Dennis Dilday: a flexible chiropractor
That Dennis Dilday is a flexible guy should be no surprise. After all, he’s a chiropractor, and a Tai Chi instructor. But as I discovered recently, he takes flexibility to a level rarely seen in the medical profession–to scheduling appointments.
When I called to schedule a visit, I wasn’t sure what time I would be able to arrive at his office. “No problem,” he said. “We’ll fit you in whenever you get here.” And that’s exactly how it worked. Not just for me, a first-time client, but for all his patients. While I was chatting in his office, the phone rang more than once, and Dennis was all “Sure, come on down whenever you can make it, I’ll fit you in.”
I don’t know much about chiropractice medicine. But now that I’m pushing 40, I’d like to know more. So I asked Dennis a few questions, both about himself and his practice.
Q: Where are you from, originally?
I’m from Twisp, Washington.
Q: How did you get interested in becoming a chiropractor? Where did you
go to school?
In 1978 I had a GI Bill to spend and was on the path to becoming a naturopath when I hurt my back. The first chiropractic doctor I met gave me the book “Magical Child” by Joseph Chilton Pearce, and I became convinced after receiving care for a while of the importance of spinal adjusting. That same chiropractor–and every other one I spoke with at the time–recommended Palmer College of Chiropractic. Palmer is where chiropractic was discovered in 1895, and Palmer produced the vast majority of all chiropractors prior to that time and at that time, and the State of Washington Chiropractic Examining Board was particularly fond of Palmer grads (being made up mostly of same).
Q: How long have you had a practice here in Seattle?
My practice is in Everett, 20 minutes north of Seattle on I-5. We’ve been in our current location for 20 years. Thankfully we are located near the intersection of I-5 and highway 526 (Exit 189), so we are easy to get to and easy to find.
Q: How is your practice different from others like it?
Many people are under a lot of pressure: places to be, people to see, things to do. They feel stressed, which is one of the reasons they suffer and seek our help. From the time they call for their first appointment we let patients know that coming here is a relaxing experience. Gradually they get that we really are OK with them being a little earlier or later than whatever is written down. We understand if something comes up and they have to reschedule, or if something has already come up, they are already apologizing, no sense in making it any more of a negative. One way we reduce just that kind of stress is by being gentle about making appointments - their life is already too full. We encourage them to call when they know when they can get in, even if it’s while they’re driving by, or to just stop in if they can’t call. Once they realize how easy it is, they relax. And that’s part of a positive clinical response. It goes way beyond just having a clean bathroom.
We take the same relaxed approach to every other aspect of caring for patients, whether it’s handling their account or helping them deal with their attorneys, other providers or insurance companies. Our system is designed to be as unobtrusive as possible while still covering all the bases. We do it this way so that we can focus on what really is important: the clinical issues that matter to their quality of life. We attract patients who appreciate this approach, patients who notice that we are listening, notice that we do not lecture them about past transgressions. Like not doing their exercises. They notice that we stay on top of their account and insurance issues without being concerned about those issues. Compared to what they are used to getting for their health care dollars, they know we are great deal. In the end these patients usually start to think that for some reason they are being treated special, which is fine with us.
Q: What do you hope to get and/or give from your membership in Biznik?
This has been a year full of insights and serendipity, a year of increasingly acute intuition and openness to possibilities. I believe this process started as a natural outcome of the meditative effects aand strategic approach taught in Tai Chi. It was accelerated through the use of the meditation tapes I have listened to daily for the past year. Anyway, Biznik appeared though I wasn’t actively looking for it and I recognized it as a potent way to connect with people and leverage energy (tai chi again).
As a person who has done a few things, aquired some skills, and has a little to share on a few subjects, I am interested in offering what I can to those interested. It is equally exciting to me to have conversations with interesting people who have done some of the same or similiar things and aquired some of the same or similiar skills; people who have an interest in advancing our mutual understanding and experience.
Oh yeah, and I want referrals and more business. It can be as difficult to find a decent chiropractic doctor when you need one as it is to find a decent anything else. So, for example, not only are we a good choice for health care locally, but if your mother in Texas needs care we can find her a good chiropractic doctor there too - or at least improve her odds.
Likewise, we need people we can refer to in the Seattle area. I try hard to meet and see the office of any health care providers that I refer to because it’s so intimate. For other services or products being able to meet and talk at a gathering can make it possible to get completely comfortable with making referrals.
On a little different level I’ve always been able to put “having a life” somewhere above “making a living” but the guiding principle behind both is that it be fun. There is always room in my schedule for more people who want to have fun. I enjoy the idea of being part of a network of people who actively use the network to be of service to others and themselves.
Dennis’s website is www.doctordilday.com.
July 30th, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Great article Dan, thanks.
DD