Healing Charlotte Podcast: Amanda Jones, QC Hydrate

Amanda Jones from QC Hydrate joins us on the podcast to discuss her mobile hydration infusion company. The idea came to her 3 years ago and was pushed forward with the pandemic. Amanda recognized people’s discomfort in going into clinical settings unless absolutely necessary so she decided to take her idea into people’s homes. Amanda has been a nurse for 10 years and the last 6 were spent as an oncology nurse where she fell in love with the work. The day after chemotherapy is given, typically patients come back in for “replacements” which is an infusion of micronutrients such as magnesium, potassium, among others, and basic hydration and possibly zofran for nausea. Many times, patients aren’t able to come back into the hospital the next day for many reasons. Amanda had the idea of being able to travel to patients homes and give them what they need to recover. She has now stepped back from the oncology world to focus on the growth of her business.

Infusions have to be given by a licensed medical professional and Amanda’s nurses all have a strong infusion background of at least 5 years. QC Hydrate contracts with a physician to oversee policies, procedures, safety, and efficacy and works with a specialty pharmacy to create the infusions. QC Hydrate is the only Board Certified Hydration Company in Charlotte.

By offering this service in the home, people feel pampered, and can receive the treatment in their own space for a short amount of time. Amanda can help develop an individualized treatment plan with her client’s goals in mind. They can provide infusions to individuals, couples, or a group of people. Some have set up for bridal parties, golf events, or ladies night.

“One of the most common feedbacks that I get is ‘oh I feel so pampered, this is so luxurious, or I feel like a star’ and that’s what we want.”

At QC Hydrate, they have tried to create something that everyone can benefit from. They have immunity, athletic, beauty, and hangover blends to name a few. Infusions are not recommended for those under 18 or anyone with congestive heart failure, or liver or kidney disease.

Intravenous supplements are more effective than oral because when taking one orally, the gastric acid in the stomach breaks down the nutrients and therefore lose 50-60% of the efficacy. Infusions bypass the digestive system so that 100% of the micronutrients enter the bloodstream. Many people especially in the winter months are deficient in vitamins such as B and D. QC Hydrate has a 6-session package to get your levels balanced with a blood test before and after to.

According to the NIH, dehydration affects 75% of the population. Most people aren’t drinking enough water through the day to get hydrated and are also getting dehydrated in the sun or by drinking caffeine or alcohol. When people are properly hydrated, they feel better in their bodies, have less inflammation, and sleep better. QC Hydrate recommends infusions at least 2x a month to be within the therapeutic range of hydration.

“We are going to do everything we can to make sure that we are providing a safe, comfortable environment for you.”

By her 3 year mark, QC Hydrate wants to have a bus to provide mobile infusions to people in the community, and provide infusions to those in the community who can not access it through charitable donations.

Amanda loves reading as self-care and loves “Vitamized Health” by Dr. Stephen Petteruti. She wants to heal Charlotte by giving everyone an opportunity to feel the benefits of hydration.

Find QC Hydrate on their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Healing Charlotte Podcast: Shannon Routh, Teal Diva

Today’s podcast guest is Shannon Routh, the founder and Executive Director of Teal Diva. This non-profit organization supports women with ovarian and other types of gynecological cancer in Charlotte. Shannon got the idea to start the group during her 3rd chemotherapy appointment at age 32 when she realized there were no other support groups and she wanted to meet someone else going through ovarian cancer like herself. Previously, she knew one other woman who was much older and in a different stage of life. She knew if it happened to her, there had to be other woman in similar life stages to her.

Teal Diva supports the mental and emotional health of women diagnosed with gynecological cancers as well as those who have completed their treatment. Before Teal Diva was created, there wasn’t any local support for women with ovarian cancer. As time went by, Shannon learned of other types of gynecological cancers such as vulva and uterine that also did not have support locally, so they began to accept them as well.

Some challenges in the ovarian cancer space is that there is no early screening tool. Most women don’t know this and believe that during their annual visit, they are being checked for it. The symptoms are also vague which leaves many women undiagnosed until it is much further down the line. Some of the symptoms are bloating, feeling full quickly, back pain, changes in bowel habits, etc. Shannon recommends being your own advocate and if these symptoms come on or change and it doesn’t feel right to you, get checked by a specialist.

