The upper Lynn Canal has been without a chiropractor for the last six months. But a regional chiropractic network has stepped in this month to fill the gap in service for both Haines and Skagway.
This spring Chris Thorgeson of Klondike Chiropractic decided to move on to other business ventures after serving Haines and Skagway for the past six years, which meant there was no local chiropractic care in either community.
Enter licensed chiropractor Steven Rupp and his new Arctic Chiropractic office which has taken over the Klondike clinic location, and will also serve Skagway with a couple of visits per month.
Rupp says his clinic will focus on chiropractic adjustments and massage but will also utilize other therapies like electro-stimulation and flexion distraction.
“The vast majority of what we see are usually spinal complaints. But we do work on the extremities quite frequently. And it is usually injuries like that, strains, sprains, or chronic misuse, so repetitive actions that have caused you to degeneration or just tendinitis, which just means inflammation within that region,” said Rupp.
Skagway resident Mark Larsen says he’s lucky to have seen a couple of chiropractors in Skagway over the years and uses massage for both relaxation and therapy.
“Although obviously cost-prohibitive for those of us on a budget. But, it sure is nice when you can get it. If there is a chiropractor that can prescribe it and my insurance will pay for, that’s even better,” said Larsen.
Skagway is a tricky place to service during the winter months due to its remote location. But according to Rupp, they have a backup plan if there are long gaps in ferry service so that people can at least get referrals for massage.
“The telehealth will be always a backup the entire time so we’ll always kind of keep that in our back pocket for if we do get delayed,” said Rupp.
He also says the clinic will employ two local massage therapists in Haines and one in Skagway on a limited basis. He also says he’s also considering bringing additional visiting therapists to Skagway from Juneau but hasn’t worked out the details yet.
The clinic accepts most insurances including Aetna and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. It also works with Medicaid and Medicare.
Rupp will see patients for now but expects Jeff Albright to take over the role of full-time chiropractor later this fall.
“Jeff actually is an interesting story. So he worked out in Washington for about seven years. And then at that point, decided to head over to Japan and then did seven years over in Japan. And Japan didn’t have anything structured as far as chiropractic care. So he went over there and kind of set up some of the foundations for the entire chiropractic profession,” said Rupp.
Massage services are already being offered in Haines and will start soon in Skagway.
