-CHIROPRACTIC PRODUCTS
The Magazine for Chiropractic Professionals
MARCH 2001

loskeletal care. But try rustling up a chiropractor who is also adept in the intricacies of mind-body balance, biochemistry, nutrition, botanical medicine and homeopathic treatments. Perhaps the best place to turn is The Maes Center for Natural Health Care, the solo practice of Luc Maes, DC, ND DNBHE.

"I view the human body as an entire environment - cells live within this environment and as long as they communicate well with one another, we can maintain optimal health," says Maes. "My goal as a practitioner is to optimize the nervous system through chiropractic, optimize biochemistry through naturopathy, and optimize energy through homeopathy.”  

Maes says it makes sense to integrate chiropractic, naturopathy, and homeopathy in a single practice, since all three share common goals, even though they are achieved in different ways. "Chiropractic is very hands-on, whereas naturopathic is focused more on botanical medicine," Maes explains. "Homeopathy addresses the mental, emotional and physical states."

Patients coming to the Maes Center - an all cash practice - range in age from infants to the elderly. "I do a lot of pediatric work involving treatment for asthma, allergies, eczema, lupus, and nutritional deficiencies." New patients spend about 90 minutes with Maes on the first visit. "During that time, I try to assess where the core cause of the patient's pathology lies, and then I prescribe a homeopathic medicine," he says.

"I feel that the classical homeopathic remedy goes very deep and can create some very deep shifts in an individual, particularly in their disposition. As chiropractors, we are trying to improve posture from the structural direction. In my practice, I'm trying to do it by also addressing the mental-emotional state-if you change a person's disposition or mood, you change his or posture as well."

However, it's not until the second visit that a comprehensive chiropractic evaluation is performed. "Since I'm trained in applied kineseology, I test every single muscle from head to toe," says Maes. "I do a 7-day diet history, evaluate the spine, and order necessary tests, X-rays, functional stool analysis, or liver pathology tests. I also offer metabolic typing where diet is assessed based on blood pH, but this is saved for a follow-up visit." Some patients require more care than Maes himself can provide. In such instances, he refers patients to other types of practitioners, but remains actively involved in each case.

"The co-management aspect of care does pose some challenges, however. One of these is the need for excellent communication between my colleagues and me. The way we address this is to make a concerted effort to producing and sharing written reports, and also staying in contact by phone."

Off to the side of the large waiting room is a pharmacy, stocked with a wide selection of homeopathic remedies, herbal tinctures, and Chinese and Western herbs blended in-house. Maes estimates the value of the pharmacy's inventory at around $20,000. Therefore, he takes pains to make sure that the shelves are stocked with items he knows will move fairly quickly. "I try to purchase products that will turn over at least three or four times a year," he says. "In retail sales, the more turnover you have, the more revenue and profits you make."  And the fresher the product will be-the longer something sits on a shelf, the older it becomes and the nearer it grows to expiring. An expired product must be destroyed, which of course, represents loss.

"I encourage turnover by being somewhat aggressive in my promoting the pharmacy to my patients," Maes shares. "By making them aware of what is available, I encourage sales and the movement of product. I also encourage sales by constantly striving to stock the pharmacy with products that are innovative and of the very highest quality. It also helps that I limit the number of vendor lines I carry. This way, I am able to maintain a focused inventory, which aids in keeping costs in check. Increasingly, patients are buying products from the Maes Center via the Internet.

Maes has been using the World Wide Web for only a short time, but he is already impressed by the potential it packs for his practice. "When I set up my Web site, I wanted to keep it very simple and didn't really do anything to promote it," he relates. "Initially, I attracted a handful of hits each month. It was enough that I decided to seek out a professional Web site developer to increase the appeal of my site, attract more visitors, and stimulate pharmacy sales on a grander scale." The Web site is linked to various alternative medicine associations, which makes it easier for prospective patients to find The Maes Center on the Internet, he adds.

