positive and happy and happy to be there. But also it’s fun,” she said, adding that it is not your typical doctor’s office.
Keates said the expansion now gives space for all three of her businesses — under the same roof. Experience Chiropractic has its own treatment and exam rooms, while Bloom @ Experience has a wing with its own treatment rooms and dedicated practitioners. The space also includes a training center where Keates offers course material to help chiropractors, midwives, doctors and physical therapists understand treating pregnant women with chiropractic care.
Working with the SBA
Keates said she worked with the SBA when she needed to fund the business — funding that has been paid off. She also worked with SCORE through the Main Line Chamber of Commerce. When the company planned to open its second location, Keates again worked with SBA on funding.
“And I would say that during COVID the SBA was priceless — I feel they were imperative in me having a business,” she said.
Working with the agency, she said, she got in writing that the business was essential and remained open throughout COVID.
According to the SBA, Keates’ business was able to survive the pandemic through the help of SBA’s emergency capital programs. The business received two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that were fully forgiven and received a COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).
Steve Dixel, district director for the SBA Eastern Pennsylvania District Office and several other representatives from the agency recently visited Keates and Experience Chiropractic to present the award.
“Dr. Keates is a trailblazer for women entrepreneurs and pregnant mothers. Her tireless commitment to provide pregnant and postpartum mothers with the care they need is commendable. I’m proud of the role SBA’s lending played in helping to grow her business and of the COVID-19 relief programs that helped sustain her business during the pandemic,” Dixel said in a statement.
Looking to the future
Keates said she is focused on adding doctors to Experience Chiropractic Care’s team. She also developed a certification program for chiropractors who want to specialize in pregnancy chiropractic care.
Her five-year business plan includes opening several Bloom Boutiques in the region, smaller centers, where a woman can go and get support and encouragement. That expansion is planned for 2024.
“We don’t dabble in pregnancy. This is something I teach — something I have written courses about, written books about. It’s something I get,” she said, adding that she will also continue to bring awareness to this area of chiropractic care for pregnant women, their partners and their medical teams.
Keates is the vice president of the pediatrics and pregnancy subcommittee of the Pennsylvania Chiropractic Association. She is an active board member of the association, from which she received the President’s Award for Service in 2020. As a former paramedic, she served on the Lafayette Ambulance Board from 2009-17, and she served as president of the board for the last two years of her membership. She has served on the Main Line Chamber board of directors since 2019.
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