Shannon and Teal Diva originally used their fundraising efforts to fund research but shifted to supporting women locally as they felt it had the greatest impact and would go further to improve women’s lives here in Charlotte. Money raised and donated goes towards their custom infusion shirts, supporting the “honey-do lists,” and the sisterhood retreats. The Dignity Shirt program was inspired by one local woman who lost her life to ovarian cancer and her husband wanted to create a legacy. These custom shirts are teal for recognition and have zipper openings for the ports instead of stretching out the shirt. The “Yes Girl” program is help women with household projects that they are unable to complete. Teal Diva recruits volunteers to come together on one day and complete the list of projects. The idea of the “Sisterhood Retreats” came from Shannon’s love of retreats that she had been on. They will have group members apply for the retreats and will select 20 women to go. The women usually don’t know each other beforehand and spend a weekend immersed together for support, creativity, and relaxation. Another program that Teal Diva has came during covid isolation. They recruit volunteers to send encouragement cards to women who need support.

“For us to be able to provide this “life-changing” experience {sisterhood retreats} to someone, there are many women who have attended our retreat who pass away 3-6 months or a year later and we were able to touch them. We were able to provide for them in their final time a better experience at the life they had left.”

The elephant mascot came from a story originally told by Jen Hatmaker that was read at Shannon’s remission party. The story goes that when a female elephant is going through labor or a difficult time, the other female elephants circle around her, stomp, and kick up dust to protect her. The story stuck with Shannon and with the help of some professionals became the official mascot with a hidden set of ovaries in it as well.

“When our sisters are vulnerable, when they are under attack and they need their people to surround them so they can heal, and create, and recover, we all get in formation and close our ranks and we have each other’s backs.”

For self-care, Shannon enjoys taking weekends away, being in nature, with her dog. She has learned through the years that she needs to separate from being the leader at times to being the survivor. Shannon also knows the importance of therapy especially with the losses and hardships the group members go through.

If you would like to support Teal Diva, they are accepting of volunteers for events, the “Yes Girl” program, and card writing, and financial donations and company sponsorships will help support all programming and the Dignity Shirts.

Shannon wanted to Heal Charlotte as she was born and raised here and wanted to make a difference in her community.

“I wanted to make a difference and I wanted to get involved and I wanted to be a voice and I feel like if there is a need, then why not.”

You can connect with Teal Diva on the website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, TikTok, and Pinterest.

Brave Step Group Therapy September 2022

I’m excited to facilitate this 12-week closed group for those identifying as female and are survivors of sexual violence. We will meet Sundays from 7-8:30pm at Noda Yoga(1620 Oakhurst Commons Dr, Suite 301, Charlotte, NC 28205).

Dates are as follows:

  • September 11
  • September 25
  • October 2
  • October 16
  • October 23
  • October 30
  • November 6
  • November 13
  • November 20
  • December 4
  • December 11
  • December 18

The group will primarily focus on emotional regulation and attachment. There is no cost for participants. Registration required here.

Healing Charlotte Podcast: Kerry Kalish, Healthy Buildings TASC Force

In this episode, we meet Kerry Kalish. She is a Design Project Manager at ODA, an architecture firm here in Charlotte, North Carolina. She also manages the TASC(Tactful Approach to Sustainable Cleanliness) force which focuses on research and development for “Well Building” strategies. Kerry went to Architecture school at UNCC in 2004 and was fascinated back then about how architecture relates to humans. Now she is even more health conscious and aware of how spaces affect people due to having a child with asthma and ADHD. Prior to joining ODA, she worked for a forensic architecture firm where she was involved with more reactive work and fixing problems that already happened. She was interested in doing more proactive work from there. She joined ODA two weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Her boss came to her with an idea to focus more on the healthy building movement. After some initial reading and research, Kerry realized how connected this movement was to her interest in college.

“I even thought it{Healthy Building Movement} was mostly germs and good clean air. In hindsight, I realized this is that neuroscience stuff, this is that same scientific stuff but also the psychology and how we’ve gotten so much more aware of mindfulness.”

There are a couple of certifications including Fit Wel and Well Standard. This movement started about 7 years ago but gained momentum due to the pandemic. These certifications include sections on; fitness and mind, light(that could cause glare and headaches or lowered productivity), water cleanliness, and air to name a few. The standards also address vending machines, catering, and cafeteria requirements.

