Meet the Doctors
Learn about their areas of interest at work and outside the clinic.
A patient’s first visit with a new provider is key to building trust and strengthening the patient-provider relationship. At Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, patients get a really positive vibe right away when meeting Dr. Kelly Zach, Dr. Phillip Essay, and Dr. Thomas Brooks.
Patients realize how committed our doctors are by their approach to care – seeing patients as a whole person, from medical history to the type of work they do to how their pain affects all aspects of their daily living. We treat the individual based on their unique needs. Some doctors will use treatments that may be costly as their first approach. Our physicians are focused on doing what is best for the individual patient.
The Innovative Pain & Spine physicians use several different modalities which may include neuromodulation, injections, medication, and physical therapy to help treat a patient’s pain. That open approach also includes our patients receiving second opinions as well as our providers seeing patients as a second opinion. It’s about doing what is in the best interest of the patient – every time.
Our doctors are also committed to playing a key role in helping reduce the addiction and dependency of the opioid pandemic.
Beyond the Clinic
The Innovative physicians are as passionate about helping their patients find relief from chronic pain as they are about their passions outside of the clinic. You may be surprised at how committed and down-to-earth our doctors truly are!
Thomas Brooks, MD
Some of the wonderful qualities that contribute to Dr. Brooks’ calming demeanor and being an excellent pain medicine physician include:
He enjoys going on hikes with his family and goes boating every chance he gets.
His choice of reading (in addition to medical journals) are Science Fiction books.
He loves to snack on M&M’s that his wife keeps filled in his office.
He often comes to work with donuts and shares them with the Omaha team.
Dr. Thomas Brooks obtained his Medical Degree from Creighton University School of Medicine and has been specializing in pain medicine for years. He sees patients in the Omaha clinic and treats patients with all types of chronic pain problems and is especially interested in the benefits of neuro stimulation, such as Spinal Cord Stimulation, and in helping patients with Sacroiliac Joint Pain.
Phillip Essay, MD
Dr. Essay is a man of many interests which makes him very personable, able to connect with people of all ages and backgrounds, and a physician that is always searching for answers.
He thoroughly enjoys riding his bike, and if you spot a bicycle in the hall near the clinic entrance, you know Dr. Essay has arrived at work on two wheels!
He doesn’t just enjoy a good cup of coffee, he requires it. The scent of fresh, specialty beans brewing is almost always wafting through the halls.
He loves building things with his hands, especially woodworking projects, like the custom table he built for Dr. Zach’s garage.
Dr. Phillip Essay obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Nebraska School of Medicine and has been on the forefront of pain management in the Lincoln area for years and sees patients at Innovative’s clinic in Lincoln. When it comes to advanced medical treatments, he feels neuromodulation is “the wave of the future” and believes most pain can be treated with electrical stimulation.
Kelly Zach, MD
Dr. Zach is visionary, creative, and an exceptional physician. He makes work fun for everyone and enjoys providing a high level of entertainment at the clinics, like making up dance moves that relate to an injection or procedure he plans to do. He’s been known to add vocals, too.
He is an avid Creighton Blue Jay fan and is always sporting his all-blue uniform. He also loves the Huskers.
His five kids (including two sets of twins) keep him on his toes. They inherited his dance moves and his keen wit. They have been known to show up on holidays to hand out candy to patients and staff.
He loves a good Celine Dion karaoke song!
Dr. Kelly Zach obtained his Medical Degree from the University of Nebraska School of Medicine and sees patients at both Lincoln and Omaha clinics. Being able to offer patients who are not surgical candidates other less invasive options is an approach he takes with all of his patients. He sees how medicine is transitioning away from large surgical procedures and more toward neuromodulation and minimally invasive procedures, such as interspinous devices and vertiflex.
Dr. Zach continues to see the benefits for patients using Spinal Cord Stimulation and how more people are becoming candidates for this type of therapy, especially people very young or very old because it is less taxing on the body.
Now that you’ve met our doctors, you have some things to chat about when you come for your first appointment!
If you have chronic pain and would like an evaluation, Innovative Pain & Spine Specialists are located in Lincoln at 7121 Stephanie Lane, Suite 102, and in Omaha at 17030 Lakeside Hills Plaza, Building 2, Suite 202. To schedule an appointment, call 402-413-5010.