Chiropractor who lost Shirley clinic to fire reopens in Greenfield

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Dr. Robert Tennant's offices in Shirley were considered a complete loss after the fire on Feb. 9-10 in Shirley. SUBMITTED

GREENFIELD — A chiropractor whose clinic in Shirley burned down after 47 years has found a new home for his business in Greenfield.

Dr. Robert Tennant had been treating patients in Shirley for nearly half a century when his building, located on Main Street, caught fire in February. The fire burned for 12 hours before the Shirley Volunteer Fire Department, assisted by a number of neighboring agencies, was able to put it out. While Tennant’s patient records were preserved in a fireproof case, the inside of the building was destroyed, leaving nowhere to operate the practice he ran along with two employees.

Tennant attributed the cause of the fire to cold weather which caused pipes at the clinic to freeze. When a repairman came to fix the problem, he said, material that was used caused the building to ignite.

Now, Tennant has a new location at 1471 Jason Road in Greenfield, located behind the local McDonald’s.

Tennant said he jumped at the opportunity to move in when he heard from a previous occupant that the building, already set up as a medical office, was available. He hasn’t enjoyed his involuntary time off work.

“It’s been dreadful,” he said.

Tennant saw his first patients at the new location on Monday, May 3. The clinic will be open from 8:30 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and will provide standard chiropractic as well as rehabilitative services. Tennant said he also often conducts physical exams for people getting a commercial drivers’ license.

The doctor said he is hopeful that, despite the loss of his long-term location, many of his patients will follow him to Greenfield. Many of them already live in the city, he said, while others come from all over central Indiana. His practice will retain the same phone number, at (765) 737-1117.

“I’m ready to start working again, thank you very much,” he said.

Originally from North Carolina, Tennant established his practice in 1974 after graduating from the National College of Chiropractic in Illinois, which has since merged with the National University of Health Sciences. He is a past president of the Indiana State Chiropractic Association.