Inspiring Conversations with Lisa Marino of Victress Health and Wellness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lisa Marino.

Lisa, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My sister, Erin Hazelbaker, and I have never been the ones to sit back and watch the status quo, thanks to the influence of our family. If there was something good and true that needed to be upheld, we humbly tried to step in and make it right. After I earned my doctorate in physical therapy from The Ohio State University, I dove right into America’s health system. Although I had an incredible education, I watched patients with back pain, gut issues, and depression struggle to survive both physically and financially. It didn’t take long for me to step outside the box and try to chip away at a broken system, one patient at a time. Eighteen months after grad school, I wrote up a business plan and followed the vision God placed on my heart. It started with physical therapy but the long-term goal was always a multi-disciplinary, holistic health care center.
Erin has a similar story after 13 years of physical therapy experience in corporate healthcare. She could no longer sit back and watch as patients took 5, 10, or 15 different medications. She would step back and wonder, “Where were we 20 years ago when this patient started down this path of ill health?” So, I convinced Erin to join our efforts at Victress and save us from the corporate mindset. Erin has accelerated our clinical growth with the addition of functional medicine, an online supplement store, and the inspiration to expand into primary care.

In just over 5.5 years, we now have six clinicians and provide direct primary care, functional medicine, physical and occupational therapy, and spiritual consultations as well as an online supplement store. It has truly been a team effort with God’s guidance and my husband’s overwhelming support. I would certainly not be here without my sister and co-owner, Erin Hazelbaker. We are incredibly grateful to our patients that support us and keep us going with their amazing effort and transformations.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has definitely not been a smooth road. Although I took some business courses in grad school, early on I certainly wished I had more knowledge about business, taxes, finances, operations, sales, marketing, and the list goes on! But the necessity to do what’s right has always made it a clear path. And mistakes are the fastest to learn!

Erin and I went back and forth initially on accepting patients’ health insurance, especially through COVID. We thought it would help our patients out during a difficult time. But ultimately, we realized if we truly want to provide quality healthcare without the constraints of the system, with amazing outcomes and happy clinicians, we needed our patients to have the freedom and flexibility to make the choices they deserved at a low cost.

While it may seem that healthcare in America is broken, our clinic gets to see firsthand what exciting times we are in. And now with small businesses and insurance advisors switching to a more free market, primary care driven, and common sense benefits approach- Wow! The savings are incredible and the care is unmatched. We only wish we could reach more families, small business owners, and local authorities to give them this hope!

As you know, we’re big fans of Victress Health and Wellness. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Victress Health and Wellness is a full-service direct primary care, functional medicine, and physical and occupational therapy clinic. We can service all of Ohio with primary care (one in-person visit required per year). We treat patients for functional medicine all across the United States.
We are most known for our holistic approach not only in mind, body, and soul but also our functional medicine background that considers lifestyle factors, nutrition, stress, supplements, genetics, gut health, etc. We really see ourselves as the bridge between conventional medicine and alternative medicine, knowing there is a place for both but taking the best of both worlds. Our patients really love our team-based approach and ability to communicate not only between providers in our office but also advocate for them to providers outside our office. Our patients love gaining trust in the healthcare system, knowing someone is there for them to find the root cause.

We love educating in the community and to employers about the hope we have in the way our patients are improving but also in the fact that healthcare CAN be done right. We use a cash-pay model for all of our services but direct primary care is a structured as a monthly membership to incentivize healthy living early and often without the fear of unexpected bills or added costs.

Our patients are often tired of trying to figure out their symptoms on their own, knowing there is a deeper cause. We always make free consults available so families and individuals can have a trusted second opinion or get to know us better first. We make those available at victresshealth.com/freeconsult

What matters most to you?
What matters most to us is following God’s will. If I’m not following God’s plan for my life, then I’ve missed the mark, with the goal being Heaven. When I put God first, all the rest falls in line: caring for my husband, caring for my children, and then serving my community. Otherwise, everything ends up disordered, and my family and I end up suffering for it. And I’ve learned this firsthand with lots of mistakes as a mom of three kids, ages six and under, with one on the way. Secretly, I think having a small business has been what’s enabled me to stay home with my kids more and more each year! And without the support of my husband, none of what we’ve accomplish would have ever been possible.

Pricing:

• Direct Primary Care: $25/month 0-18 years
• DPC: $45/month 19-30 years
• DPC: $60/month 31-44years
• DPC: $80/month 45-64 years
• DPC: $100/month 65+ years

Contact Info:

• Website: victresshealth.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victresshealth/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/victresshealth
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-marino-pt-dpt-a08304a6/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC66-vqTOjqnj3_uzxWxdYvw
• Other: victresshealth.com/freeconsult

Image Credits
Hard Media Group