ODA created the TASC force to educate themselves as architects as well as contractors, developers, and decision makers who they were already connected with. They developed a newsletter to educate and help people see the importance of these standars as well as the return on investment. JLL created the “3-30-300 rule” that helps illustrate where to invest money. Every business, per year, per square foot spends $3 for utilities, $30 for rent, and $300 for payroll(insurance, PTO, sick time, etc). So in essence, Healthy Buildings protect and enhance the lives of people on the inside. The focus most recently has been on ventilation(better air, UV filters, higher quality filters), high touch areas(using surfaces that can be cleaned and bleached), and connection with nature(rooftop terraces, courtyards, and biophilic design). Some industries that are currently adopting these standards are hospitality, self-storage, and education to name a few. Where the Healthy Building Movement protects the people on the inside, where as the Sustainable Movement which strives to not damage, create minimal damage, or regenerate the environment outside of the building. In the future, the TASC force may move beyond Healthy Buildings and look at technology of materials or regenerative design.

“You can really mitigate those if you reduce your employees sick time or if you can improve their productivity. You are going to be able to balance that out more than you can by putting in some slightly more energy efficient light bulbs in your building.”

Kerry wants to heal Charlotte because her friends and family are here and wants her daughter to have a healthy experience. Kerry is inspired by Envision Charlotte; a group that is focused on creating a circular economy including regenerative design, composting, recycling and using underemployed folx to help. Self-care for Kerry includes an anti-inflammatory diet and being intentional with the food she ingests.

“I want to take care of the people around me. I’ve always wanted to do that to some extent. I’ve always wanted to give a positive to the community around me in some way, shape, or form.”

Visit the TASC force website and subscribe to the quarterly newsletter. Reach out to Kerry directly at kkalish@oda.us.com or tascforce@oda.us.com.

Healing Charlotte Podcast: Molly Ruggere, Counterculture Club

Molly Ruggere is on the podcast today speaking about her work as a Certified Life and Alcohol Freedom Coach as well as the alcohol-free social community she has created, Counterculture Club. It’s a global alcohol free community based in Charlotte that includes a monthly membership for virtual events 2x a week, in person events, and group coaching. Local members meet several times a month for events such as yoga, Whitewater center, dinners, etc. All of the events are alcohol free and are not limited to women who are sober or alcohol-free. Many of the members are looking for alcohol free spaces and can give those who are curious a way to dip their toe in and see if it is for them or can prove to themselves that they can socialize without alcohol. Member have found excitement by getting through events outside of the club without alcohol and realizing it was a crutch. Molly started the group in 2019 after she was in her sobriety, put tools together for herself, and done the inner work. After all of this she was lacking the like-minded community of women. During the pandemic, she opened up membership to include virtual events and saw membership increase quickly as well as members from all over the world. Alcohol consumption increased during the pandemic and especially for women making this group so important as a resource.

“It’s very hard to exist in a society as a non-drinker when everyone around you in drinking and we are getting these messages constantly that alcohol is what makes you fun and sophisticated and sexy. So we have to do a lot of mental de-programming to see our relationship with alcohol honestly and do some inner work.”

As an Alcohol Freedom Coach, Molly helps people work with their mindset to address their relationship with alcohol. She has found that people have found the impact alcohol has on their health and their relationships. She believes that this coaching and therapy can complement each other well. Coaching is more future-focused with actionable steps.

“Coaching is a partnership. I’m not coming at it from an expert perspective. I’m more of a person that’s here for accountability and to help you step-by-step pull out what you need to do so that it doesn’t feel quite so overwhelming and it doesn’t feel like a lonely journey of accomplishing your alcohol-free goals.”

Molly loves working with people who are ambitious, creative, curious, out-of-the-box thinkers, and open to change. For self-care, she utilizes really listening to herself and being honest about her needs. She has ever-evolving tools to take care of herself including journaling everyday. She has found that she can tune in better to herself without the influence of alcohol. Molly wants to heal Charlotte because she grew up here and has enjoyed seeing how collaborative and supportive the city has become. She is inspired by 2 local healers; Rebby Kern who is a Yoga Instructor and Social Justice Warrior and Sam Diminich with “Your Farms, Your Table” for his work in employing people in recovery as well as creating a community for service industry workers in recovery called “Ben’s Friends.”

“It {alcohol} doesn’t even come up because it’s not relevant. It’s not what we are focused on. We are really just focused on having fun and connecting with other people. That’s the message and mission behind it.”

For more resources on living alcohol-free, Molly suggest the book “Sober Curious” by Ruby Warrington or to visit Counterculture Club website. Molly is also a writer for many publications on living alcohol-free.

If someone attends an event in your home that is choosing not to drink, Molly suggests the following:

  • have non-alcoholic drinks available, not just tap water
  • don’t make a big deal about it
  • don’t pry or ask for more information

You can stay up to date with Counterculture Club by visiting their website, Instagram, Facebook, or email countercultureclubclt@gmail.com.