We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Salimah Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Salimah, thanks for joining us today. Setting up an independent practice is a daunting endeavor. Can you talk to us about what it was like for you – what were some of the main steps, challenges, etc.

I became a nurse in 2008 and have been lucky enough to work in all sorts of settings from nursing homes to hospitals, to small practices, and urgent care clinics. Seeing the care that patients received in traditional settings where 3rd parties tended to play a factor in the type of time and solutions providers could provide really concerned me. I wanted to create a practice that put the patient first and was preventative instead of reactive. That’s really what motivated me to establish Elevated Concierge Hydration and Wellness. We started as a true home-based business right at the start of the pandemic as a mobile clinic that provided IV hydration and Covid testing to patients along with in home urgent care treatments. The business eventually morphed into what it is today, a clinic that specializes in Medical Weight Loss, Functional Medicine, IV Hydration, Body Contouring, and Aesthetics. I realized fairly early on that if we wanted to be able to serve as many patients as we hoped to, we would need a physical location for patients to come to. I also knew that I wanted to pivot away from urgent care as people had lots of choices for that and instead focus on partnering with patients on their health journeys and really focus on preventative medicine. If I could change anything from how the business started it would have been to save and invest money in a physical location sooner and also in hiring staff to help with patient volume. Trying to do everything yourself is not sustainable and doesn’t promote long-term growth.

Salimah, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am first and foremost a mother of 4 amazing kids who range in age from 20 all the way down to 3 so they keep me very busy! I am also married and my husband has been in my corner since I started my journey in nursing. I entered nursing because my sister was a nurse and I knew how valuable the nurse is for patients and families and it was a job that gave me an opportunity to grow. I then quickly decided that I wanted to be a Nurse Practitioner and have a hand in planning patient care. Our clinic really is based around the patient and what they need individually. I believe everyone is unique and I believe in testing to see what is really impacting a person’s health and ability to lose weight. I enjoy all parts of my practice, but I have to admit that I get a lot of satisfaction seeing people achieve healthy weight loss and what that does to their confidence and quality of life. Being a mother of four and having 2 kids relatively later in life, I understand how hard it is to lose weight. I understand how you might be unhappy with how certain parts of your body look in your 30’s or 40’s compared to when you were younger. I am the same as a lot of my patients and I want them to know that they don’t have to feel stuck. There are real world things they can do to get healthier and to change the shape of their bodies. I have always been someone who loves to learn and study new things so I am constantly educating myself on the latest techniques and advances in weight loss, body contouring, and aesthetics. For instance, we are proud to offer the famous Vampire Facial and Vampire Breast Lift in our office. Both of these procedures have helped lots of women turn back the clock so to speak and they are quick and cost-effective alternatives to more invasive and costly plastic surgery procedures. At Elevated Concierge Hydration and Wellness, we are truly there to partner with our patients and provide solutions to better their lives.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

The biggest pivot we have done is pivoting from being a mobile practice to being a brick-and-mortar practice, This obviously increased the monthly expenses for the business quite a bit but it was necessary to be able to see the amount of patients efficiently that we wanted to. It also allowed us to be able to hire nurses and expand the practice. We started out with 1 small office in the building we are currently in and now we have 3 offices in the building and probably need more space!

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I would say two things have helped us build a good reputation in our city. Number one, we really care about our patients and their health. We want everyone to have a good experience at our clinic and if we don’t do something right or we make a mistake, we own it and we try and make it right. Also, we put an early emphasis on getting google reviews and understood the importance of 5-star reviews on the perception of potential patients.

Contact Info:

• Website: echydrationandwellness.com
• Instagram: echydrationandwellness
• Facebook: echydrationandwellness
• Youtube: echydrationandwellness