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Clinical procedures like medical treatment massage or microdermabrasion may invoke an image of visiting a comfortable but unmistakably medical looking facility. Not so for visitors to MultiCare’s Healthy Reflections Medical and Day Spa — where clinical procedures are fused with wellness and beauty services in an atmosphere of a resort spa.
No matter if they’re running in for a quick manicure, a physician-prescribed massage, an esthetic procedure or a laser treatment, Healthy Reflections customers are equally treated to high-end service. Even the locker room at the spa is a luxury-style amenity, with dark cherry veneer lockers, stylish fixtures and upscale décor. Faux (but very real looking) candles and serene music complement the calming environment of the spa, and the waiting room invites visitors to literally soak away the stress, perhaps while sipping a cup of tea.
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“Our differentiator is the fact that we are integrating healing and wellness together — we incorporate the luxury spa services with clinical services. Usually you have one or the other,” says Mary Leeper, LMP, manager of Healthy Reflections Medical and Day Spa and Healthy Reflections Boutique. “(Yet) we are as competitive as the spa down the street (with the pricing).”
A busy mom or executive may find a visit to Healthy Reflections too good to be true. Use the free valet parking, get greeted by a concierge, drop off the kids at the YMCA daycare (which has very reasonable rates), get a little pampering — and on your way out, visit the boutique for a little shopping or grab an espresso or lunch. Those who have more time to spare can also toss in a workout at the adjacent YMCA women’s fitness center, or get a makeover consultation. And women with special medical needs could not just buy some lotions or gifts at the boutique but also get fitted for wigs or try on special swimwear for prosthetics.
“Women are the decision makers in the family. The concept of a women’s center is to make sure women have everything on one-stop shopping,” Leeper says.
Those for looking to get the most mileage out of one visit could also schedule their medical checkup or lab work in the building; or get some shopping done at the adjacent Uptown Gig Harbor shopping complex where they’ll find everything from a Borders bookstore to clothing retailers.
Men won’t feel left out either. While initially the spa was designed with women specifically in mind, it has since been “opened” also to men. They are not allowed in the locker room but they do have their own waiting area (the only room with a television) and even their own spa package. Industrywide estimates show that about 40 percent or more of spa users are men, and while a few years ago a guy wouldn’t be caught dead getting a facial, these days even the sight of a man getting a manicure doesn’t amaze most people.
“It’s very much a growing industry for men also,” Leeper says.
While it may be surprising to find such a getaway in a medical facility — the spa is part of MultiCare’s Gig Harbor Medical Park — what makes the spa even more unique is the standards to which it must adhere. Because it is part of a medical facility, Healthy Reflections must use the same sanitation standards required of hospitals. In fact, every night instruments and other devices are first sterilized in-house, then sent to a MultiCare hospital for autoclaving, the same sterilization procedure used on OR equipment. Every morning, the instruments come back, pre-packaged.
The same high standards are true for the staff: All the estheticians and therapists have advance training and clinical backgrounds while the facial plastic physicians are board certified. The menu of services is extensive, and includes everything from massage (insurance-covered or relaxation massage, and even a couples massage), body wraps, BOTOX injections, chemical peels, manicure, tans, waxing — the list goes on.
One of the popular treatment rooms is the one equipped with a vichy shower, which provides hydrotherapy massage. A conference room is available for educational activities, both public and in-house, as well as rentals for special occasions such as bridal showers. Among the services growing in popularity is the hydrofacial — billed as “the next generation in skin resurfacing,” the process uses a hydrofacial wave system to exfoliate the skin while hydrating it (the machine is new and still hard to come by at many clinics or spas).
Healthy Reflections is MultiCare’s second spa incorporating the clinical and wellness concepts under one roof. However, the first site, in Covington, is smaller than the Gig Harbor one. Leeper believes this kind of integrated approach will become a growing trend.
“I think it’s the wave of the future,” she says. “”Health care has been more of a reactive business, where people get sick and come in to get treated. We’re trying to make it more preventative — I think we’ll see a growing move into that direction.”
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