Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Iris Patterson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Iris, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

In January 2020, I knew it was time to launch Chicago Integrated Health (CIH). You see, this wasn’t my first business. I owned two before CIH. In March of 2010, I became licensed as a Clinical Massage Therapist. I was self-employed for 5 years before launching Iris Botanicals, my natural hair care line that landed in Whole Foods locally here in Chicago. By the time I launched Chicago Integrated Health, I had already discovered who I am. I am an innovator and a visionary.

Chicago Integrated Health is a lifestyle intervention practice that blends the medicines of mental health therapy, nutrition, massage therapy, and fitness to fight against anxiety, depression, and lifestyle diseases. We are 100% telemedicine. I knew it was time to launch when COVID-19 struck. Many were trapped in the house alone for months. The grief and loneliness were too much for millions. Depression was a byproduct of the virus because of the mandate. By December 2020, we discovered how to launch the telemedicine mental health therapy component to our practice. Figuring out how to get credentialed was a challenge. But we did it. We didn’t submit our first claim until January of 2021. In December of 2020, we had 10 clients on the books. Today, we have 100 enrolled clients. My mother is a licensed clinical Psychotherapist. She played a huge role in the launch of CIH. Learning how to bill insurance, what correct software is needed, and how to complete credentialing took a lot of trial and error. There wasn’t anyone to ask. We are now set up for Medicaid. Readying our practice for Medicaid was a nightmare. It took almost two years to be Medicaid-ready. In the end, it was worth it.

Iris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Funny story, it was never my dream to be a business owner. Growing up, it wasn’t seen in my community. I always thought I would be an attorney. I grew up in the heart of Englewood in Chicago. I was a teen mom at the age of 16. I thought my life was over. From 16 to 27 I worked dead-end jobs where I was constantly mistreated. I found the courage to go back to school and learn a trade. I fell in love with the idea of becoming a Massage Therapist when I saw an ad for it online. When I toured the school and classroom I was sold! I worked for myself for 10 years before the trajectory of my life changed. It was 2014, I was engaged to be married. I was working out to fit in my beautiful dress. Because I am a Black girl, my hair wasn’t manageable after each workout. I decided to visit a salon I saw on Facebook. I wanted them to style my hair in a way that I could maintain it. Long story short the salon visit caused me to suffer hair loss to the point I had to wear wigs for 9 months. The entire front of my hair was bald. When I reached out to the stylist she did not admit fault and she could not help restore my hair. Out of desperation I did my research and created a product that grew my hair back in months. I had no plans of bringing a product to market. It never crossed my mind until I posted before and after photos telling my story on Facebook. My followers wanted to know my regimen. When I shared, they requested to buy my formula. At that very moment, my life changed. One year later I landed my products into Whole Foods. 5 years after that, I launched Chicago Integrated Health. I am a hardwired entrepreneur. Who knew?

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Right now I am currently winning against stage 4 colon cancer. I was diagnosed in July of 2023. This is still very new. After diagnosis, I was hospitalized twice. I underwent 3 surgeries. I spent a total of 21 days in the hospital. I share that because I thought I had to close my business. My life was hijacked in a blink of an eye. I am the CEO of my business. I am responsible for keeping it afloat. I was just getting to a place where I delegate certain tasks. Before I could train anyone, cancer reared its head. I was afraid, angry, and devasted. I had to take a step by from seeing my Nutrition Clients. I received my certification as a Certified Holistic Nutritionist during the pandemic and lockdown. I helped many reverse type 2 diabetes, fight kidney disease, obesity, and more. I had to take a step back and pause nutrition counseling to focus on my health. It was hard. For a second I felt like a fraud. My physicians had to tell me more than once, “You didn’t do this to yourself. It happened to you”. Things have been good still. We will offer all services by Spring.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I love this question. I do not regret being treated poorly by my superiors over the years. I’ve had supervisors call me ” an ugly little gremlin” to my face, White superiors make fun of the way I speak, and supervisors cut my hours because I was “making too much”. This doesn’t even scratch the surface of what’s been my experience. It’s shaped me into who I am today. I can remember coming home after UPS crying in my mother’s arms because finishing high school and working was extremely overwhelming. My boss yelled at me that night. I cried the entire 45-minute bus ride. As I worked my businesses, planning for the day I hire, I made a vow to create an environment where people WANTED to be a part of our organization. I have special practices to create loyalty. One thing we did was put our entire staff on paid leave from mid-December to January 1st. I know every business can’t do this, but we did. I used to dream about being able to spend time with my family for the holidays without interruption. Being told, “No we can approve time off” upset me. There were many times I had to accept it. Not anymore and neither do my staff. We are planning a retreat where our staff and their families will stay at the Oakbrook Resort for a weekend. Meals will be buffet style. There will be lots of fun activities. I am the boss I always wanted. I need them. And I have no problem letting them know.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.integratedhealthchicago.com
• Instagram: Chicago Integrated Health
• Facebook: Chicago Integrated Health
• Linkedin: Iris Nichole Pattersom
• Youtube: Iris Lifestyle Vlog
• Other: Tiktok: Iris Nichole Patterson and Chicago Integrated Health Facebook: Iris Nichole Patterson

Image Credits
Teylor Johnson