(Newswire.net — February 26, 2021) —
Dr. Chambless Johnston is the CEO and Founder of East Tennessee Recovery, one of the largest Office-Based Opioid Treatment centres in Tennessee. He prides his practice on the fact that they provide their clients with an integrated approach to addiction treatment. Based in Johnson City, Tennessee, Chambless Johnston and his practice focus on treatment that takes into account the many aspects of addiction and provides care related to mental health, primary care, and integrating their clients back into society.
Tell us about your business:
East Tennessee Recovery is a group of doctors, counselors, case managers, and educational programs specializing in addiction treatment in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Our treatment centre focuses on a holistic and integrated approach to addiction treatment, which includes medication and counselling services. We provide primary care and have a pharmacy on-site to help patients ease the stress of getting their meds
How do you make raving fans out of your clients:
The patients who want true recovery become raving fans because they know they are loved from the first visit.
How do we define love?
When we love someone we experience the same positive thoughts and experiences as when we like a person. But we also experience a deep sense of care and commitment towards that person.
In my journey taking care of patients with a history of addiction I learned a lot of them didn’t have much love in their life or in their past. Patients use to say, “how can anyone love me” or even worse, “no one has ever told me they loved me.” When I train doctors or providers, they ask about the science of addiction and how to effectively treat patients. I can do that, but I feel the most important way to treat our patients is to show love. The definition above is what we do with our patients. We give them a deep sense of commitment, care, and love. East Tennessee Recovery prides itself in showing this.
Tell us the one thing that separates your business from the competition.
East Tennessee Recovery was the first facility to take insurance as an office based opioid treatment center (OBOT) in Tennessee and Virginia. We are a true integrative model of addiction treatment, mental health, and primary care. We got to know our patients needs and treated them as if they were family. We offer great customer service and nurture existing patients to rebuild their lives. We connect patients back to jobs, churches, networking events, and get them out of the court system. We give back to our community at every turn. When East Tennessee Recovery enhanced our giving, patients saw it and wanted to participate too. I measure what works and refine my approach as needed. We continue to be the first in many things we are trying to accomplish in the field of Addiction Medicine. We conquer what is thought to be best for Addiction Medicine and make it a reality. We look at all evidence-based treatments and apply them individually to each patient.
What is the key to your company’s success?
Our company’s key to success is our patients. Watching our team at East Tennessee Recovery help patients change their life (physically, mentally and spiritually), seeing them smile, and their dedication to becoming a better person leads to success. I love nothing more than the stories of a patient regaining their life back from addiction, gaining custody of their children, and their new job which helps provide for their family. Stories like this are written every day at East Tennessee Recovery.
What advice can you give entrepreneurs just starting out with a new venture?
Put the concept on paper, so you can wrap your mind around it. Research the market, know who your competitors are, and make your concepts wanted by the patients or clients. You have to invest time, not money. You must out work everyone else. Start with a small test market and see which way makes you more efficient, then run with it. Sometimes you just got to jump in headfirst and sort it all out on the fly. It may seem scary to jump in without any safety net, but if you have done your due diligence with research, your concept should get of the ground- even if that means altering methodologies as you go.
What piece of advice can you give entrepreneurs when times get a little tough?
Great leaders often possess a combination of various leadership qualities, such as creativity, motivation, vision, and empathy. However, the most successful leaders are able to adapt to the needs of different situations, employing their diverse set of leadership skills in order to achieve their goals. When things get challenging leaders need to show empathy. Leaders who demonstrate empathy tend to foster greater commitment and effort from team members and employees. Empathy can be either cognitive (imagining what others must be thinking) or emotional (imagining what others must be feeling). Either way, empathy is critical to supporting people through tough times.
How do you stay abreast in the business world when everything changes so rapidly?
I always say you have to think big but stay small with the intimate feeling your business should give off. Put on the blinders and live out your own mission and don’t follow your competitors. Things can be fast changing but make “Plan A” a success by not following the red herrings.
What is your “Why”?
Your “why” is a statement of purpose that describes why you do the work you do and why you live the lifestyle you do. It is your calling. It is your conviction. It is your mission statement. It is a vision of your life and work.
My “why” or value is to give as many people as possible with addiction issues access to compassionate life saving treatment.
What is the most important skill to be a great leader?
Self-discipline is truly THE starting point of all great achievements and pivotal for great leaders. Self-discipline allows people to take accountability for their actions and ultimately how events pan out for them. If you have discipline, you are taking action before the immediate need arises, thus averting complications for either yourself or for those around you.
How important are your customers to your business?
Just as the patient-doctor partnership is a pivotal therapeutic relationship in medicine, so is the interaction between the doctor and patient as a customer to healthcare. Being better educated with greater access to information helps keep them engaged in treatment.
How can technology make the world a better place?
I recently met with a company that is using technology to track circadian rhythms that could lead to a diagnosis of an infectious disease before we have symptoms. That is positive information and could make this world a better place. By being able to identify possible health issues before they come to the surface, doctors and other medical professionals will be able to reduce discomfort and get a head start on treatment before any symptoms set in.
What is something positive to motivate our readers?
Great leaders help people reach their goals, inspire, and make the ones around them better. You don’t need to be charismatic or accomplished to be a great leader- all it takes is authenticity and the ability to work collaboratively with others. The success will follow as people around you are inspired to work towards a common goal.
How do you start your day to get ready?
When I wake up at 4 am each morning I say to myself, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”
How do you handle rejection and setback?
I feel I know how to respond quickly and effectively to setbacks, rejection, and failures because my mind is on the solution, not the problem. The best way to handle any type of slip is to accept that it happened and focus on a solution. Focusing on the setback does nothing but create anxiety and self-pity, which is not a constructive mindset. Acknowledge that it happened, accept that it is what it is, and work towards a solution.
What is your hiring philosophy?
We use internship programs as hiring tools for management and permanent positions and we use it as a method of evaluating potential hires prior to either party making a commitment. This way we can evaluate how they handle various situations, how receptive they are to new information, and how they fit into our company’s mission and work culture. I think it is beneficial to both parties as we get to see how they fit in, and they get to see what the position entails and if it is their right fit for their needs.
How do you keep your sanity in a competitive business environment?
To keep your sanity, you have to be flexible. This allows you to view your job or passion as one part of who you are and not as the only thing that makes you a unique individual. Being receptive to other opportunities outside of work or hobbies allows you to round out your identity and you get to cultivate a unique perception of yourself that is comprised of multiple pieces. By doing so you are better able to roll with any setbacks in any given area of your life because you understand that those failures do not dictate the entirety of who you are.