Celebrating a silver anniversary in his home

Home is where the heart is, and for Inwood chiropractor Michael DeRosa it is also where his practice is, as his old family home on Lawrence Avenue houses his now 25-year-old chiropractic business.

He officially celebrated his silver anniversary on Aug. 11. The Lawrence High School graduate, class of 1978, got into the chiropractic field after he took a class in the subject in college at the University of Albany. “I enjoyed learning about muscles, ligaments and bones,” he said. “I realized that this was my calling.”

After graduating from Albany, DeRosa attended Life University’s College of Chiropractic in Marietta, Ga. Upon graduation, he then moved to Florida for two years until he realized he would rather set up shop in his hometown of Inwood.

DeRosa’s parents still lived at the Lawrence Avenue home and frequently rented out the front of their house to a beauty parlor and various organizations such as the Inwood Buccaneers. When he returned from Florida, the beauty parlor relocated and the storefront sat empty. “Growing up, I cleaned the store for five dollars when I was 12 or 13 years old,” DeRosa said. “I knew I could put what I needed there so my father decided to let me use the space for my business. It’s gratifying that I can stay home and my family also spent a lot of holidays there so it’s good to still keep the memories going.”

Rhina Urrutia Domanico, DeRosa’s receptionist, started out as a patient in 1992 before being hired in 2000. “I like to make patients feel comfortable,” she said. “I try my best to accommodate them in their language (Spanish).”

Domanico also said DeRosa pays great attention to his patients. “He is a caring person who cares about his patients and workers,” she said. “He does a lot for everybody in the community.”

Francine Lindsey, an Inwood resident and DeRosa’s patient since 2004, said she first heard about his practice through her mother who was a patient of DeRosa’s in the late 1980s. “He’s got the magic touch,” she said. “He’s the doctor to come to if you have a back problem.”

When his father became ill, DeRosa said, he knew Lindsey was a home health care aide so he called her to see if she would take care of his father. “She has been a blessing to my father,” DeRosa said. “When I need someone, I try to look to my patients first.”

Lindsey said DeRosa has been a blessing to the neighborhood. “He works with the community, even if you’re insurance doesn’t cover the work,” she said, “and you don’t find people like that anymore.”

When he first opened in 1986, his goal was to see if he could last 25 years. “I want to be here as long as I can,” said DeRosa, who lives in Wantagh with his 9-year-old daughter, Shayna. “I don’t ever see myself fully retiring.”

To find out more about DeRosa Chiropractic Center, visit www.derosachiro.com.