Emerge MediSpa & Wellness Center works with clients on various needs
By Jessica Brown
When Emerge MediSpa & Wellness Center opened in Jacksonville in 2022, owner Mischaela Aring knew she and her staff would be taking a different approach to patient care.
“I was a nurse practitioner at an urgent care center in 2017 and initially, I hadn’t even considered doing something different,” she says. After treating patients there, she made the decision to transition into less traditional methods.
Aring earned her Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) as a family nurse practitioner (FNP).
Being an FNP with full practice authority in Illinois allows Aring to practice independently within her scope of practice. She is intentional about identifying herself as a nurse practitioner rather than referring herself as a doctor.
Everything done at her practice is medically based. “We do everything from microneedling [to] laser hair removal and medical grade chemical peels.” In addition, the center provides facials, hair waxing, lash lifts and brow tints utilizing the skills of a registered nurse who is also a licensed esthetician.
Aring says the area she focuses on the most isn’t topical, however. “I do mostly male and female hormone replacement and weight loss therapy,” Aring shares.
Although her practice offers cosmetic treatments, she says she feels helping clients find balance for their hormonal issues is key. “I enjoy the other aspects but for me, that is the most important,” says Aring.
She says she makes sure to work in conjunction with a person’s other practitioners, such as primary care doctors or gynecologists. Aring says, “What I use from a person’s other providers are things like test results from personal female health documentation, to see if there are any abnormalities from those sorts of areas.”
Aring considers a patient’s symptoms and clinical presentation along with medical history, physical assessment and appropriate lab testing when developing an individualized plan of care.
Whether it be females seeking relief from symptoms of perimenopause/menopause or men who are seeking to ward off their own issues related to aging, she hopes Emerge can provide the answers they are looking for — especially those who are experiencing a drop in hormones like testosterone, which happens to both men and women.
Lack of information about the quality of hormone therapy is not the only reason many might avoid it. “A lot of people think it’s expensive, but it’s really not in comparison,” Aring states.
Emerge’s self-pay model allows Aring to work directly with patients when determining appropriate evaluation and treatment — without an insurance company’s coverage policies determining which services or testing will be covered.
Emerge offers memberships options for certain medical and wellness services. Other services, including aesthetic services, are available separately. Followup frequency varies based on the service and the individual’s needs.
For more information about Emerge MediSpa & Wellness Center or to schedule, visit emerge-medispa.com or call 217-271-7858. Emerge MediSpa & Wellness Center is located at 1515 W. Walnut St., Suite 3A in Jacksonville.