The role of the Internet to Maes' marketing efforts is minor compared to what he accomplishes by getting out in the community to teach about Chiropractic, naturopathy, and homeopathy. "I've invested tremendous time and effort in lecturing, and it has really paid off," he says. "I've probably lectured at every health food store in town. I've lectured locally to audiences such as parenting groups and elderly associations. Last weekend, I gave a lecture on why we age, with about 80 people in attendance." Maes also serves as an instructor of local adult education classes. One of the courses he teaches is "From Folklore and Plant Magic to Phytopharmacology," which covers the history of medicine and how plants fit into the story.

Then there are trade shows. Whenever one pertaining to health is staged in or near Santa Barbara, Maes pays for booth space to display information about himself, his practice, and the disciplines in which he is an expert. He also makes appearances on local television shows as often as possible. Until recently, he hosted his own radio program on health topics. As far as print media, Maes frequently authors articles for health publications.

The resulting regional and national visibility has led to a surge in the number of patients coming to The Maes Center from outside the Santa Barbara market. "As my exposure has grown, I've attracted patients from Los Angeles, and as far north as the wine country above San Francisco," he enthuses. "Now I'm beginning to attract a few from other states."

Maes himself is an out-of-towner. Born and raised in Belgium, he came to the United States in 1987 after completing undergraduate studies in London. At age 20, he enrolled at National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, Ill, from which he graduated in 1991.  During his time at National College of Chiropractic, Maes attended seminars I numerous specialty areas, including classical homeopathy.  In conjunction with these studies, he traveled extensively around the US, the West Coast in particular, to see firsthand how practitioners of those disciplines worked. One of his destinations was Santa Barbara, an upscale beach community about 90 minutes north of Los Angeles. "I fell in love with this town," he says. "I decided it was where I eventually wanted to have a practice."

However, before settling in Santa Barbara, Maes went to Portland, Ore, where he attended National College of Naturopathic Medicine (one of only four such institutions in the country), graduating in 1996. "I wanted to earn my doctor's degree in naturopathy because in my travels, I had met with a naturopath who was also a chiropractor and he fired me up about the virtues of holding those dual titles," Maes recalls. It was, of course, a chiropractor who inspired him to go to chiropractic college. The practitioner happened to be his father. "I was one of the first patients my dad adjusted," he says. "I was an infant at the time, so I guess it's fair to say that I grew up in the profession of chiropractic."

Maes credits his father (who was also a physical therapist and a doctor of oriental and nutritional medicine) with instilling in him a fascination for biology and nature - a fascination Maes became convinced early on could best find expression through a career in chiropractic.

After receiving his diploma form National College of Chiropractic, Maes joined a Chicago multidisciplinary healthcare center where he practiced with a group of medical doctors until 1994. "Having grown up with many different types of modalities, I was interested to see whether I could work side by side with and be welcomed by internists, oncologists, and orthopedists," he says. "This experience led me to gear my own eventual practice towards being an integrated medical center. That is the concept behind The Maes Center for Natural Health Care."

Soon after opening The Maes Center in Santa Barbara, Maes attempted to establish relationships with local medical doctors. "I made a brochure and sent it to all the medical doctors in Santa Barbara and followed up with a phone call," he says. "Some were pretty open to me." Before long, he was involved in the comanagement of cases with those medical doctors.

Maes reveals that he would eventually like to bring a medical doctor aboard The Maes Center to compliment his staff of two acupuncturists. Dr. Maes says he also would like to relocate to larger quarters, but in crowded and pricey Santa Barbara, that ambition may have on hold for a while. "If I can move into a bigger place, then great; if not, I'll be content to remain where I am," he says. "I have a beautiful clinic right now."

What Maes would really like to do is open a health care spa and retreat. "The retreat would be a place where people from all over the country and even the world could come to Santa Barbara and stay for several days or a couple of weeks to enjoy the beauty here, while receiving a comprehensive health care evaluation and guidance," he says. "By the end of the stay, they would be able to return home and seek ongoing treatment for the problems we've identified and initially addressed. "Maybe in the next five years this spa idea of mine will become a reality."

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