A Different Approach to Healthcare – Natural Wellness at Healthwise
Dr. J. Stephen Eggleston and his daughter, Amanda Griffith, CNHP, behind the counter at Healthwise. By Jessie Butner
When you hear the word “healthcare,” the picture in your mind’s eye may not be the most enticing or comforting. You may envision an impersonal, plain, sterile facility, or busy, inattentive personnel. Many of us have come to expect our healthcare experiences to be negative or stressful when we seek traditional medical attention. From the get-go, Healthwise in Danville subverts such expectations.
Located at 100 Vicar Place, Healthwise is a wellness hub that takes a more natural and holistic approach to wellbeing. Upon visiting the establishment, the difference was apparent before I even walked inside. The practice’s storefront features attractive signage and floral decorations that invited me in. The next thing I knew, I was slipping through the red double doors into an altogether unique healthcare space. I did not find myself merely in a waiting room, but in an apothecary’s dream; a charming little shop filled with all the wonders that can be found in nature’s pharmacy. Beguiled by not only the bottles and packages of natural supplements, but also the artisan crafts and junk-free self-care products they had available, I almost forgot I was in a doctor’s office. I concluded, then, that Healthwise was a one-stop shop. A patient could have an appointment there without having to visit a drugstore right after.
Healthwise offers chiropractic services, laser therapy, acupuncture, health and nutrition consultations, and treatment guided by traditional Chinese medicine and applied kinesiology. This healing center serves as an alternative to mainstream medicine for patients who want to take the natural route to health and wellbeing. From chronic aches and pains, neuropathic concerns, or maintaining a healthy weight, Healthwise provides advice and solutions for any non-emergency medical need.
Not only is Healthwise charming and convenient, it is also a family-owned and operated facility. Dr. J. Stephen Eggleston, DC, established his practice in 1992 as a licensed and board-certified chiropractitioner. He earned his doctorate at Northeast College of Health Sciences in New York. Amanda Griffith, CNHP (Certified Naturopathic Health Professional), is Dr. Eggleston’s daughter, and a partner in the practice for nearly a decade. Andrea Eggleston, Dr. Eggleston’s wife and Amanda’s mother, who handles the administration and maintenance side of things at Healthwise, attests to the proficiency of the professionals at Healthwise: “We bring a lot of expertise to the table. Dr. Eggleston has numerous degrees and decades of experience. Amanda is deeply empathetic and knowledgeable with years of experience of her own. We have made getting expert advice convenient and affordable, so people don’t have to navigate that on their own.”
Sitting down to chat with Dr. Eggleston and Amanda was enjoyable and enlightening. It’s hard not to enjoy yourself when you’re in the company of learned people. What gives the Healthwise practitioners an edge in life and in their careers is their passion for learning. Dr. Eggleston, for example, has accumulated thousands of hours in continuing education courses in a variety of subjects, including biochemistry, neurology, endocrinology, and nutrition, in which he received a master’s degree in 2010. He continues to take classes every year, expanding his knowledge and keeping it up to date so that he can apply it to his practice.
As we spoke about the services and products available at Healthwise, I discovered that this family feels an enormous ethical responsibility to provide the very best care they can. Any new treatment methods or devices are personally researched for years before being made accessible to patients. All care products and dietary supplements that they sell go through a thorough process of vetting. Not only is the manufacturer researched and scrutinized to ensure the merchandise has been ethically produced and processed, but products are also tested in-house.
“At least one of us takes that product. It’ll often take two or three months before I put a new product out on the shelf,” Dr. Eggleston shared. Patients can rest assured that Healthwise clinicians will never prescribe a supplement that they haven’t tried themselves. Any tools used at Healthwise are also studied before being implemented. “It’s important to be a skeptic, and I’m a super skeptic,” Dr. Eggleston asserted, “If we’re going to introduce a new healing modality here – like the laser,” he said, it is first studied, adding that he studied the laser for two years before getting the first one in the late 1990s.
For these folks, the mission is to help patients feel better and reach their potential through natural means and lifestyle changes. “And one of the questions I ask every new patient when they come in, whether they’re coming in for pain, or for a metabolic issue, or whatever, is ‘When was the last time you felt really good?’ Most patients say nobody ever asked them that before, which is terrible, and some of them say 20 years. That’s sad,” Dr. Eggleston shared. The holistic approach at Healthwise involves not simply treating symptoms but identifying the root cause of the issue and focusing healing at the source. “We do our damnedest for each person that comes in, as much as they’ll let me do,” he added, “We help you come in here and heal, and hopefully we meet our mission goals most of the time. Nobody’s perfect, but we have a really good success rate here.”
I departed Healthwise touched by the love, care, and expertise that goes into everything that is offered there. Not only was I greeted warmly with a smile, but I left with the wish that each person would have the freedom of alternative healthcare options, and that everyone could be seen by a professional that takes their time and puts people first. Not everyone who finds themselves in a doctor’s office feels they are being taken seriously or being given the best remedies available for their ailments. Those who book a consultation at Healthwise, though, will see and feel the difference, naturally.
100 Vicar Place
Danville, Va. 24540
(434) 836-3506
www.VitaminShopDanvilleVa.com
