Staff Bio Series: Dr. Celeste Holstein

My name is Celeste Holstein and I am Dr. Frank's daughter. Dad says he knew I would be a healer of some kind from a very young age. I was always the child that knew if the dog was sick or if our goldfish was going to die. I was also the child that couldn't be told what to do, and my dad understood that and never pushed me toward chiropractic. I always knew I was going to be a doctor, but what kind was to be determined.

I decided to go into pre-med with the goal of being an OBGYN. I wanted to change the way birth happened in the hospital. While I was at New College we had a midwife give a lecture and she talked about how managed care and malpractice were making the OBGYN's in town all retire because they could no longer practice evidence based medicine and their hands were tied by insurance or hospital policy. She talked about how the midwife model of care was much different than the medical model. Midwives believed that birth was natural and a woman's body was made with the wisdom to birth. It was a light bulb moment for me! It sounded a bit like...<gasp> what chiropractic philosophy says about the body!

I immediately decided to transfer schools to become a nurse midwife. Nothing worked, transcripts were lost, the program was full, etc. While I tried to trudge through I started working with Dad in the office therapy department. I remember spending a lot of time with a few new car accident patients who were in serious pain, out of it, grumpy, maybe even a bit rude. Over 2 months time I saw these people transform into happy, bright, grateful people as they healed. I realized maybe I never knew what Dad was doing in his office in the first place. I immediately asked that he hire someone to do my job, and move me in as his transcriptionist so I could watch what  he was doing. I was immediately bitten by the chiropractic bug.

I changed my major back to pre-med at USF and things flowed beautifully. I graduated with my biology degree and went straight to Life University, dad's Alma Mater. I worked hard, learned everything I could because I wanted to be the best doctor I could, and before I knew it, it was graduation time and the Dean was on the phone telling me to write my Valedictorian speech.

How does this whole story come full circle? Chiropractic philosophy says that the body has the ability to heal itself if we just remove the interference. Our goal is to allow the body communicate optimally from brain to body. No time is this more important than we are growing a new human! The pregnant body undergoes enormous change through gestation and quite a bit of that anatomical and biomechanical change happens to the spine. This is precisely why so many midwives advocate chiropractic care for their patients. Through better spinal and pelvic alignment there are often
easier pregnancies, shorter deliveries with less need for intervention, and less stress put on babies during delivery.

My initial desire to help moms achieve more natural births has been met, just on a different path than I originally expected. Now I see pregnant women from preconception through their deliveries and into their aftercare as a chiropractor. Of course, I also see their newborns and their grandparents as well, but prenatal care will always hold a special place in my heart!

Celeste Holstein, D.C.

Staff Bio Series: Dr. Chelsea

I grew up in a small town in Connecticut where my mom's stories from her job as an operating room nurse were what first inspired me to take a closer look at the human body. At 17, I was already committed to changing the world as a healthcare practitioner and at the time, it seemed the best way to do that would be as a pediatric surgeon. I had done some extensive shadowing in the medical field, including spending a day with my mom in the OR and had no idea what chiropractic was.

The first time I walked into the Frank Clinic that year, I had no idea it would set the stage for the rest of my life; my whole world turned upside down!

My uncle, Dr. Frank explained to me that chiropractors help the body heal itself from above, down, inside, out by removing interference to the communication between the brain and the body, primarily by way of adjusting the spine. No one had ever told me that the body could be helped to heal itself without invasive outside input and it completely shifted my focus. Why should I fight to fix almost irreparable insults to the body with the potential for catastrophic side effects when I could promote internal self-healing? I left knowing with deep certainty that this was to be my path. Two years later I was able to spend a summer off school at the University of Connecticut working at the Frank Clinic and fell in love with the culture of the office.

While I was in chiropractic school at Life University, I continued to follow my passion for pediatrics. I was fortunate to have the privilege to complete extensive coursework in prenatal and pediatric care, particularly for young children with neurodevelopmental issues like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and other neurological concerns, as well as completing my senior internship with Drew Rubin, D.C. D.A.C.C.P, my professor, clinical instructor, and instructor for the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). I recently completed my Webster Technique Certification for pregnancy, in which I have already had training through my education, but now it's official (Dr. Frank and Dr. Holstein were already certified). Chiropractic care for infants and children looks very different than it does for adults, and often involves using the amount of pressure you would use to touch your eyelid. If you have any questions about chiropractic care for pregnancy and children, please never hesitate to ask, and know that children are always welcome in my office.

