JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED
Medical Care in spa atmosphere
Elizabeth Bush, The Daniel Island News February 8-14, 2007 beth@thedanielislandnews.com
Remember the days when going to the doctor wasn't really much fun? The words "relaxing" and "soothing" were typically not used in connection with the visit.
There was that stark, clinical feel of the waiting area and exam room.
The physicians and staff were competent and frindly enough, but they didn't offer much more than a diagnosis and treatment plan.
The road to recovery often took you somewhere else to get a prescription filled.
Times are changing, especially on Daniel Island, where Dr. Melissa Hunter is about to embark on a whole new way of providing medical care.
The Island Medical Spa Institute, part of Hunter’s Daniel Island Family Care practice, is set to open in late February or early March in a new office building on Seven Farms Drive and promises to give you plenty of reasons to look forward to going to the doctor.
"When I bought the practice on Daniel Island 18 months ago, my whole goal was not to just be a family medicine office, but to be a more comprehensive place to provide services," Hunter said. "I wanted to not only help people feel better, but also to just keep them healthy and this is our next step toward achieving that goal."
In addition to traditional medical care, Dr. Hunter will offer a variety of clinically based "spa" treatments including anti-aging facials, vitamin C and green tea peels, facial lymphatic lifts, Restylane injections, Botox treatments, and breakout control facials. Patients can also receive laser therapy, including hair removal, skin tightening, wrinkle reduction and vein therapy. The new offerings will allow Hunter’s patients to focus on "being well and wellbeing" at a time when many are concerned about aging and the affects of sun damage.
"We know that there is a growing consensus of patients that not only want to feel good, but they also want to look good," she said.
Her latest endeavor will also include a partnership with Denise Wyndham, a registered compounding pharmacist with Palmetto Pharmaceutical Care. Wyndham’s "compounding" pharmacy services, different from those offered by a traditional pharmacy, will be offered onsite for Dr. Hunter’s patients.
"Compounding is really going back to the roots of pharmacy," said Wyndham, who completed specialized training for her profession in Texas. "It allows us to customize and individualize medications and treatment for the patient."
That might mean preparing a flavored sublingual throat lozenge for a patient who has difficulty swallowing a large pill or a transdermal cream instead of pills or suppositories for patients suffering from nausea or diarrhea. Other services will include bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and topical anesthetics related to the spa practice.
"We do not believe that one size fits all," said Wyndham. "You are unique and therefore your medications should also be specific to your body, health condition, and expectations."
"And when you do that, you actually remove a lot of other side effects from taking certain medications, like gastro-intestinal side effects," Hunter added.
"We can also customize skin therapy and treatment … because everybody doesn’t need the same thing," said Wyndham. "Everybody has their own skin issues."
The practice’s three components (health care, spa and pharmacy) will intertwine with each other and offer a continuous and seamless "medical model unlike any other in the tri-county area, much less the state," said Hunter.
The site, located on the first floor of a newly constructed building near the City of Charleston Municipal Complex on Daniel Island, will feature an "island feel" with soft pastel blue tones and water elements in the décor. There will also be showers and dressing areas on the spa side of the practice, which will include a separate entrance for those who do not wish to enter through the main waiting area.
Hunter, a board-certified family medicine physician with an interest in women’s health and dermatology, spent 12 years teaching residents and medical students at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston before starting her own practice on Daniel Island. She has also written a book entitled, Dealing with the Psychological and Spiritual Aspects of Menopause. Expanding her practice is the next step in fulfilling a longtime career goal.
"I just always wanted to do more with it and this is my opportunity," Hunter said of her areas of expertise. "I’m pretty anxious right now because I’m spending a lot of money, but it’s exciting at the same time because I think what we have to offer is so unique and so important. And we think the community will agree."
Certainly, it would seem the prognosis is good. For more information on the Island Medical Spa Institute, you can visit the practice’s Web site at www.islandmedicalspainstitute.com.
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