BY BARBARA PINCKNEY
A Queensbury native and his bride-to-
be are preparing to open Adirondack
Wellness Group, at 310 Dixon Road, in
late February.
Bryan Schuerlein said the business–in
the same building where his father, Paul
Schuerlein, once operated a plumbing
and heating company–will start out offering
chiropractic services from him and
acupuncture and oriental medicine practiced
by his fiancé, Heather Kurilla. But
he envisions a broader array of services
in the future.
“We are actively looking for a massage
therapist right now,” he said. “In the
coming months, I would like to have a nutritionist
come in. If I can find a physical
therapist I would love to have him or her
as well. We want to be sort of a one-stop
shop for wellness.”
Schuerlein would own the building and
oversee administration of Adirondack
Wellness. The others would be independent
practitioners operating in the same
location. The building has six treatment
rooms, a room holding a high-end massage
therapy chair, and a large meeting room
where Schuerlein plans to host periodic
seminars, screenings and “dinner with
the docs” for members of the community.
The practice may even hand out healthy
eating cookbooks compiled by Kurilla, who
Schuerlein describes as a “phenomenal
cook” who uses mainly natural and organic
ingredients.
“Wellness is a lifestyle,” he said. “It goes
beyond health. It’s how you think, it’s the
state of your finances, it’s your social life.
There are a lot of aspects that don’t seem
like they are related but they really are.”
Schuerlein said he knew from the time
he was a student at Queensbury High
School that he wanted to be a chiropractor
and help people. The desire started when,
on the advice of a guidance counselor, he
spent a few weeks shadowing his uncle,
a chiropractor in Stowe, Vt.
He sat in the waiting room and spoke to patients, and
was struck by their stories. One woman,
for example, came in for a back injury and
after about six months of treatment no
longer needed the asthma inhaler she had
used almost daily since she was a child.
In fact, she was preparing for a triathlon.
“It is an amazing profession,” he said.
After graduating from SUNY Oneonta
in 2008, Schuerlein moved to Atlanta to
study chiropractic medicine. He then
transferred to New York Chiropractic
College in Seneca Falls. While a student
there, he joined a nonprofit group in
making mission trips to the Dominican
Republic and Haiti.
It was also in Seneca Falls where he
met Kurilla, who grew up in Scranton, Pa.
She was attending the New York School
of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine,
which shares a campus and facilities with
New York Chiropractic.
The pair, who will be married in October,
graduated from their respective colleges
in 2014 and decided to make their
life in Queensbury.
Some years ago, Paul Schuerlein had
purchased the 2,400 square-foot commercial
building at 310 Dixon Road and some
neighboring properties. He renovated
them, and sold all but the commercial
building and the ranch-style home across
the driveway. Earlier this year, Bryan
Schuerlein purchased both properties
from his father, to start a business and
create a home for his future family.
“We have been working pretty nonstop
since August or so to get the building
ready,” he said of the commercial space.
“We made it more structural, we did a lot
of landscaping.”
As of early January, he said, the building
was about “99 percent” complete.
Schuerlein and Kurilla plan to hold
their ribbon cutting and grand opening on
Feb. 28. They have invited the American
Red Cross to come conduct a blood drive
and do free blood pressure screenings.
Photo Todd Bissonette Photography