Outside of the office, I spend time painting, making jewelry, kayaking, hiking, practicing yoga, paleo diet blogging, and spending time with my grandma.

It has been a long journey to end up back at the Frank Clinic, but I feel like I am home here. The fact that up to 5 of my family members show up every day (including Dr. Holstein's daughters) helps, but also our incredible staff have made me truly feel welcome over the past year. Meeting patients, new and old, is a true blessing which I am so thankful for. If we haven't become acquainted yet, I look forward to it!

Wishing you health and happiness!
Dr. Chelsea

Staff Bio Series: Dr. Mark Frank

Greetings Everybody.
This is Dr. Frank answering a question Dr. Chelsea asked about who we are and what we do in the office. To answer this I wanted to talk about the origins of the concepts that I deliver in the office .

I have always loved the multiple approaches that different doctors and healers use to assist in the body's healing. What I have found is every body is created with the ability to heal. As practitioners we have just learned various approaches to nurture and support this inborn healing mechanism. Our goal is to find out what is interfering with this self- healing mechanism in all of us and what can turn it back on.  In fact this has been my passion since 1976 when I was introduced to Paul Pitchford.

Paul was a guest lecturer at University of Idaho where I was studying Wildlife Biology. Paul introduced me to acupuncture and changed my diet from a typical college student diet to a whole foods plant based diet. I noticed immediate benefits. He suggested I attend a week- long conference called the Pacific Gathering of Northwest Healers. It was there that I was exposed to dozens of wholistic health practitioners including Chiropractors, Naturopaths, Homeopaths and Herbalists. Instantly I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life. I was told in those early days to get my DC degree first as naturopathy was only legal in 11 states.

I received my degree in 1981 but have continued to study to integrate all those pathways of Chiropractic, Nutrition, Acupuncture and Homeopathy. All of them have amazing contributions to nurture the healing homeostatic force within each of us. Some have much greater application in certain conditions. I have noticed that children respond especially well to homeopathic practice and like taking those medicines where giving an infant nutritional supplements or herbs can be virtually impossible. With future episodes of this question we will explore each modality and where I have found its best applications.

Mark Frank, D.C.

Staff Bio Series: Laure Frank

I am Laure Frank, co-owner of the Frank Clinic and wife of the good, Dr. Mark Frank for 38 years. I am the Office Manager, Book keeper, Grammie, Daycare provider and resident historian. So, I will give you a bit of background....

We opened our first practice in 1981 at the corner of 301 and 54-W. Three years later we moved and set up a new clinic in the Westgate shopping Center on 54W and Allen Road. We were there for 19 years treating a wide variety of patients with Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Nutrition and Lifestyle management. In 2003 we moved to our current location across the street from Florida Hospital in Zephyrhills. In the last 5 years we have been especially blessed to have our daughter, Celeste Holstein D.C. and my niece, Chelsea Drda D.C. join us. The three doctors round out the practice beautifully with Dr. Frank doing more of the “osseous” manipulation, Acupuncture, NCR, Dry Needling and Nutrition and Dr. Holstein and Dr. Chelsea seeing more women, children, infants and families. All three doctors are well versed in treating with “hands on”, “light touch”, and instrument adjusting.

We have state of the art equipment including 2 of the famous Cox flexion/distraction tables, 4 Leander tables, 2 different types of decompression tables, ATM (Active Therapeutic Movement) rehabilitation unit, electrical stimulation therapy, Ultrasound, as well as exercise programs and Massage.

I have been at the heart of the clinic since we began 35 years ago, I have worked at the front desk, filed insurance claims and worked in our therapy dept. Dr. Frank and I have given numerous Lifestyle and Nutrition classes and Workshops and love guiding patients down the road to better health. I have prepared many meals to serve to our students to show them how healthy food can be delicious too!

I currently spend the majority of my time helping raise two of our grand daughters, continue to keep the books and do my part to keep the office running smoothly. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't change a thing :)

Cheers to your health!

Laure