Aces of Trades: Johnstown's Cory Keesee helps people live pain free as chiropractor
JOHNSTOWN – Sometimes a career comes about unexpectedly – like after baseball practice.
“I was always an active kid growing up,” recalled Cory Keesee. “I played a ton of sports and spent time hanging out with friends fishing, playing paintball, camping, playing video games. Like most kids, my dream was to be a Major League baseball player.”
But life took a turn. Today Dr. Keesee is a chiropractor with a Johnstown practice called Fortitude Health and Performance.
“My interest in medicine and chiropractic,’ he said, “really started while I was playing baseball in college. I took a few anatomy and physiology classes and really took an interest into how the human body functions and performs. Spending time in the training room and talking with different doctors was always interesting to me. It was definitely an unexpected career decision, but I couldn’t be more thankful for the path it’s taken me down.”
Keesee grew up in Johnstown, graduated from Johnstown High School in 2008, went to Davis and Elkins College in Elkins, West Virginia to major in biology, then earned a Doctor of Chiropractic at Palmer College of Chiropractic in Port Orange, Florida.
“My biggest influences,” he said, “are my family, my coaches, Dr. Ken Schone, and my wife, Cassie. I was fortunate growing up. I have a great family, as well as great sports coaches through middle school, high school and college levels. They taught me to chase my dreams, work hard for what you want, and to enjoy the ride.”
“Doctor Ken Schone was our family chiropractor growing up here in Johnstown,” he continued. “He really showed me how great of a profession chiropractic can be as I was trying to find my career path through undergrad and beyond. He had been practicing in this building for 45 years, before Cassie and I had the discussion about taking over for him.”
“Cassie is one of the biggest influences I’ve had,” he noted. “While we started planning for Fortitude Health and Performance right after graduation, we didn’t open our doors until October of 2019. We learned how to treat patients in chiropractic school but didn’t learn much about the business aspect. We both decided to become associate doctors in different practices. While it was great from a learning standpoint, we barely ever saw each other, and we didn’t have much say in how the practices were run. Opening FHP meant we could work together to create something we’re proud of. Without her support we would have never made the jump into starting Fortitude Health and Performance.”
It's a feeling that goes both ways according to his wife.
“Cory has had a vision,” assessed Dr. Cassandra “Cassie” Keesee, “for as long as I can remember of what he would like FHP to become, and I cannot be more proud of his efforts and determination to bring this dream into reality. His passion for helping the community he grew up in is truly inspiring. We are so blessed to have this opportunity.”
“We do it for our community,” confirmed her husband. “It’s all about helping people reach their full potential and live life pain free.”
“To see somebody,” he concluded, “come into the office in pain, upset, not able to enjoy the things they love to do, and then be able to help them on their road to recovery is really rewarding for us. I can’t tell you how many times we have conversations at dinner, or on the way home, about stories that patients have shared with us. We aren’t just their chiropractor, we become part of their family.”
For more
Fortitude Health and Performance is located at 52 S. Main St. in Johnstown. For more information, call 740-967-0020 or log on www.fortitudehealthandperformance.com.
Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com or 740-328-8821.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Aces of Trades: Johnstown's Cory Keesee, chiropractor
