After nearly a decade away from home, a Moniteau County local is making her professional return on the staff of Huff Chiropractic Center in California.
Dr. Kennedy Volkart grew up between High Point and Russellville and after seven years of being gone, she decided to return to the California area as Huff Chiropractic's newest employee earlier this summer.
Volkart has always been around healthcare. She spent her undergraduate education working at Capital Region Healthplex. But with her undergrad in health science coming to an end, she had to finish her senior year with an internship.
"I was just driving by here [Huff Chiropractic Center], and I was like 'I should do my internship with a chiropractor, that would be interesting,'" said Volkart. "So then I came in here, asked Dr. Huff if I could do that and he was game for it, so I spent four months here my senior year and really fell in love with it."
Volkart then applied to chiropractor school - she was accepted at Logan University in Chesterfield, recently graduated on Aug. 22 and has since started her career at Huff Chiropractic.
Volkart spent her last summer at Huff finishing her last clinical rotation. She said a lot of athletes from California High School came in, which helped her decide to specialize in sports as well as pediatrics, pregnancy and normal chiropractic adjusting. She uses the diversified technique, the thompson drop, a lighter force for those who don't like to be turned or cracked, and flexion distraction. Her specialization in sports also comes from her love of playing basketball.
Volkart said she played basketball all the way through school, which makes her rather well-known among community members.
"Small towns are small towns. It's kind of refreshing, honestly, especially being in the city," said Volkart. "Here, it's nice being around family again, people are just warmer and more welcoming. Especially being in here, I've been gone basically seven years with school, people have been awesome, giving me a chance. I've been getting Dr. Huff's overflow this summer and also pulling in new patients. I just love small towns, everyone knows everyone."
To help continue pulling in new patients and visiting with the community, Volkart has decided to have a booth at Oaktoberfest, a new seasonal event organized by members of the Oak Street Business District and set for Sept. 17-19. Volkart will be there Thursday from 5-7:30 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., where she will be doing instrument-assisted muscle work for free.
Every chiropractor is different and uses different techniques, so Volkart said she encourages everyone to stop in and say hi and see what she has to offer.